Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist, state Senate President James Coleman and state Sen. Matt Ball at a town hall in Denver.
Bagels and politics were on the agenda for a town hall in northeast Denver on Saturday morning featuring Colorado legislators, community advocates, and other leaders.
Community members filled a room at the Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center in Park Hill to hear about the priorities of state Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist, state Sen. President James Coleman and state Sen. Matt Ball, all Democrats.
After they greeted community members, the officials told the crowd they are working hard to protect Colorado from the impact of changes at the federal level.
“We’re concerned about health care, we’re concerned about education, we’re concerned about higher ed, we’re concerned about Social Security and all these different pieces and more—immigration, civil rights, and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion]. This week, we get ready to go back to the Capitol and discuss our budget and funding,” Coleman said.
State Senate President James Coleman.
He acknowledged that cuts would need to be made at the state level, but “hopefully not the kind of cuts that negatively impact us across the board. In education for our kids and in healthcare—these are top priorities for us. Something that’s not a top priority for us is how your portrait looks in the capital,” he added.
Gilchrist agreed the state needs to be proactive about policies from the federal level; federal workers losing their jobs, protecting the migrant community, DEI, and support for LGBTQ+ communities.
“Diversity, equity, inclusion is one of the best parts of this state, and we’re not going to back away from that. And, protecting our LGBTQ+ community, particularly our trans community [is important]. Our trans kids are getting attacked at every stage. I’ve sat through horrific hearings on anti-trans bills, and we just won’t allow it,” Gilchrist said.
In January, Ball was appointed to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Chris Hansen. He said his No. 1 focus is on mental health care. As a veteran, Ball said he has struggled with his own mental health and called the current situation in Colorado a crisis.
The problem, Ball said, is with TABOR, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. “We don’t have enough money to pay for good mental health services. We need to get rid of it. And I am at the capital in part because I want to push our state forward.”
Matt Ball talks to the town hall crowd about mental health in Colorado.
TABOR is an amendment to the state constitution that limits government revenue and requires voter approval for tax increases, with any excess revenue returned to taxpayers. It was mentioned several times at the town hall as a roadblock to state funding needs.
Gilchrist called it a self-inflicted problem. “TABOR is still popular, and people like getting their checks after tax season. We have the money to invest in our communities, and we need to make the connection of why we have a budget shortfall, and we pay for it in other ways.”
Gilchrist thinks people need to be aware of the impact of TABOR, and the impact it has on K–12 education. “We have to invest more in the kids, and so I think we’re at a tipping point,” she added.
Coleman called on the crowd to help with sharing accurate information about the impact of what’s happening in the country, the state, and the city. He said the biggest mistake elected leaders can make is thinking they need to do the work by themselves.
“How in the world did they get all those people to show up in Washington, D.C., during the civil rights movement? No social media. Let me text you? That didn’t exist,” Coleman said.
“We should be knocking on doors right now to inform you about what it is we’re doing, because there’s some people who can’t make it to this meeting, so a big part of it is to make sure that we equip you all and ask you all for help to help us get the message out,” he added.
Representatives from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment; One Colorado, an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization; and the Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition, were at the town hall to share their work for communities in the city and state and to support people losing jobs, the LGBTQ+ community, and the immigrant community.
Jax Gozalez, political director at One Colorado, said: “It is literally our job as the advocacy organizations to get you information about what’s happening. Find the organization, find your people that are literally getting paid every day to follow along what’s happening and figure out how to communicate it out to the community so that it’s not legal jargon. We’re helping you advocate at the state and local level.“
Jax Gonzalez, political director of One Colorado.
Gilchrist, Coleman, and Ball all asked people to use resources available and to reach out to their offices if they’re experiencing any issues.
In response to an audience question about how to unite people, Ball also encouraged the crowd to reach out and connect with other people.
“I think after 2016, when Trump won the first time, there was so much shock that I heard a lot of people talking about how they were connecting with members of their family to try to understand where they were coming from. I hear a little bit less about that now. I think part of that reason is because we’re playing so much defense, but I still think it’s important,” Ball said.
He said he’ll be hosting Republican legislators from other parts of the state in Denver to show them what’s important to people in the city and he’ll travel to listen and learn about people in other parts of the state.
Gilchrist added that people want to feel inspired and hopeful again about government. “The Democratic Party hasn’t focused as much on the freedom part of things, but I think this is the perfect time to do this. What we are experiencing right now is not freedom. We are all feeling beaten down. Our communities are feeling the opposite of free…We can feel free again. We can feel we can fight for justice for all our population. I think that’s incredibly important.”
At the end of the town hall, people mingled, talked and connected, and agreed on the need to keep showing up. Central Park resident Liz Stalnaker said staying informed is key and exhausting.
“I feel like I have this personality, supporting my kids and my family and leading together… “to save the world?” Front Porch asked.” “Yes,” Stalnaker said, advocating “showing up, paying attention, finding ways to get involved, then finding ways to stay involved that are sustainable.”
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