PLATFORM
My priorities are
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Affordable, sustainable Housing
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Safety and Security
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Access to mental healthcare
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Liveable Wage
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Women's access to healthcare
LIST OF ISSUES
Education
Quality public education is a hallmark of democracy. Our young people must learn the unfiltered history of the U.S. with all its blemishes in order that we not hide them from the truth. They will need to know this in order to find solutions to the complicated social problems facing our country. Mesa County Valley School District is one of the lowest funded districts in Colorado. We have a large number of students living below the poverty line. Our county must find solutions that guarantee adequate salaries to pay talented teachers, teachers’ aides, and other staff to assist in crowded classrooms. Our school district has a 15% Latino population but 24% Latino student population. The Latino population has a lower proficiency level in math at 15% upon reaching HS than the “white” student population; 21% vs 37% in reading proficiency Hispanics to Whites (https://www.univstats.com/k-12/colorado/mesa-county-valley-school-district-51/ ). The proficiency exception in our district is the DIA program. . .
Having a 33% English-learner student population has contributed to success of the Dual Immersion Academy which has a 73% performance rating compared to much lower success rates throughout the district under traditions ESL models. How can our district grow the DIA program? Latino parents are interested in academic success: 73% of the Latino parents in the state of Colorado surveyed are concerned for their ability to prepare themselves and their children for college (https://coloradolatinopolicyagenda.org/). We must look to proven methods, like the dual-immersion model, if we want all our students to be successful.
43.7%
30.0%
Diversity
The largest minority in our community are the Latinos which is a very diverse group. There are Latinos who self-identify as having lived in CO for multiple generations including the settlers in the San Luis Valley who have resided here from colonial times; the “Hispanos” who migrated here from New Mexico to work the sugar beets 100 years ago; and more recent arrivals. Many have established small businesses in construction, food services, etc. as well as working in other sectors including agriculture, education, finance, healthcare, etc.
In the early 2000’s I helped establish the Dual Immersion Academy, DIA in Mesa County Valley School District 51 because I understand the importance of valuing the multi-culturalism in our community. DIA is currently the most sought-after program in our school district as well as the most successful in student achievement. I will seek ways to support that program.
Housing
Like other communities in the country, Mesa County is experiencing a housing crisis. Large majorities feel that the state needs to take measures to provide affordable housing. Mesa county should explore a private-public collaboration to solve this issue. Instead of gobbling up valuable farmland for housing developments, Mesa County needs to in-fill and explore mixed zoning and become less automobile dependent. Owning one’s home is the most important means of growing one’s assets. We must find ways to help young people enter the housing market.
Healthcare
Is another high priority according to surveys. Given the consolidation of healthcare under for-profit models, and the difficulty attracting skilled medical professionals to rural areas, once again, local governments must explore ways to bridge the gap through grants to develop less expensive clinics.
Agriculture
The Mesa County Strategic Plan talks about preservation of our agricultural economy as another priority, yet farmland is disappearing as new developments continue to erode this resource of our county. This tendency in Mesa County is perceived as the County not enforcing the development buffer zone between Fruita and GJ and GJ and Palisade. Agricultural producers are aging, and many don’t have heirs to leave their farms to. We must explore possible means to guarantee a retirement income for farmers other than selling their assets to developers and keep their land producing by means of trusts and funding to help get young farmers onto the land. Measures to safeguard our water include covering the canals. Successful Agricultural production means developing local processing facilities: more commercial kitchen space, more packaging and ways for value-added products to be produced and a local meat processing operation.
Environment:
Our county encompasses large swaths of BLM land and National Forest Land. We must protect these area resource and avoid any push to have the County take it over or privatize it. The importance of these federal lands for recreation as well as its their importance for animal grazing for our agricultural sector as well as their standing as a natural reminder for us all of the Native American communities whose traditional lands we now occupy.