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June 25, 2020 • THE VILLAGER | PAGE 3
Colorado Democrats hold virtual Political Palooza BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER
The Colorado Democratic Party’s annual event is usually called the Obama Dinner and it draws one or two national leaders of the party. This year’s event was held virtually, thus attended by practically every leading Democrat in Washington, D.C., from the comfort of their living rooms. Gloria Neal, who serves as the City and County of Denver’s director of public affairs emceed the two and one-half-hour broadcast. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden greeted the local party faithful, as did leading contenders for the vice-presidential nomination U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris and former Georgia state legislator Stacey Abrams. Said Biden, “It’s time for us to face the open wound of systemic racism. The very soul of America is at stake. We must restore real leadership to the White House and the U. S. Senate. The stakes in this election have never been higher for our country. We need to come together as one America to win the battle for the soul of this nation. We have never failed when we stood together.” Harris said, “Justice is on the ballot in 2020. 42,000,000 people lost their jobs during the pandemic. Criminal justice is also on the ballot. Sen. Booker and I have offered the Justice and Policing Act in the Senate.” From Abrams, “We must flip the U.S. Senate and keep the House This state had the second highest voter turnout in 2018. Colorado is a model for the nation to follow. I challenge each of you to fill the void in our democracy by raising our voices to come together to strengthen our nation for generations to come.” Former presidential candidates U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Eric Swalwell, and Bernie Sanders also appeared virtually. Klobuchar, a leader in the effort to expand mail-in voting said, “Colorado has proven how voting by mail can work. We need to bring that knowledge to the rest of our country.” Regarding President Trump, she said, “With every random tweet and outburst, President Trump has further divided us. People are looking to us to deliver what we promised.” From Senator Warren, “Racial disparities persist in health care and throughout our economy, but the deep injustices we face are not without hope. They were created by racist and bigoted public policies. I want to be thoughtful about the responsibility that I and other white Americans have in this. We need to ask ourselves what we are doing to dismantle racism. It is not enough to just stand by while racial injustice tears us apart. We must take
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris is a leading contender for the vice-presidential nomination.
U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter is running for his 8th term in the House.
action to defeat racism and save our democracy by protecting our
Wellington Webb served as Denver’s mayor from 1991 to 2003
elections. I am fighting to make it easier for Americans to vote
Former U.S. VicePresident Joe Biden is the 2020 Democratic nominee for President of the United States.
by making it easier to register by doing it online and cease voter
purges, especially during this pandemic.” Colorado’s U.S. Sen. Michael Bennett commended Gov. Polis and the Colorado legislature for passing the bipartisan Enhanced Law Enforcement Integrity act. He talked about “protests for racial justice sweeping the country,” noting that when he was superintendent of Denver Public Schools, he “saw this inequality every day.” Also delivering messages of encouragement were Colorado U. S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Jason Crow, Joe Neguse, and Ed Perlmutter. The party’s 2020 Rising Star Award was given to Tay Anderson, Continued on page 6
Get COVID-related assistance from Arapahoe CARES Arapahoe County and its communities have received $114.5 million in federal funding to provide a wide variety of economic relief from the COVID public health crisis. Visit arapahoegov.com/arapahoecares Telephone Town Hall Thursday, June 25 @ 7 p.m. Ask questions and get updates on COVID-19 and other developments in Arapahoe County. Visit arapahoegov.com/townhall
VOTE in the June 30 election! Ballots for the state primary election will begin to go out this week. To check your registration, update your voter record or learn about safe voting practices during the COVID crisis, visit GoVoteColorado.gov and ArapahoeVotes.com.
FIND YOUR SPACE Open Spaces Master Plan Arapahoe County Open Spaces is preparing a master plan for the coming decade, and we want your feedback! Visit arapahoegov.com/osmasterplan A/D Works! Let Arapahoe/Douglas Works! work for you. Access COVID-19 resources for jobs, housing, businesses and more. Visit ADWorks.org or call 303-636-1160
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