a Stronger Future for All

As a community volunteer and advocate, I know that many people in our community face barriers such as affordable housing, mental health, childcare, and access to transportation as they work to make a better life for themselves and their families. 

My firsthand experience and knowledge of the legislative process make me uniquely qualified to represent our diverse community at the Colorado Capitol. I’ve worked with numerous stakeholders, built coalitions, negotiated policy, and helped pass legislation to improve the quality of life for everyone in our state.

Now I want to put my experience to work for you. Together, we can solve some of Colorado’s toughest issues.

Affordable Housing

Affordable housing is one of the top issues facing Coloradans. We need more housing options for people at all stages of their lives—students, families, our service and retail workforce, professionals, and seniors. It’s critical that local and state governments partner in building a more functional community to overcome historic and systemic disparities. 

Working together with senior groups, employers, nonprofits, congregations, veterans groups, and others, we can:

  • Encourage responsible development in transit or other high-opportunity corridors.

  • Expedite approval for workforce housing and explore alternative housing models like accessory dwelling units.

  • Increase access to rental assistance programs.

  • Provide programs that help educate tenants and property owners about their rights and protections including the right to representation. 

  • Work collaboratively on the state and regional level to fairly address the cost of water as a major component of the cost of new housing.

ENVIRONMENT

Air quality and water are top concerns for many in our community and throughout the state. In collaboration with community leaders, stakeholders, and other organizations, I’ve fought for environmental justice and equity, passed state-level policies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy, improve air quality, and create new jobs that will make Colorado a leader in clean energy.

As your Representative, I will:

  • Enact commonsense water policies so we use it more wisely and conserve it for future generations. 

  • Prioritize the health and safety of residents and workers by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas production, and reducing methane emissions from landfills and coal mining.

  • Ensure utilities meet or exceed emission reduction targets.

  • Continue to invest in industrial decarbonization projects.

HealthCare

I support universal healthcare because I believe it is a fundamental right, not a privilege. I want to increase access and equity for all regardless of their background or income. That’s why I testified during the 2023 legislative session in support of HB23-1225 which modified the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability board to expand caps on out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. 

Our state is facing a behavioral health crisis. We must increase access to behavioral health services and develop innovative solutions to address root causes such as economic disparities, trauma, and discrimination. I am particularly concerned about the mental health of our kids, and I would prioritize additional resources, not only for youth mental health services and support, but also for the mental health of our teachers. 

I am a champion of reproductive health care here in Colorado, fighting for nearly two decades to elect Democratic, pro-choice women to state and local office as part of the Colorado BlueFlower Fund Board. I know firsthand the importance of reproductive healthcare, given complications during the delivery of my second son. We must ensure that all mothers can access reproductive healthcare, including abortion, and that doctors have all medical options to treat their patients.

EDUCATION

Public education has always been an essential pillar in my life. I believe we have an incredible responsibility to ensure that every child has access to a high-quality education that sets them up for success for the rest of their lives. As a mother to a fifth grader and a sixth grader in our neighborhood schools, and the daughter of an educator, I will fight to make certain that all our children have equal access to the best opportunities to learn and grow. 

I will improve education by:

  • Fighting for equitable funding.

  • Increasing teacher pay so we can retain and recruit the best educators at all levels.

  • Providing and increasing access to services that promote mental health and well-being at all levels of school.

Transportation

Our state will double in size in the next 50 years. We must begin to meet the challenges of our growth and address existing problems. That’s why I will work to:

  • Modernize our roads by supporting creative ideas that increase transportation funding.

  • Promote policies that improve our public transit system - from last mile bus routes to safe routes to school to Front Range Rail.

  • Ensure equitable access to alternative modes of transportation that will help safely connect our communities, campuses and workers.

My Diversity, equity, and inclusion pledge

I’m committed to continuing to work with, and building relationships with people of color, members of our community who identify as LGBTQIA+, people who have different abilities, people who are of different religious faiths and people who have immigrated here. 

I will keep building authentic relationships with people who are harmed and ignored by dominant cultures, and craft policies through an equity lens to help address systemic disparities, eliminate discrimination and hate in all forms, and uplift all of our community members. 

I will take direct action to enact change by working with people in marginalized communities through listening sessions and creating advisory councils. 

I will work to foster the dialogue and collaboration necessary to ensure that we dismantle systemic barriers, promote justice and create an inclusive community and state for everyone.

I will do this by:

  • Strengthening and expanding existing anti-discrimination laws that protect and empower people in all areas of their daily public life, including employment, housing, education, healthcare, and public accommodations.

  • Supporting cultural competency training to help address healthcare provider bias and improving outcome disparities that people of color and those who identify as LGBTQIA+experience. 

  • Fighting hate in all forms, including the targeting of trans youth, and pass legislation that supports our neighbors and members of our community who identify as LGBTQIA+.

  • Advocate for additional resources to address pregnancy and fetal mortality rates in black and brown communities.

Safety

Everyone deserves to live in a community where they feel safe to pursue their dreams and have their daily and basic needs met. I support meaningful, common sense gun violence prevention measures to ensure that our schools, movie theaters, churches, night clubs, and grocery stores are safe from violence. 

I’m proud of the policies that have been passed by the Colorado Legislature in recent years—like the red flag law, the three-day waiting period, the increase to the minimum gun purchasing age, and the ban on ghost guns—and I will continue this fight alongside our community to prevent gun violence, including a ban on assault rifles. I will work with community members to address the root causes of gun violence, which often include generational trauma, food and housing insecurity, and lack of mental health resources.