am a proud North Denver native and third-generation House District 4 resident. It is an honor to have been born and raised in this fine district and, with my husband, to raise our children in this neighborhood. It is where I attended public school, rode my bike to the corner store on 29th and Tennyson and had my first job at a restaurant on 32nd and Lowell as a teenager. My life has been shaped by this district in many amazing ways. I met my husband at North High School, I helped my parents run several small businesses in the district and I have been an advocate as a parent and neighbor. North Denver is where I learned to stand up for others and for our community.
As a mother of children enrolled in Denver Public Schools, I am passionate about all of Colorado’s children having access to a quality education. Education is the foundation to a bright and productive future. A good education can energize communities and lift families out of poverty. The State has an obligation to fund all schools to ensure that every child receives an education that will enable them to succeed and even further their education to be able to get a good paying job. Every year, our elected officials debate the proper way to fund education and every year our children fail to get the funding they need and deserve. For too long, Colorado has underfunded K-12 education, ranking 30th in the US.
As your State Representative, I am unwavering in my support for high quality education for all our children. When our children succeed, families succeed, our community succeeds and Colorado is stronger.
I am determined to defend and uphold federal law regarding pay equity. The pay gap between men and women is significant and undisputed and must be corrected for Colorado families and children because of the number of single earner families. It is unacceptable that the pay gap is even more significant for women of color.
Equally important for woman and the strength of Colorado is access to reproductive healthcare as part of the healthcare system. Every year at the State Capitol, there is legislation that attempts to limit a woman’s access to reproductive healthcare, particularly the right to get an abortion. While I acknowledge and respect everyone’s religious views on this topic, it is not for government to decide for women what is best for their bodies. These decisions are best left to the woman, her family, her doctor and her faith.
As your State Representative, I continue to champion an agenda that not only protects but advances the rights of women.
Colorado has enjoyed great economic growth and low unemployment in recent years but not everyone has benefitted from Colorado’s strong economy. In fact, research shows that while unemployment is low, so are wages compared to the cost of housing and increased cost of living. Further, many Coloradans do not have the skills for industries where good paying jobs and living wages exist. While employment is low and the economy is booming, there is still a huge gap for many families, especially those who do not own homes. This issue is not easily solved because of the overall housing shortage as well as the lack of subsidies and incentives for developers to help solve this problem. Housing affordability is long gone and has already forced families and small businesses to relocate outside of Denver. This affects our service industry, schools and the diversity and stability of our communities.
The State has largely relinquished housing affordability concerns to local governments, abandoning opportunities to take a leadership role in housing affordability. I work daily with families struggling to make ends meet. I understand the barriers they face when it comes to finding and maintaining housing they can afford and I know we have to do better.
As your State Representative, I continue to advocate for Colorado’s working families and force the issue of affordable housing with legislation and funding at the State Capitol. I advocate for ways to develop housing trusts and expand tax credits. Colorado’s strong economy can only be as strong and stable as its communities.
For many years, Colorado’s prison population was on the decline but lately has been on the rise. While this upward tick can be explained in a variety of ways, we must remember that the prison system is filled with our brothers, sisters, fathers, sons and daughters and has disproportionately affected our communities of color.
A major percentage of our prison population have been convicted of drug-related crimes and many suffer from mental illnesses and drug addiction. Our Department of Corrections has become the de facto mental health and drug rehabilitation institutions and this is unacceptable and short sighted. We cannot continue to build more jails and prisons and not direct resources and innovation to the root causes. I have extensive experience working in the criminal justice system and human services fields and I plan to address this issue as one of my first priorities when elected.
As your State Representative, I advocate for policies that divert state resources to mental health and substance use treatment, and increase access to diversion programming. I also advocate for policies that direct our Department of Corrections to allocate more resources to prepare inmates for re-entry into our community. After incarceration, 96% of inmates are released and return to our communities. We want them to be good neighbors and contributing members of our economy.
As a sixth generation Coloradan, I have a deep appreciation for our State’s beauty and natural landscapes. For generations, my ancestors have been stewards of the environment and advocates for protecting the land and water for future generations. With a growing population and economy, Colorado’s energy consumption, water and public land use, and greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise. I strongly believe in long-term sustainable development that supports Colorado’s economic and population growth, while also making our energy use more efficient, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, creating clean energy jobs, and protecting our water resources and public lands. Our environment today is the world our children will inherit tomorrow.
As your State Representative, I continue the traditions of my ancestors by championing legislation that combats climate change and protects our public lands and water resources, and ensures clean air.
Healthcare is a human right. We live in a society where emergency healthcare is granted to people without resources to access preventative and urgent healthcare services. This faulty system drives up the cost of healthcare for all of us and is not healthy for any of us. Healthcare for all Coloradans is an even more pressing issue given the present dynamics in Washington DC. One of the best legislative successes in recent years was the passage of the Colorado Health Exchange. We must continue to provide a safety net for those without the resources to pay for healthcare but we also must send a strong message to Congress to keep Medicaid intact, fund reproductive health organizations and provide subsidies that keep insurance premiums affordable. Nobody should have to choose between food and shelter or going to the doctor and medicine. In Colorado, nearly 1.4 million low income children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities received health and long-term care through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
As your State Representative, I contine to work diligently to ensure that healthcare is accessible to those who need it most. Current healthcare programs that benefit our most vulnerable populations must remain intact and the State has a duty to ensure their viability through adequate funding.
Colorado has one of the fastest growing populations in the country. This growth has put an incredible burden on our transportation infrastructure which was built for travel by car and is outdated and obsolete. While the expansive new light rail system is easing some traffic on our highways, it is not cost or time efficient for many residents. There is a need for transit-oriented development, improved public transit and integrating full multi-modal (pedestrian, bike, car and mass transit) capabilities into our major corridors and neighborhood streets.
As your State Representative, I am a strong steward of the Department of Transportation funds and advocate for long overdue transportation and infrastructure funding including our state highways, but more importantly to develop transportation infrastructure and create more efficient transit with everyone’s needs in mind.