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Cbs Colorado: Joe O'dea Is A Regular Joe

Government and Politics

November 1, 2022


Cbs Colorado: Joe O'dea Is A Regular Joe

For the last 30 years, Joe O'Dea has helped shape the state's network of roads and bridges as the owner of a large construction business. Now, he wants to help shape its public policy as a U.S. Senator.

O'Dea is, in many ways, a regular Joe. He dropped out of college and became a union carpenter before opening a small concrete paving business out of his basement. That business, Concrete Express, now employs 300 people.

O'Dea says he never thought about running for office until the COVID shutdown: "Watching our freedoms eroded away, watching what was happening with small businesses here in Colorado, that struggle really brought to my attention how volatile our government, our United States, our freedoms are."

If elected, he would be the state's first U.S. Senator with no political or public sector experience, but he says he has plenty of experience working with the other side of the aisle: "I've been working in Denver FOR 30 plus years and in order to work here, you have to work with Democrats, there are a few here in Denver. And I pride myself with being able to sit down with people, come up with good ideas on both sides, and form a partnership that gets things done. So, I'll use that skill set when I get to the U.S. Senate."

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