What an honor it is to be elected to serve as the newly elected Democratic leader of the Colorado Senate. I happily join 16 other Democrats who make up the Senate Minority.
For some, being in the “minority” might mean that nothing can truly be accomplished; or that to strive for the ideals in which we believe is too difficult. But this is a dim view of our potential. Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Our Senate caucus shares the hopes of Coloradans who want to be confident that their government is acting in their best interests. While Colorado has experienced an unrivaled economic recovery following the Great Recession, too many Coloradans who work hard and play by the rules are still struggling to feel the recovery in their own lives.
Our members personally know the stories of rural Coloradans who want and deserve fair access to health care. Being in the “minority” does not diminish the impact of the costs of utility rate hikes, nor does it dampen the desire of a young man, born and raised in Western Colorado, who wants to find a job in his hometown near his family, but cannot — even after earning a college degree — because of a lack of infrastructure to support diverse and long-term job growth.
It is astounding to me that a single mother, raising children on her own and continuing to work full-time to support her family, still struggles to get by. Despite her gumption and work ethic, she still unfairly makes less on average than her male colleagues for doing the same work. A young college graduate entering the workforce today is making substantially less at their first job than those with similar degrees who graduated a decade ago.
Our Senate caucus puts children and families at the top of our many priorities. We owe children not only well-paid teachers, but also the best trained educators. Many of our caucus members are former teach-ers and principals. They know we must give our teachers room to do what they do best: teach.
To do this, we are determined to set a statewide goal to provide every Coloradan with access to broad-band service regardless of where families choose to live. To prepare our young adults for a globally competitive job market, no school in Colorado should be without broadband. Similarly, no hospital in Colorado should be without broadband services. This will help our state ease the burden and costs of travel to faraway treatment centers if care can be provided remotely.
Though we are in the minority, our ideas appeal to and impact the majority of Coloradans. Coloradans want fair wages across all industries. We support small businesses, which ensure good jobs for our communities. Though we are in the minority, we will never shrink from our responsibility to be faithful stewards of and protectors of our environment and public lands, which provide billions of dollars of tax revenue to Coloradans, as well as maintain our quality of life that we hold so dear.
I look forward to strengthening our ties with our colleagues across the aisle. Yes, we are different from each other. But the only way for Coloradans to believe that their government is working on their behalf is to find common-sense solutions to our greatest challenges together.
State Sen. Lucía Guzmán is a Democrat.
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