Democrat Rogene Kirkegaard (left) and Republican Rune Martin (right) hold signs as part of their political protest along Quebec Street in Denver. The pair organized the event outside their assisted living center to show that even though they’re seniors, and from different political parties, they have a voice.
Rune Martin and Rogene Kirkegaard are a political power couple. Previously, the two seniors have traveled to downtown Denver for a protest, but on June 13, they organized their fellow residents at the Brookdale Lowry senior living center to take to the streets—in this case, Quebec Street near their home.
A group of seniors who live at Brookdale Lowry senior living center, along with family and friends, made their voices heard about concerns over federal cuts to programs that impact them. The handmade signs were created in part by Rogene Kirkegaard, one of the event organizers.
“We want to be seen, and we want to be heard. We may be seniors, but we have a voice,” Martin said. “We have friends here who are 70, 80, and 90 years old who feel like I do, that things are going wrong. They want to do something. They’re in wheelchairs, with canes, can’t hardly move, and we’re still out here.”
The idea for this “No Kings” protest and march came from Martin after he watched a television news report about seniors in New York holding a similar event. He told Kirkegaard, “Why don’t you and I do that ourselves?” From there, he said, the idea took off with full support from the Brookdale staff.
He’s a lifelong Republican and she’s a lifelong Democrat.
“Somehow we get along,” Kirkegaard said. “If you know this lady, it doesn’t make a difference,” Martin added.
“We need the Democrats, and we need the Republicans,” he said. “You need the two parties always, because you must have cooperation. Cooperation leads to us having a great, great country. If we don’t have cooperation, all we have is hatred.”
Rune Martin and Rogene Kirkegaard talk to a group of family, friends, and supporters before their protest began outside Brookdale Lowry.
The two talked about their spouses, who both died while in memory care. The threat of cuts to federal funding for medical research is one of the issues they’re worried about.
“When you take away the investigation into diseases and the research, you can’t even recover it,” Kirkegaard warned.
They also talked about their concerns for the Social Security and Medicaid programs.
Following a news conference where they spoke to family members, friends, and staff, the activists walked and rolled to the sidewalk along Quebec Street carrying signs made in part by Kirkegaard.
They waved to passing cars and cheered loudly when drivers honked their horns.
Martin, soon to be 91, left the group for a time and stood alone at the corner. A speaker on the shelf of his walker played patriotic music. The walker was covered in “I Voted” stickers.
He said that even if no one else had joined them, he and Kirkegaard would have been out there protesting—just the two of them. “That would be OK,” he said.
“We would walk. If we couldn’t get anybody else, we would,” Kirkegaard added.
Martin acknowledged that many of his fellow residents probably didn’t know the event was happening or might be unaware of political news overall. But he said he’s proud that “a lot of us are very patriotic.”
Protest signs were carried by the seniors who joined the event. Staff members also supported the activists by providing water on a hot afternoon.
A Brookdale staff member said the hope was to get 20 people out there to join the pair, but perhaps the timing of the protest during a Friday afternoon karaoke happy hour kept a few people inside on an 85-degree Denver day.
Front Porch photos by Christie Gosch
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