Letters: 9/20/18

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Speak out for a better world

Have we made progress since “the world turned upside down” in 1968? (Re: “The long shadow of 1968,” The Anderson Files, Aug. 23, 2018) The generation that asked their government for a better world, mostly did so via protest. Now we work with our members of Congress to bring about change by peaceful means. Not that protests aren’t happening, but groups like RESULTS (results.org) are teaching citizens to speak out as activists for a better world. Currently RESULTS volunteers are working to get Congress to adopt the Senate version of the Farm Bill that protects SNAP (formerly food stamps), thus avoiding an unnecessary increase in hunger. Preventable deaths of millions of mothers and children in our world are also being addressed with the Reach Every Mother and Child Act. Since 1990, these deaths have been more than cut in half, the Reach Act will help bring an end to those deaths. Time to turn the world upside down in a positive way, using the spirit of 1968 to really make a difference with our calls, letters and visits to those who represent us in Congress.

Willie Dickerson/via internet

Supporting Sonya Jaquez Lewis for HD-12

We are writing to endorse Sonya Jaquez Lewis as Colorado House Representative for House District 12, Lafayette, Louisville and Longmont.

Sonya is a licensed health care professional and former Pharmacy Director of Colorado Medicaid, Colorado Access.

We believe Sonya will protect our environment and champion our Boulder County progressive values.

As an oil and gas impacted Coloradan, Sonya is not a newcomer to this issue. She has been threatened with the dangers of a large production pad 500 feet from her home. As a former member of the Boulder County Board of Health, she is deeply concerned that public health and citizen safety is not being used as a priority decision point in the fracking operations. This is why she supports Proposition 112, formerly known as Initiative 97, the 2,500-foot set-back requirement for oil and gas operations which will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. Sonya has been endorsed by Conservation Colorado, the largest environmental organization in the state.

As a licensed pharmacist, Sonya knows health care from the ground up. She is the only candidate who has worked as a frontline health care practitioner and as a policy maker. Sonya helped implement the statewide Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) program and associated mental health services. She is uniquely qualified to advocate for Medicare for all and for drug pricing transparency because she knows our healthcare system. Sonya is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and other health care and women’s organizations.

Sonya is not a one-issue candidate.

She has served and assisted working families in HD 12, who are struggling with affordable housing. During the catastrophic floods of 2013, through the Boulder County Board of Health, she worked to provide assistance to hundreds of families who lost their homes. She will keep working families in the forefront as shown by being the only candidate in the race endorsed by the AFL-CIO and the Boulder Area Labor Council.

And finally, as a Latina LGBTQ Coloradan, Sonya’s voice is needed more than ever today. She has a lifetime of experience in community organizing, building coalitions, and getting the job done. Whether it was working on voter registration drives in the South or marching with Dolores Huerta for DACA rights, she has always been a leader and part of the solution.

She is the voice our district needs today. This is why we are supporting Sonya Jaquez Lewis for Colorado House District 12!

Christine Berg, Mayor of Lafayette, and Bob Muckle, Mayor of Louisville