Meet the local candidates that will fight for queer rights

“Don’t judge me by how I look right now,” Laura ‘Pinky’ Reinsch says as she confidently walks up to a stranger’s home pulling on a cardigan on top of her jacket. “It’s starting to get a bit cold, and I’m going to be out here walking for a while.”

Pinky wasn’t wrong; the weather is getting chillier by the day and comfort is key when trying to persuade people to show up on November 8 and vote. More specifically, vote for a local senate candidate who is an ally to the queer community and will fight for its equality in the Colorado Senate.

It’s something that she and the team at One Colorado has committed thousands of hours to — a number that only grows as election day draws nearer. While it is exhausting work, it is a necessity to further progress queer rights in Colorado.

One Colorado is the only organization in the state that gives a voice to LGBTIQ people at the State Capitol. They fight to pass bills that help the community, and fight legislation that would set us back, such as religious freedom or transgender bathroom bills. During election season, they campaign hard for candidates that will champion queer rights.

While wearing the soles of her shoes out on one of the first autumn days, Pinky is walking alongside Jenise May, a Democrat running for Senate District 25. Senate District 25 is one of the tightest senate races this election year.

Covering parts of Thornton, Aurora, Brighton City, and Commerce City, the district is home to nearly 49,000 households and more than 151,000 residents. There’s a larger population of women, 47 percent are white, 40 percent are Latino, and six percent are black, according to StatisticAnalysis.com.

The current seat holder for district 25 is Mary Hodge, who has a 100-percent record of supporting the queer community. After serving her two-term limit in the Senate, One Colorado is campaigning for Jenise to fill the empty seat.

In 2013, Jenise sat in the House representing state district 30. During her time there, she successfully passed bills that increased funding for kids to take college courses while still in high school (reducing the time they spend in college and costs), invested an additional $100 million into Colorado’s higher education system, capped tuition increases at six percent, and allowed community colleges to offer certain four-year degrees to be offered.

Fighting to fill Hodge’s seat, Jenise is focusing on stricter gun reform, better schooling, and protecting women’s rights. Unsurprisingly, she is also a strong advocate for the queer community which makes her the perfect candidate for One Colorado to fight for.

“You know, I’ve been with the community for more than 30 years,” Jenise says. “I have friends who are part of the LGBTIQ community, and I’ve always stood beside them. You have my word that I’ll be a champion for LGBTIQ people.”

Her opponent, Republican Kevin Priola, has been in the state House since 2009. During that time, he has voted against banning conversion therapy, the Birth Certificate Modernization Act, and STI modernization. He did vote to pass Senate Bill 150, which modernized the law so that married same-sex couples would not have to deal with the double burden of civil union and marriage laws in Colorado.

Kevin Priola has a 25-percent record of helping queer Coloradans. Jenise May has pledged vote in favor of the equality bills that died in the Senate last year.

The Senate race in District 25 is one of the two important Senate races that One Colorado is focusing on this election year. Although the organization has dished out more than $50,000 to candidates who are champions for queer rights, resources are limited and only the most important races get the full attention of the organization.

Despite the busy weekend, still found time to get to Brighton to knock on some doors! #coleg #copolitics #May4Senate pic.twitter.com/D4PBlxSVDp

— Jenise May (@Jenise_May) April 18, 2016

“There’s a lot that goes into the decision of which districts we draw most of our attention to,” Pinky says. “We work with other organizations to conduct polling, what seats we need to fill to get a majority in both the House and Senate, and the history of how close races are in the past.”

Senate District 26 is the other important race this year. Covering parts of Aurora, Centennial, Cherry Hills Village, Englewood, Greenwood Village, Littleton, and Sheridan, District 26 is currently represented by Democrat Linda Newell who has a 100-percent record on queer rights.

When Linda snatched the seat in the Senate, it was shocking. The seat previously had been long held by the GOP, so the race to succeed her is expected to be a full-on battle royale.

Vying for the seat is Democratic nominee Daniel Kagan and Republican nominee Nancy Doty. Kagan has proved to be a formidable candidate, holding off tough challenges in his last three elections.

Kagan, the former chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has a 100-percent rating on progressing queer issues — voting to pass the ban of conversion therapy, the Birth Certificate Modernization Act, STI modernization, and SB 150.

“If there is one service I can provide in my lifetime it would be to preserve and advocate for fragile and precious freedoms that, quite frankly, should be granted to every single person,” Kagan says.

It’s a philosophy that his parents instilled in him. Survivors of the Holocaust, his parents began a romance in the ghetto of Kaunas, Lithuania. His parents shared that concentration camp with queer people.

“This election is crucial,” he says. “We need to stand up and say, ‘We are watching you, and you will not get away with this.’ We may not get an opportunity like this again.”

Today, @One_Colorado staff knocked on doors talking w voters about #proequality candidates @jeffbridges and @DanielKagan #coleg #copolitics pic.twitter.com/d3sAH38MsA

— One Colorado (@One_Colorado) October 8, 2016

In the 2009 session, Rep. Kagan sponsored legislation which, through a 13-cent sales tax on cigarettes, generates $30 million a year for K-12 education.

In 2010, he eliminated a damaging quirk in property law that prevented some developers from building rental housing especially for low-income families, and also allowed speculators to buy housing very cheaply, then apply to court to strip the housing of its low-income designation, and thereby make a killing.

He closed corporate loopholes that benefit wealthy special interests, and passed legislation holding government accountable. He also championed legislation that is projected to create 23,000 clean energy jobs.

After the election season, One Colorado turns its attention to getting a number of queer bills passed. On the top of the list is the ban on conversion therapy.

Conversion therapy includes a range of dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. These harmful practices are based on the false claim that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer is a mental illness that should be cured. Unfortunately, many young people are coerced and subjected to these harmful practices, which put them at risk for depression, substance abuse, and suicide.

Daniel Kagan and Jenise May both have pledged to support this ban. Kevin Priola voted against the ban, and Nancy Doty has not said whether she will support or oppose the bill.

Another battle One Colorado has taken on is the Birth Certificate Modernization Bill.

This bill will make the process less burdensome for transgender Coloradans to update the gender on their birth certificate by removing the requirement that a transgender Coloradan undergo surgery and then get a court order. It will also bring Colorado law in line with current federal policy for updating the gender on a passport or Social Security card. Transgender people whose birth certificates reflect their sex at birth — and not their current gender — risk being denied housing, employment opportunities, and the right to vote because of this discrepancy.

Pinky’s sore feet and bruised confidence after being shut out, ignored, and stared at blankly all paid off as she walked up to a house with a ‘F*ck Trump’ sticker firmly planted on the rear window. The young man who opened the door might despise Trump, but didn’t know anything about the general election or where to even vote.

After Pinky talked up Jenise, and informed him of the voting process, he pledged his allegiance to Jenise.

“This is why we do it,” Pinky explains. “Our goal is to be the voice of LGBTIQ Coloradans, and we can’t have that political power unless our community and our allies goes out and votes. That’s how we get stuff done. That’s how we make lives better for queer people in Colorado.”  

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One Colorado has a released a list of endorsed candidates this election season. Make sure to get out and vote on November, 8th if you don’t take advantage of the early voting option Colorado offers.