Educational institutions need funding, support, and policy shifts.
District 21 schools are greatly impacted and have been for decades. However, the test scores, school closures, news headlines are not actually indicative of the people that live in these communities. I have met these families, I have shaken the hands of grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles.
Children get one free public education and there is no time for second chances. Too much time is spent worrying about inconsistent funding, staring at standardized testing, and publicizing school performance framework without context and understanding.
As your next state senator, I hope to..
Limit the amount of time students spend completing standardized tests.
Revise the READ act to keep students out of the endless cycle of testing.
Advocate for teacher protections from assault.
Push for universal dyslexia screening.
Workers’ rights, labor unions, and the right to bargain and organize.
The solidarity found in union membership is the key to affordability, housing, healthcare and so much more. Union membership unites us together as working people. We fight for healthcare, livable wages, retirement, sustainable childcare options, civil rights, and more. I have organized my own local union as part of the executive team and as a part of the Central Adams UniServ. I have been to the state capital to lobby and educate legislators about the school funding formula and the budget stabilization factor. I stand in solidarity at picket lines with Colorado Spring Educators Association, Denver Classroom Teachers Association, Sheridan School District Educators, Teamster Local 405 at Cargill, and JBS workers in Greeley.
Unions must be accessible because collective bargaining levels the playing field for workers. I am most proud of my union endorsements because these are working people who show up when it’s time to show up.
As your next state senator, I hope to…
Strongly support the passing of the Workers’ Protection Act in the 2027 legislative session.
Support a veto override for the Workers’ Protection Act if needed in the 2027 legislative session.
Continue to work and collaborate with union leaders to protect workers from unsafe working environments.
I teach multilingual learners, many of whom are new to the country or are first generation United States citizens. I see their fear around the federal overreach of ICE. What would the day look like when ICE finally decides to come into our schools? What does it look like when our neighbors disappear off the streets? Do we even know it is happening? How are we still seeing the deregulation of the state of these detention centers?
Our neighbors are people and deserve dignity. ICE doesn’t care who they’re taking or hurting as shown across the country and even in our own state. The extent of this operation is continually unfolding from the GEO detention in Aurora to smaller-scale detention centers throughout the state. This entire department needs to be abolished and immigration process needs to be significantly reformed.
As your next state senator, I hope to…
Support the clear identification and uniforms including banning facial coverings and confusing uniforms like civilian clothing or changing uniform labels.
Require body cameras.
Support legislation that ensures when someone’s rights are violated by ICE that they have a pathway to challenge that violation in court.
ICE and the safety of our neighbors
LGBTQ+ Rights and Protections
I have stood with my coworkers, students, and community to ensure that they have the ability to discuss their family, feel seen and accepted, and have access to the health care that they need.
No one deserves to live in fear and we need to center LGBTQ+ voices and protect trans people. Suicide is the leading cause of death for students in Colorado and trans individuals have the highest suicide rate of any particular group. That is not something we can ignore and something we need to all speak about in public spaces where our neighbors are under attack and being othered in the news daily.
As your next state senator, I hope to…
Ensure access to healthcare for all Coloradans including gender-affirming care.
Ensure that students have access to mental health supports in their schools/communities.
Community-based resources are lifelines for many people.
As a former SNAP and Medicaid recipient, I know the dehumanizing rhetoric that comes with accepting help. From restrictions to food items or just shame from needing assistance to feed your family, I think we must humanize the process and consider people’s dignity.
Community resources should be available to all who need them. The stigma does not need to be exacerbated by complicated and unnecessary regulations. It should not take healthcare providers months to qualify to serve Medicaid recipients when patients also are waiting for years to just see a primary care provider. These regulations waste everyone’s time and prevent people from receiving the care and support they need.
As your next state senator, I hope to…
Balance a budget that still protects our communities and pays for services they rely on.
Center the needs of people who need help in my voting record and explain the rationale behind my voting record at regular town halls and forums throughout the legislative session.
Affordability, housing, and cost of living
We need to ensure that people can find the housing solutions that they need: long-term housing, temporary housing, rental properties, and senior living supports.
No one deserves to exploited by the person who has control over whether they have a housing or not. Homes need to be available to people that need them, not just private equity firms and landlords. With the help of SB26-135 we will be asking voters to raise the cap on education funding and be able to increase budgets to programs that support affordable housing.
As your next state senator, I hope to…
Support legislation focused on rent stabilization.
Support legislation on preventing the purchasing of housing by private equity and large corporations.
Support legislation that provides space for transitional housing and shelter for unhoused people.
Small businesses need support to start up, stay open, maintain staff, and resources.
I have seen so many small business disappear since 2020. Right by our home, several small business complexes have been torn down and replaced with warehouses or gas stations. Why are there more and more gas stations popping up when people just need a neighborhood grocery store instead?
Coloradans should be ambitious starting a small business that is very much needed in their neighborhood. However, many times small businesses don’t have all the supports they need to stay afloat. And if they are displaced, they aren’t guaranteed protections or help to find a new home to re-open.
As your next state senator, I hope to…
Meet with small business owners regularly throughout my time as a senator to hear their concerns and struggles.
Support initiatives and legislation to keep our small businesses open and thriving.
AI regulations, data centers, energy, and pollution.
Data centers and artificial intelligence need more policy and regulation. We must hold companies accountable to the energy and water that they are using and know more about the health impact to our community. We also need to call in experts around policy concerning data and privacy in order to protect our constituents, their labor, our public goods, and the right to privacy.
This is urgent and needs to be addressed quickly. District 21 is highly impacted by pollution, energy companies, and trash disposal. We need to be mindful and have systems in place like carbon taxing that hold companies accountable to their impact. This ensures we protect not just employees or neighbors of these companies, but also all of District 21, Colorado, and our planet.
As your next state senator, I hope to…
Collaborate with our already prominent and hardworking organizers to educate the community on safety and regulations.
Stand up for my district which is frequently a target for unregulated polluters who fly under the radar.
Corrections and Rehabilitation
Department of Corrections and our judicial system has been an ongoing conversation that has not found a solution. Between privatization, overcrowding, and fear-mongering, solutions cannot be agreed upon. Inmates are real people with real and diverse problems. They deserve dignity as they navigate rehabilitation.
Our justice system needs to uphold what it has promised and deemed fit for each person whether it is parole, required classes, or incarceration. We need to rethink our overcrowded system and include constituents and experts in this discussion. The problem is not getting better and we need to get to the root cause rather than accepting the status quo or turning immediately to privatization.
As your next state senator, I hope to…
Visit every correctional facility within the district to see conditions firsthand and see conditions for myself.
Meet with experts in the field including incarcerated people, their families, activists, and government employees.
Fight against corporations that profits off our prison systems.