It's Finally Infrastructure Week!

After the previous president tried to launch "Infrastructure Week" more than 200 times, President Biden did what Trump was unable to do -- pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill! (Be sure to mention that to your conservative uncle during the holidays)

Yup! It's true -- on Saturday, the U.S. House passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package that the Senate passed in August (thanks in large part to the leadership of Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet!).

The bill passed with House Democratic AND Republican support, with all four of Colorado's Democratic house members voting yes!

Unsurprisingly, Colorado Republicans Lauren Boebert, Ken Buck, and Doug Lamborn all opposed this generational infrastructure package.

What's in the bill for Colorado?

• $3.7 billion to improve highways and $225 million for bridge replacement and repairs over five years.
• $916 million over five years to improve public transportation options across the state.
• A minimum of $100 million to help provide broadband coverage across Colorado, including providing access to the at least 85,000 Coloradans who currently lack it.
• 1,282,000 (or 22% of) Coloradans will also be eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will help low-income families afford internet access. 
• $688 million over five years to improve water infrastructure across the state and ensure that clean, safe drinking water is a right in all communities.
• $35 million over five years to protect against wildfires. 
• $57 over five years to support the expansion of an EV charging network in the state. We in Colorado will also have the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to EV charging in the bill.
• $16 million to protect against cyberattacks.
• $432 million over five years to improve Colorado airports.

#DemsDeliver -- click here to share the good news on Facebook!

Make sure your friends and family know that when they see construction projects, more access to broadband, improved public transportation, better clean water infrastructure, and even more EV charging stations... Thank a Democrat!

Looking Back on 2021... And Ahead to 2022!

Team, we don't have to tell you that last Tuesday didn't go the way we at Team Blue wanted. But, looking at Virginia and New Jersey AND here in Colorado, there's a lot of good lessons to take away from the results, and important notes to keep in mind among the media chatter.

DON'T BELIEVE THE MEDIA HYPE.

Have you noticed that reporters have been calling Virginia's Republican win a landslide, while calling Democratic Governor Phil Murphy's re-election win in New Jersey a squeaker?

What if we told you that Governor Murphy by won more votes than Republican Governor-elect Youngkin did? It's true! Youngkin beat Democrat Terry McAuliffe by 63,557 votes, while Governor Murphy beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli (who has refused to concede) by 71,006 votes.

The point? National media wants to bury Democrats' 2022 chances before elections are even held. Don't buy into the gloom and doom -- let's dust ourselves off and get to work to defend Colorado's progress in 2022!

Let's be clear though -- 2022 is going to be a battle for democracy, and Colorado Dems need to be ready!

2021 was a reminder that none of our hard fought seats are guaranteed to stay blue. We saw a flood of Republican dark money infiltrate seats from Virginia, to school board elections across the country, and in local municipal campaigns like in Aurora. New Jersey still saw a 15 point shift to Republicans, which would be enough to wipe out our majorities in Colorado.

So, if you haven't already, be sure to check out our 2022 statewide candidates' pages, and see how you can help get them re-elected!

So let's get ready for a hell of an election in 2022. If you haven't done so already, click here to sign up for our talent bank.

If you are already signed up, share the talent bank with your friends and encourage them to get off the sidelines and get involved -- because democracy is at stake.

2021 Wins!

As you likely saw, one of the big pieces of news out of Colorado was that the GOP's two statewide ballot measures to put red tape around government (Amendment 78) and give tax cuts to the wealthy (Proposition 120) failed resoundingly! Additionally, the backdoor voucher program (Proposition 119) that we officially opposed also failed. Big wins for public education and against Republican attempts to play sore-loser politics on ballot measures.

Additionally, we saw a number of Democratic victories (and a number of Dems are currently in the lead) in local races across the state -- even in places where Democrats don't typically win!

Here are just some of the notable wins:

• Arvada City Council: Lisa Burns Smith (At-Large) and Randy Moorman (D1)
• Brighton City Council: Matt Johnston (Ward 1)
• Centennial City Council: Tammy Maurer (District 2) and Marlo Alston (District 4)
• Aurora City Council: Crystal Murillo (Ward 1) and Ruben Medina (Ward 3)
• Pitkin County (Aspen 1) School Board: Christa Gieszl, Stacey Weiss, and Susan Zimet
• Montrose County RE-1J School Board: Alice Murphy (District B), Sarah Fishering (District E), and Eric Kelley (District F)
• Delta County 50(J) School Board: Jennifer McGavin
• Northglenn City Council: Jay Michael Jaramillo (Ward 2), Julie Duran Mullica (Ward 3) and Jenny Willford (Ward 4)
• Alamosa City Council: Ty Coleman (Mayor) and Jan Vigil (At-Large)
• Littleton City Council: Kyle Schlacter (Mayor) and Gretchen Rydin (At-Large)
• Broomfield City Council: Guyleen Castriotta (Mayor), James Marsh-Holschen (Ward 1), Austin Ward (Ward 2), Deven Shaff (Ward 3), Bruce Harper Leslie (Ward 4), and Todd Cohen (Ward 5)
• Cañon City Council: Emily Tracy (At-Large) and Andrea Stein (D1)
• Walsenburg City Council: Veronica Maes (Ward 1), Carmen Lara (Ward 2), and Rick Jennings (Ward 3)
• Jefferson County R-1 School Board: Paula Reed, Mary Parker, and Danielle Varda
• Lakewood City Council: Jeslin Shahrezaei, Sophia Mayott-Guerrero, Rebekah Stewart
• Pueblo City Council: Sarah Martinez (D3), Vicente Martinez Ortega (D4), Dennis Flores (At-Large), and Thomas Autobee (Board of Water Works)

Additionally, as far as good news goes, a number of counties (including redder counties, from Mesa to Morgan County) voted 'Yes' to increase revenue for public schools! Here are some of those districts:

• Peyton School District #23 Jt
• North Park Schools R-1
• Harrison School District
• West Grand School District 1-Jt
• Park County RE-2
• Roaring Fork SD RE-1
• Dolores County RE-2J
• Rocky Ford R-2
• Ridgway R-2
• Wiggins School District
• Morgan County School District Re-3
• East Grand S.D.

Colorado Conversations

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11 @ 6:00PM

Virtual Town Hall on Affordable Housing!

The rising cost of housing and living has real-world consequences. Here in Colorado, we're seeing the price of owning and renting homes increasing, and as a result, too many families are either living in constant fear of eviction or facing the reality of becoming homeless. Ultimately, what can be done to address this complex problem?

In this edition of Colorado Conversations, we speak with elected officials, policy experts, and Coloradans who have either faced down or experienced homelessness. Joining us as moderator is Cathy Alderman, the Chief Communications and Public Policy Officer of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

Sign up today to join us on Thursday, November 11, 2021 for this needed discussion on a critical issue facing our state and our country.

Keeping Up With #coleg

Did you know that the Colorado legislature stays busy, even when they are not in session?

It's true! Colorado Democrats in the State Legislature have a number of interim committees that they serve on to continue to deliver for the people of our state! Check out these interim committees, and be sure to follow along with their work online!

• Affordable Housing Transformational Task Force
• Pension Review Subcommittee
• Behavioral Health Transformational Task Force
• Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force
• Colorado Youth Advisory Council Committee
• Statewide Health Care Review Committee
• Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission
• Task Force on Economic Recovery and Relief Cash Fund
• Legislative Interim Committee on School Finance
• Transportation Legislation Review Committee
• Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning Tax Policy & Task Force
• Water Resources Review Committee
• Pension Review Commission
• Wildfire Matters Review Committee

Join the Defenders of Democracy!

If 2021 showed us anything, it's that we are no longer a party divided between liberals and conservatives. We are divided between people who are pro-democracy, and people who are anti-democracy.

Anti-democracy Republicans in Colorado are desperate to claw back power, and they'll say and do anything to make it happen. They have dark money, but we have you. Will you become a Defender of Democracy by giving $5 a month?

Monthly donations enable us to be able to plan our budget ahead of time and ensure that we can pay our organizers and staffers to continue to defend democracy. Monthly donors empower us to plan our budget, and they ensure that we can fully fund our 2022 Win Plan.

Will you become a Defender of Democracy and chip-in just $5 a month?

The 2022 Obama Gala Awards!

It's that time! Time to nominate your favorite Democrats to be honored at the 2022 Obama Gala!

As you know, every year at our annual Obama Gala, we take time to celebrate Colorado Democrats from all across the state to honor them for their achievements and contributions to our great state! So the nomination period for the 2022 Obama Gala Awards is officially open!

Nominations can be made for any one, or all of the following:

• Democrat of the Year
• Outreach Award
• Rising Star Award
• Rural Outreach Award
• Volunteer of the Year Award
• Murphy Roberts Award (Young Volunteer of the Year)
• Tech Volunteer Award
• Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Each award will have a brief description in the nomination form. Please include who you are nominating and provide reasons and examples of why you are nominating them!

The nomination period will be closed on Wednesday, December 1, 2021 @ 5:00PM MT.

Thank You Tyler! Welcome Aron!

First, the sad news...

We are saddened to report that our fabulous State Field and Training Director, Tyler McDermott, will be leaving Team CDP in pursuit of other endeavors. For those of you who are longtime readers, we know that we cannot say enough good things about Tyler and all the incredible work he has accomplished here at the CDP.

Born and raised on the Western Slope, Tyler is an organizing machine whose Ted Lasso-like optimism has earned him fans from all across the state. We can comfortably say that it's thanks to Tyler and his organizing efforts that Democrats have the voter registration advantage in Colorado that we enjoy today! Join us in thanking Tyler for all of his incredible work and his contributions to the state of Colorado!

Now, the exciting news!

We are pumped to announce that our Regional Field Organizer, Aron Diaz, will take over Tyler's duties as State Field Director! Aron came to us, along with Berna Hostetter and Kevin Kuns, as regional field organizers early in the summer time to help us organize Democrats throughout the Western Slope and Southern Colorado!

Aron comes to us from Garfield County and has experience working with various elected officials, on local campaigns, and local ballot measures. He has been an organizing rockstar for the CDP in the field, and we are so excited for Aron to take on this new role in the field team as we work to build our organizing game in 2022!

David's Messaging Minute!

Hey folks! Jacobin Magazine collaborated with YouGov to survey working-class voting behavior in the United States. The work was done in conjunction with the newly formed Center for Working-Class Politics.

They have some interesting messaging guidance, and I wanted to share with you!

• Working-class voters prefer progressive candidates who focus primarily on bread-and-butter economic issues, and who frame those issues in universal terms. This is especially true outside deep-blue parts of the country. Candidates who prioritized bread-and-butter issues (jobs, health care, the economy), and presented them in plainspoken, universalist rhetoric, performed significantly better than those who had other priorities or used other language. This general pattern was even more dramatic in rural and small-town areas, where Democrats have struggled in recent years.
• Populist, class-based progressive campaign messaging appeals to working-class voters at least as well as mainstream Democratic messaging. Candidates who named elites as a major cause of America’s problems, invoked anger at the status quo, and celebrated the working class were well received among working-class voters — even when tested against more moderate strains of Democratic rhetoric.
• Progressives do not need to surrender questions of social justice to win working-class voters, but certain identity-focused rhetoric is a liability. Potentially Democratic working-class voters did not shy away from progressive candidates or candidates who strongly opposed racism. But candidates who framed that opposition in highly specialized, identity-focused language fared significantly worse than candidates who embraced either populist or mainstream language.
• Working-class voters prefer working-class candidates. A candidate’s race or gender is not a liability among potentially Democratic working-class voters. However, a candidate’s upper-class background is a major liability. Class background matters.
• Working-class nonvoters are not automatic progressives. We find little evidence that low-propensity voters fail to vote because they don’t see sufficiently progressive views reflected in the political platforms of mainstream candidates.
• Blue-collar workers are especially sensitive to candidate messaging — and respond even more acutely to the differences between populist and “woke” language. Primarily manual blue-collar workers, in comparison with primarily white-collar workers, were even more drawn to candidates who stressed bread-and-butter issues, and who avoided activist rhetoric.

And remember...

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