The sixth of seven children, Julie was born on the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona and raised in the borderlands of south Texas. Her mom, Gloria, was an elementary school teacher and her dad, Mario, was a rancher. Together, they taught Julie the value of hard work, honesty, and the importance of lifting as we climb. Julie’s organizing career began while a student at Yale University. In 2005, she organized a 58-member coalition of working-class families, unions, community organizations, and environmental activists to ensure that tax dollars were spent on affordable housing, a clean environment, and jobs that paid a living wage.
Julie is tackling Colorado’s housing crisis head-on. She lives in an affordable housing unit and knows how transformative housing stability can be for families and communities. Since getting elected, Julie has:
Allocated over $500 million to incentivize affordable housing
Strengthened protections for renters and tenants
Reduced state barriers to develop affordable housing