The sixth of seven children, Julie was born on the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona and raised in the borderlands of south Texas. Her mom, Gloria, was an elementary school teacher and her dad, Mario, was a rancher. Together, they taught Julie the value of hard work, honesty, and the importance of lifting as we climb. Julie’s organizing career began while a student at Yale University. In 2005, she organized a 58-member coalition of working-class families, unions, community organizations, and environmental activists to ensure that tax dollars were spent on affordable housing, a clean environment, and jobs that paid a living wage.
My fiancé Ben and I are a one-car family, and just like every other resident in SD34, we can attest that traffic in Colorado is out of control! Solely expanding highways that cut into historical low-income neighborhoods, pollute our air, and degrade the health of our communities is not going to magically solve our gridlock problems. It’s high time that we build a 21st-century transportation system so that Coloradans are not spending half of our lives stuck in traffic.
Public transportation also means economic freedom. Colorado must prioritize systems that give residents affordable, convenient options. We need to expand light rail, dedicated bus lanes, and bike lanes. We also have to make housing more affordable so that families can live in the communities that they work. All these things will make us a smarter and more efficient city and state.