Issues

Worker's Rights disrespect in the workplace is at an all time high. Worker's are going to work scared that they are going to loss their jobs,  work in fear of being discriminated against and their wages  are getting more and more disrespectful  by the day, all while  the cost of living has become another stressor. Workers should never view themselves as employees. Employees are told what to do, workers have power and a say in what goes on in their workplace. A person should be able to go to work without fear of being discriminated against; targeted or harassed in any way. 

I believe that all workers should have a say at the table across from their boss. Collective Bargaining is the worker's decision not the company's. Worker's should have the right to organize with their coworkers without fear of retaliation blatant or passive. 

I believe that our laws should reflect  and protect all Coloradans the way the worker goes to work to  defend and protect their jobs with dignity and respect. The return should be mutual.

Fair wages, work conditions, and stable  benefits that are beneficial for all Working Families are priority. When Workplaces are strong Colorado is strong. When Colorado is strong, families thrive and not just survive.

What I believe in and will fight for :

-Protecting all workers organized and unorganized.

-I believe in strong consumer protections in courts and against people who prey on the community.

-I believe in a strong unemployment system that honors the work and wages you have paid into the system.

-I believe in strong accountability in administrations that eliminate hostile work environments.

-I believe in a fair work week especially for those that do not have the definition and terms that others have in their workplace that helps keep their schedules stable,  so that their home and lives are healthy.

I believe in "Criminal Justice Reform" but I feel it is deeper than that. I believe in writing policy that truly empowers families by addressing root causes. It not just about justice when a crime happens, it is about justice on our streets everyday that restore the individual  that the system has harmed and the family. My platform is about a true Clean Slate Initiative that addresses the person from the time they are ran through the system for a check on the street for a basic traffic ticket  through restoring them after they have fully completed and discharged from the court for their offense, fines, cost, probation, sentencing requirements'. The system often continues to punish past offenders even after they have done their sentence, paid their fines and have discharged in the system and that includes all systems. The criminal system, child welfare system, child Support system, traffic court system.

It is not fair that a person continues to be seen as someone that they have simply  proven they are not any longer. The Clean Slate laws are for those who deserve it the most. The people who want to reintegrate , rebuild , and be regular law abiding citizens.

In my plan I will continue to work closely with subject matter experts and use data driven research when stockholding and making powerful policy that empowers the family and restores their economics and quality of life. That is what I believe and have come to realize what  empowers families through my extensive work over the last twenty plus years in working in the court system, child welfare system, mental health system, disability system.

What I believe in and will fight for:

-I believe in automatically sealing non-violent drug related offenses and crimes.

-I believe in creating a new, streamlined record sealing process for other , non-violent crimes.

-I believe in a new start  by wiping the slate clean.

- I believe and basing the policy I write on the thoughts, opinions and feedback on the ones it affects the most. Speaking with the transgressors, their families, the social workers, probation officers and other frontline workers and community supports that contribute.

- I believe that reform and restorative justice are two different things and I will legislate accordingly.

The affordable housing term is a catch phrase in  community anymore. I believe in writing policy that makes housing not only accessible but attainable for all. Housing is a human right. The term is not homeless it is unhoused. I believe that the narrative has been "those people" instead of our neighbors far too long. When we humanize our neighbors then we fight for them and make sure this public health crisis is addressed in a safe, efficient, and sustainable way for our state and our economy.

What I believe in and will fight for:

I believe that we have to come to the realization that housing is a crisis right now and we have to address the crisis accordingly. We have to look at creative ways for people to attain home ownership and h=make for certain that our hard working constituents have those options available  and accessible to address their choices such as:

-Land Trusts

-Co-buying

-Housing cooperatives

Home ownership has become increasingly inaccessible due to inadequate housing supply and the rules tightening for mortgage credit. That is why we have to put Coloradans in a position to obtain their wants and dreams in housing.

-I believe that all landlords are not bad, but it is the bad landlords that spoil the view of how renting could really look in Colorado. I believe in accountability measures that protect working families such as, just cause evictions and strong tenants rights as I am a renter currently my housing is just as important as a homeowners. Policy should always be strong for both.

-As a women in construction I believe in strong contracts that are skilled and make sure that building is safe for Coloradans. I also believe in:

• Best- value contracting
• Prevailing wage
• Strong apprenticeships programs that prepare our workforce for long stable careers right here in the state they love so much.
• Writing and fighting for policies that protect our neighborhoods from the studs to the rooftops.
• I believe in working together with all stakeholders in housing to take our crisis to  safe and stable shelter so that all Coloradans can thrive in place.

My Story:

I am a Democratic Pro-choice Candidate that believes that abortion is health care and the conversation should be kept between the person and their clinician. Reproductive Rights are health care and we all have a health care story. Mine has a specific impactful chapter. In 2007 I became unexpectedly  pregnant and went to Planned Parenthood for options and found out much more than I walked in knowing. I was told things about my black maternal health  that I thought were true that were not , in fact had I known then what I know now I might have a 17 year old. I ultimately lost my baby in a very painful miscarriage. Had I not had Planned Parenthood my story defiantly would have been deadly. 

Because what I also came to realize is that, I was being disregarding when speaking to my private doctors when I was covered by my health benefits and was not falling through loopholes all because I did not work enough  hours to be covered by health care on my two jobs, what an America I live in. Health Care is a right and policy should be written in a way that considers that life happens to the best of us. 

Reproductive freedom is your right, and in my emergency life threatening situation that I was not even aware of, it was my right to have a conversation with my doctor privately and make the right decision for myself and my unborn child. 

I believe and will fight for:

-Maternal Health legislation that has powerful language that helps change maternal outcomes for a healthier Colorado.

- Reproductive Rights for all, meaning everyone, I will continue to advocate and fight for everyone in Colorado.

-Health Care that includes men in reproductive freedom , reproductive rights is far more than abortion and saves lives and provides safe  health care options and counseling a person.

-Covering all screenings , prevention is key to changing health care disparities and outcomes. Often women like myself who have gone to the doctor for mammograms find out that  all technology mammograms are not covered by Medicaid or by even most major insurances, we have to change this and put our advocacy where are promises have been in committee, to pass powerful policy  for people no matter what their income level or who we feel is deserving of good healthcare has it to access. It is  our right to have good attainable and accessible healthcare.

Food Justice is a huge issue in our district, not just because people can barely pay their rent to sustain their housing but because we live in a food desert specifically north of Martin Luther King Blvd (MLK).  I had to catch two buses just to have access to food. This is an injustice and racial justice issue as well.  In marginalized communities, we continue to have to depend on the goodwill of resources in the community to have access to fresh produce. Children are grocery shopping at the corner stores to eat.  If I need a gallon of milk, we must catch multiple buses to obtain a gallon of milk or pay three times the amount just to have a gallon of milk.

A recent report found that one and ten Coloradans are food insecure, in our city of Denver 33% of the city is food insecure. In Colorado, folks are going to work hungry, and children cannot learn properly because they do not have enough to eat, this is an injustice and must change. As a former child welfare and mental health worker I know that there is a correlation between poverty, food access, crime, and mental health.  Allowing people to not go to bed hungry it not only our ethical obligation as Coloradans it costs everyone in the immediate and long term.

What I believe: 

I believe that every Coloradan has a right to eat until they are full and have food access that accommodates their family needs so that they can function and thrive. I believe that every Coloradan should have access to their neighborhood grocery store so that adults and children can have what they need right where they live, that is just. 

What I will fight for:

In my first 100 days in the capitol, I will write a bill that is powerful and common sense and provides for just food access for families. My legislation will be written from a community table that my office sets up to truly understand the food and nutrition needs of the district and Colorado. I will also work with subject matter experts and use data to affect positive outcomes for Colorado. My legislation will have strong language for retailers that want to do business here, that they set up shop in marginalized areas as a priority and there be back-end accountability to ensure all Coloradans have access to food. No one should have to beg or be at the whim of the uber-rich to be able to grocery shop for their family.  That is the Colorado I will fight for.

I live in the most polluted zip code in the country, 80216. We have bad actors here in our state that do not follow the rules they only pay fines. As a woman in labor I find myself protecting first. What I have come to realize in my 18 years of doing this work in the labor movement is, I am not really standing up for workers best interest if I am not fighting for them to be protected on the job environmentally and the people that support them. Having a good paying union job of course puts food on the table and provides the stability that working families need. However, I know we can do better and have both. We can fight for our workforce, their families, and the environment all while cleaning up the air and our water.

I do not have clean water nor do I have clean air due to the corporations that sit right in my community and pay the fines and move right on about their day  and go back to their cleaner air and clean water .  For the first time in my life I have an inhaler due to the poor air quality on a daily basis that me and my community have to live with.  I realize that I do not have to live like this just because I live in a marginalized area where I can barely afford the rent.

I will not be a representative that looks the other way, I will fight for back end accountability for these bad actors who are harming our communities. 

What I believe in and will fight for:

• I believe in a Just Transition that makes workers whole, training them to transition into cleaner jobs with pay that does not harm them economically but sets them up for the new normal that is happening right now. 
• I believe in using cleaner ways to do business starting with the ways that are already in place that we have the infrastructure for here in Colorado. I also believe in those jobs being brought up to a a just wage for our workforce to keep not just stable but make workers and their families stronger.
• I believe i people over profits. If we are not well or dead we therefore can not enjoy the fruits of our labor and sacrifice.
• I believe that in a strong climate where i can breath and have quality of life. 
• I believe in clean water and clean air.

I will fight for:

• Policy that has front end and back end accountability  that protects our communities for a stronger Colorado.
• Policy that provides more funding for education on the harmful toxins  and make funding a priority for CDPHE so that their programs that educate the community do not continue to be cut .
• Policy that protects wildlife.