Voces Unidas Action Fund today endorsed 8 candidates for the State Legislature and Municipal offices who we believe are best aligned with our values and mission.
In making these endorsements, Voces Unidas Action Fund reviewed candidates’ histories of professional and public service and responses to our online questionnaire to weigh whose vision and plans would best help them champion and deliver on our policy priorities.
“From positions on affordable housing and health care access and affordability to fighting for immigrant issues, small businesses, and the environment, we believe these candidates are poised to deliver justice-centered results for Latinas and Latinos in the region,” said Alex Sánchez, the founder and CEO of Voces Unidas Action Fund, a Latino-led advocacy organization based in Glenwood Springs. “Voters can be confident that these candidates will put the issues impacting our community throughout the central mountains and across the Western Slope at the forefront of their work as public servants.”
For June 28 state legislative primaries, endorsed candidates are:
Democrat Elizabeth Velasco for House District 57, a newly drawn Democratic-leaning district that includes all or parts of Garfield, Eagle, and Pitkin counties
Democrat Meghan Lukens for House District 26, which includes all or parts of Moffat, Rio Blanco, Routt, and Eagle counties and is among the most competitive districts in the state
Democrat Julie McCluskie for House District 13, which includes Jackson, Grand, Summit, Lake, Park, and Chaffee counties and is also among the most competitive districts in the state
Democrat Dylan Roberts for Senate District 8, which covers all or parts of Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Routt, Eagle, Jackson, Grand, Summit, Gilpin, and Clear Creek counties. SD8 is expected to be one of the most competitive seats in Colorado this fall and the outcome could determine which party controls the upper chamber.
For April 5 municipal elections, endorsed candidates are:
Caitlin Carey for Town Council, Town of New Castle
Luis Yllanes for Board of Trustees, Town of Carbondale
Colin Quinn for Board of Trustees, Town of Carbondale
Ben Bohmfalk for Mayor, Town of Carbondale
They join Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in earning our endorsement for elections in 2022.
ENDORSED LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATE HIGHLIGHTS
Elizabeth Velasco’s election would be historic, as she would be the first Latina Representative from the Western Slope to serve in the Legislature. Elizabeth is the daughter of two first-generation immigrants and a small business owner of a company that focuses on language justice. If elected, she is committed to championing environmental justice policies, improving access to higher education for Latino students, and fighting to make our communities more affordable in HD-57.
Julie McCluskie has served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives. Her track record has focused on fighting for Latino and immigrant communities by sponsoring legislation that expands healthcare coverage to more undocumented families and increases access to colleges and universities for undocumented students.
Meghan Lukens is a public school teacher that grew up in Routt County. If elected, she will prioritize fighting the high cost of living in her district, fully funding public schools, and increasing the state minimum wage.
Dylan Roberts has served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives, where he’s developed a track record as one of the most effective lawmakers in the state. 70 of his sponsored bills have passed, which have focused on protecting our clean water, reducing health insurance costs, and fighting for working families and small businesses.
ENDORSED MUNICIPAL CANDIDATE HIGHLIGHTS
Caitlin Carey is a previously endorsed Voces Unidas candidate who supports appointing more Latinos into municipal boards and commissions, fighting to decrease the cost of living in New Castle, and protecting our water and public lands.
Luis Yllanes is a nonprofit executive who has served one term on the Carbondale Town Council. If re-elected, Luis will prioritize making housing more affordable for Carbondale's Latino community.
Colin Quinn is an ecologist who will fight to make the cost of living in Carbondale more affordable and increase childcare access to our Latino community.
Ben Bohmfalk is one of the longest serving policy makers on the Carbondale Board of Trustees. If elected mayor, he will use this experience to fight for policies that make housing more affordable and increase civic participation amongst our Spanish-speaking, starting with translating all municipal communications.
Candidates are free to highlight our endorsement in their campaign communications and our support will be shared with our members and supporters.
Voces Unidas Action Fund engages voters throughout the central mountains and looks forward to beginning that work for the 2022 elections in the days and weeks ahead.
We are planning on engaging more than 8,000 Latino voters during the municipal races in April and the primaries in June. During the general election, our fieldwork will include Summit, Lake, Eagle, Pitkin and Garfield counties to ensure that Latino voters turn out to vote.
After the primary, there will still be opportunities for other candidates and campaigns hoping to earn our endorsement to respond to our 2022 election questionnaire. Upcoming deadlines are:
July 13: Candidates appearing in the November 2022 general election
Sep. 30: Statewide and local initiatives on the November 2022 general election ballot.
Learn more about our electoral work at www.vocesunidasaction.org/elections.