#81 - Western Colorado Public Lands and Politics w/ Alex Kelloff

In this episode, I interview Alex Kelloff, a first-time candidate running in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. Alex launched his campaign after Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection, citing concerns about January 6, public-lands selloffs and leasing for oil and gas, federal land-agency staffing cuts, and opposition to Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd and Project 2025-style policies. We discuss top voter concerns including cost of living, rural hospital instability, Medicaid cuts, and the need for universal affordable healthcare with an independently managed public system. Drawing on a 30+ year telecom career, Alex critiques AI data-center “land grab” spending, opposes data centers in his district due to land, water, and utility constraints, and discusses renewable transmission, mining tradeoffs, and public-lands governance.https://alexkelloff.com/00:57 Episode Preview Alex Kelloff02:54 Campaign Trail and Voter Struggles05:15 Public Lands as Economic Lifeline06:00 Inside Colorado Third District08:13 Why He’s Running Now10:52 Trump Era Impacts on Public Lands12:22 Top Issues Healthcare and Hospitals14:14 Universal Healthcare Vision17:33 Telecom Career and Infrastructure20:44 AI Data Centers and Public Lands22:31 AI Land Grab28:46 Opposing Data Centers in District30:05 Siting Data Centers Smartly30:43 Geothermal Drilling Risks31:43 Mining Materials Tradeoffs35:46 Rare Earths and War Strategy39:05 Renewables on Public Lands41:23 Transmission and Grid Bottlenecks44:13 RMPs and Project 202549:41 Grazing Permit Retirement51:47 Public Private Models Get full access to Our Public Lands Podcast at ourpubliclandspodcast.substack.com/subscribe