My name is Janice Marchman, former Vice President of the Thompson School Board, trained systems engineer, and State Senator for Senate District 15.
I was born and raised on air force bases across the country. My dad was an air force B-52 pilot and my mom cared for our family. As we moved from base to base, I attended public schools everywhere we went, so they are central to my values. I went to 14 different schools before graduating High School in South Georgia. After graduation, I attended Georgia Tech, where I met my husband, Mike, and earned an Industrial & Systems engineering degree. I worked for six years as an engineer in California. When my husband and I decided to start our family, we experienced how expensive childcare was, so we made the decision to cut back on some of those expenses by having me stay home with our children, which I did for 13 years.
I found my calling in later in life as a teacher, and I have been teaching in Loveland for six years now. I teach middle school math at Erwin Middle School. My time as a teacher has been incredibly rewarding and inspiring, as I work with and see students come into their own, both academically and as their own people.
During my time teaching, I became engaged with volunteer opportunities in the school district, which eventually propelled me into running for the local school board. I served on the Thompson School Board for three years between 2010-2013. After losing my re-election in 2013 to a slate of outside-funded, anti-public-school candidates, I worked hard to learn how to run local campaigns to take back our school board. I became involved with local community leaders in Loveland so that in 2015 I was able to work to elect 4 amazing candidates to bring pro-public-school policy back to the board. I’ve also participated in mills & bond elections in Loveland, which we passed successfully in 2018, strengthening the funding of our local schools and improving our children’s education.
When I considered running for State Senate, I thought about my experiences in this community which I’ve lived in for over 17 years. As a parent, school board member of a 16 thousand-student school district & largest employer in Loveland, and now as a teacher in those very public schools, I see the needs of our students. I see the needs of working families. I see the needs of retired neighbors who struggle to afford their property taxes and healthcare. I feel compelled to run for office to bring a voice to the issues that we face and be a true representative of our community. For far too long, our worries and problems have been ignored in favor of special interests and wealthy outsiders. I want to bring real, working-class representation to our State Capitol on behalf of our people, not as a career politician. I will serve as a member of this community who understands what it means to struggle under financial hardship; who has felt what it's like to be without representation; who will give a voice to our values. I want to be your eyes and ears at the State Capitol. I will represent the working families and parents of our community. I will raise the concerns of my retired neighbors about the rising costs of healthcare & utilities and search for solutions to find relief. I will work to protect and steward our beautiful Larimer and Boulder County natural spaces. I will raise up the issues of keeping our air and water safe and clean to make sure Colorado remains the beautiful state we all call home.
As I have traveled throughout the district, I've met with community leaders from all parties and walks of live and have seen that there is work to do to assist those suffering from financial hardship, homelessness, addiction, and isolation. Together, we can help those around us. We can work to attract the quality jobs and livable wages we deserve, enhance our public schools, create affordable housing, and deliver quality healthcare. Our communities deserve nothing less, and I will strive to bring that representation and advocacy to our district. I hope you'll support me in this endeavor so that we can all thrive.