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Attorney Colin Wilhelm is running for a second time to represent District 57. He has a proven record of serving the people in his community with experience serving with Glenwood Springs government commissions and nonprofit boards. Wilhelm’s top concerns include expanding affordable health care options for his constituents and “diversifying” the local economy by bringing in new industries to the Western Slope such as renewable energy. He thinks the area needs legislation to better support the specific needs of the community, particularly the Hispanic and Latino populations. He is an advocate for protecting the environment, mental health care access, addressing the gender pay gap, and police reform.
Wilhelm is the progressive voter’s choice in this race.
He is facing incumbent Republican Perry Will in what has been described as “an uphill battle.” District 57 is a historically Republican seat, and Will has represented it since 2019. Will worked for the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife for 43 years, and his recent sponsored legislation has focused on natural resource management, fiscal policy, and transportation. He has voted against cutting greenhouse gasses, police reform, driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, and gun safety legislation. Will’s positions are likely to continue to impede progress in the Western Slope if he is reelected.Colin Wilhelm
Attorney Colin Wilhelm is running for a second time to represent District 57. He has a proven record of serving the people in his community with experience serving with Glenwood Springs government commissions and nonprofit boards.
Attorney Colin Wilhelm is running for a second time to represent District 57. He has a proven record of serving the people in his community with experience serving with Glenwood Springs government commissions and nonprofit boards. Wilhelm’s top concerns include expanding affordable health care options for his constituents and “diversifying” the local economy by bringing in new industries to the Western Slope such as renewable energy. He thinks the area needs legislation to better support the specific needs of the community, particularly the Hispanic and Latino populations. He is an advocate for protecting the environment, mental health care access, addressing the gender pay gap, and police reform.
Wilhelm is the progressive voter’s choice in this race.
He is facing incumbent Republican Perry Will in what has been described as “an uphill battle.” District 57 is a historically Republican seat, and Will has represented it since 2019. Will worked for the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife for 43 years, and his recent sponsored legislation has focused on natural resource management, fiscal policy, and transportation. He has voted against cutting greenhouse gasses, police reform, driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, and gun safety legislation. Will’s positions are likely to continue to impede progress in the Western Slope if he is reelected.Colin Wilhelm
Attorney Colin Wilhelm is running for a second time to represent District 57. He has a proven record of serving the people in his community with experience serving with Glenwood Springs government commissions and nonprofit boards.
Diane Mitsch Bush
Diane Mitsch Bush, a former state representative, is now running for Congress. She is a retired sociology professor and previous Routt County commissioner who has lived in the Western Slope — a part of Colorado’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District — for over 43 years. She previously ran for this seat in 2018, when she came closer to winning than any Democrat had in the three prior elections.
Colleagues from her other tenures have commended Mitsch Bush’s extreme attention to detail, her pragmatism, and her willingness to work with all sides. She has shown an ability to lead calmly through disasters, including the Great Recession, wildfires, floods, drought, and the swine flu epidemic. While in the state legislature, Mitsch Bush was a leading advocate for family agriculture, sustainable water infrastructure, and small rural communities. She sponsored many critically important bills, including ones to protect the environment and hold polluters accountable, lower health care and health insurance costs, and increase funding for rural schools. Over 80% of her bills were co-prime sponsored with rural Republicans.
Mitsch Bush has said her family’s early struggles with financial insecurity taught her the importance of helping others through public service. Her goal is to have an America that provides opportunities for all, not just the wealthy and well-connected. She intends to fight to make health care affordable for everyone, to protect the environment for generations to come, and to bring more good-paying jobs to rural communities.
Mitsch Bush is an experienced lawmaker and local leader who, if elected to Congress, will be ready on day one to get to work on policies that will benefit her district.
Running against her is Republican Lauren Boebert. Boebert is the owner of Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado — a restaurant known mainly for the fact that the wait staff openly carry guns on their person. Guns are one of the few things Boebert talks about regularly. She once drove across the state to go to a rally for Beto O’Rourke just to confront him about his gun safety position.
What voters really need to know, however, is that Boebert is a strong proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory: the wild idea that Donald Trump is waging a secret war against Democrats and movie stars who are running an international child trafficking ring. She has been quoted as saying, “I hope that this is real. … It only means America is getting stronger and better, and people are returning to conservative values and that’s what I’m for.” She later added, “Everything that I have heard of this movement is only motivating and encouraging and bringing people together stronger ... it could be really great for our country.”
Boebert hasn’t explained more of her own positions beyond generic talking points, but it seems clear she is very far from being a progressive choice.
Progressives are split on Amendment 77, known as the Allow Voters in Central, Black Hawk, and Cripple Creek Cities to Expand Authorized Games and Increase Maximum Bets Initiative. Please read the arguments from both sides below to help you make your decision on this amendment.