Colorado Working Families Party Announces Endorsements for the General Election

DENVER (September 14, 2022) —The Colorado Working Families Party today announced its candidate endorsements and ballot measure positions for the November general election. 

“This year’s election is as important as any other and every seat matters,” said Colorado Working Families Party State Director Wendy Howell. “We’ve seen Republicans across the country try to use offices to undermine and suppress the will of the people and in other races, corporate Democrats do the bidding of big money over their constituents. We’re happy to be backing another strong slate of progressives who are ready to fight for a Colorado that works for us all up and down the ballot.”

Matthew Martinez, candidate for House District 62, echoed the sentiments about fighting for the needs of the Centennial State’s working families. 

“I’m very happy to be endorsed by the Working Families Party,” Martinez said. “In the San Luis Valley, we know what it means to work hard to support our families and our community – and we know that everyone should be treated fairly and have real opportunities to get ahead. Those values are deeply aligned with WFP, and I look forward to working with them on this campaign and in the legislature.”

Sen. Tammy Story, candidate for House District 25, one of the most competitive House districts in the general election, also shared why the WFP endorsement is meaningful to her campaign.

“In Colorado, we know that working people and small businesses are the engines that drive our economy,” Story said. “That’s why I’m proud to be endorsed by the Working Families Party, which works to ensure that those who work hard and build our communities are treated with respect and have the opportunity and tools they need to build a good life.”

Full slate of new general election endorsements:

Colorado House

  • Steven Woodrow, HD2
  • Meg Froelich, HD3
  • Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, HD4
  • Jennifer Bacon, HD7
  • Junie Joseph, HD10
  • Jennifer Parenti, HD19
  • Monica Duran, HD23
  • Tammy Story, HD25
  • Brianna Titone, HD27
  • Jenny Willford, HD34
  • Andrew Boesenecker, HD53
  • Matthew Martinez, HD62

Colorado Senate

  • Tony Exum, SD11
  • Faith Winter, SD25
  • Robert Rodriguez, SD32 

Arapahoe

  • Leslie Summey, Commissioner Dist. 4
  • Michael Westerberg, Treasurer 

Boulder

  • Ashley Stolzmann, Commissioner Dist. 3

El Paso

  • John Jarrell, Commissioner Dist. 5

Saguache

  • Liza Marron, Commissioner Dist. 3

These candidates join the following, who were endorsed earlier this year, for a total of forty-one (41) WFP endorsed candidates in the 2022 general election in Colorado: Jena Griswold, Secretary of State; David Young, State Treasurer; David Torres, US House, District 5; Javier Mabrey, Colorado House, District 1; Elisabeth Epps, Colorado House, District 6; Emily Sirota, Colorado House, District 9; Rob Rogers, Colorado House, District 14; Stephanie Vigil, Colorado House, District 16; Said Sharbini, Colorado House, District 31; Mike Weissman, Colorado House, District 36; Iman Jodeh, Colorado House, District 41; Mandy Lindsey, Colorado House, District 42; Elizabeth Velasco, Colorado House, District 57; Eliza Hamrick, Colorado House, District 61; Jeff Ravage, Colorado Senate, District 4; Julie Gonzales, Colorado Senate, District 34; Joseph Shelton, State Board of Education, Congressional District 5; Rhonda Solis, State Board of Education, Congressional District 8; Emma Pinter, Adams County Commissioner, District 3; Jessica Campbell-Swanson, Arapahoe County Commissioner, District 2; and Amanda Gonzalez, Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder.

Additionally, Colorado Working Families Party adopted the following positions on state and local ballot measures:

LocalityBallot/ Initiative #DescriptionCO-WFP Position
StatewideAmendment DNew 23rd Judicial District JudgesYES
StatewideAmendment EExtend Homestead Exemption To Gold Star SpousesYES
StatewideProposition 121State Income Tax Rate ReductionNO
StatewideProposition 123Dedicated State Income Tax Revenue for Affordable Housing ProgramsYES
StatewideProposition 126Third-Party Delivery of Alcohol BeveragesNO
StatewideProposition FFHealthy Meals For All Public School StudentsYES
StatewideProposition GGAmount Of Tax Owed Table For InitiativesYES
Boulder CityBallot Issue 2AClimate TaxYES
Boulder CityBallot Issue 2BApproving Issuance of Bonds to be Paid from Climate TaxYES
Boulder CityBallot Question 2CRepeal of Library Commission and Tax if Library District CreatedYES
Boulder CityBallot Question 2DCharter Clarification of Candidate IssuesYES
Boulder CityBallot Question 2EChange Regular Municipal Election to Even YearsYES
Boulder County6CLibrary District Formation and Mill Levy Tax and Revenue ChangeYES
Colorado SpringsI0 2022-002AAllow recreational marijuana salesYES
Denver305Waste No MoreYES
Denver306No Eviction Without RepresentationYES
Denver307Denver Deserves SidewalksYES
Denver22-0875Change to Election ProceduresYES
Fort Collins2CRanked Choice Voting in Municipal ElectionsYES

The Working Families Party is a progressive grassroots political party building a multiracial, multigenerational, and feminist movement of working people to transform America. In the last year, the Working Families Party waged a $2.5 million voter mobilization effort in Georgia to elect Raphael Warnock to the Senate, helped elect WFP champions Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones in heavily-contested Congressional races, drove a wave of victories for progressives in Rhode Island, shook up the New Mexico Democratic establishment with progressive victories under the banner of “No Corporate Dems,” elected a diverse slate of progressives in Delaware, and helped create the most progressive NY state legislature in decades by winning thirty-three state legislative primaries. Since launching a state chapter in Colorado in 2017, WFP has played a key role in winning paid family leave and a ban on predatory payday lending, has helped to flip the majority of the CU Board of Regents, and has worked to successfully elect dozens of bold progressives to state & local offices across the Centennial State.