Climate action, abortion fuel forum discussion
During a candidate forum Saturday, there was little to no disagreement among the seven Democrats vying for the House District 10 seat that more needs to be done to protect abortion rights and the environment.
As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court having overturned Roe V. Wade in June, several of the candidates who participated Saturday advocated for stronger legal protections for women traveling across state lines to access abortion services in Colorado.
“(Protect) patients’ data privacy so nobody can be prosecuted for talking about their abortion plans on social media,” Tina Mueh, who previously served as a board member for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said of the additional protections for women she wanted implemented. “This might go without saying, but I don’t support any limits based on pregnancy duration or anything else on a person’s right to an abortion.”
The other candidates, like Mueh, wanted the state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature to continue to ensure that health care professionals who provide abortion services are also protected under the law and that they could not face criminal punishment from more-conservative states that have outlawed those services.
In April, Gov. Jared Polis signed into law the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which states that a woman has a fundamental right to an abortion and declared that a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent or derivative rights under state law.
“The Reproduction Health Equity Act … has to be moved into the Constitution so it can’t just be revoked as well, as we have leadership change,” said Xanthe Thomassen. “We need to vote candidates in that champion reproductive rights. That’s the only savior that we have.”
Saturday’s forum was hosted by the Boulder County Democratic Party and held remotely via Zoom.
Candidates had approximately two minutes each to answer the same questions that touched on a variety of subjects ranging from reproductive rights to climate action, education and homelessness.
“The best solution to homelessness is to prevent it,” Lynn Guissinger said, rattling off ideas such as allowing prospective tenants to pay their security deposits in monthly installments as opposed to all at once. “The state, I think, needs to be … continuing to offer additional rental assistance and vouchers for organizations that help with families, and individuals, to keep them in their houses.”
Boulder City Councilwoman Junie Joseph said that at one point in her life she was homeless and had it not been for the generosity of one of her friends she too “could have been sleeping on a bench at the bandshell or in a tent near the Boulder Creek.”
“If a friend can help change the trajectory of my life, so can systemic-government support,” Joseph said. “The state needs to further empower counties and cities financially and equip them with the tools to ensure that we close the gap between housing and jobs.”
In addition to providing local governments with more resources for homelessness, several candidates implored the Legislature to hold fossil-fuel companies more accountable for their pollutants, which often impact impoverished communities at a disproportionate rate.
Celeste Landry, who grew up in south Louisiana, cited areas like “Cancer Alley” where dozens of petrochemical plants and refineries operate between Baton Rouge and New Orleans along the Mississippi River, as one example of why state and local governments across the country needed stiffer environmental regulations.
“I’d like to broaden the discussion from just climate to encompass environmental justice,” Landry said. “Less wealthy communities bear the burden of our society’s needs or desires, and we need to work toward climate resilience in all communities.”
Public education was also touched on during Saturday morning’s candidate forum, with Jerry Greene advocating for shorter school days and more of a focus on core subjects.
“I don’t think we should be going to teachers and constantly saying you need to reform the way you teach. I think teachers have some autonomy,” Greene said. “Class shouldn’t start before nine o’clock in the morning and should end … somewhere around two.”
Toward the end of the two-hour-long Democratic forum, candidates had to respond to several questions with just one word — yes, no, or defer.
One of the yes-or-no questions asked by forum moderator Angel Sanchez was whether or not candidates supported the abolition of cash-bail in Colorado?
All of the candidates answered yes with the exception of Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, who deferred.
“Just to clarify, I do support the abolition of cash bail. You just have to get the details right as you’re doing it,” Brockett said in his closing comments Saturday.
Should he be elected to the House District 10 Seat, Brockett said, he would continue to advocate for Boulder’s “liberal and progressive values” in the state Legislature.
“The residents of HD 10 are my people,” Brockett said.
Prior to the redistricting process in 2021, House District 10 included the city of Boulder — primarily east of Broadway — as well as a small area of Gunbarrel. As part of redistricting, HD 10 lost most of Gunbarrel and added areas of Mapleton, University Hill and Table Mesa.