About 200 people signed up for an online class this week on conflict de-escalation in protest spaces, sponsored by PIRAC, a local immigrant rights group.
Some of us watched at home. Others attended group meetings at Community United Methodist Church or Pagosa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (pictured).
Thanks to PIRAC for arranging and underwriting this helpful resource for all of us.
Dwayne Romero, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Jeff Hurd in November, met with about 15 voters on March 10 in Pagosa Springs.
He outlined his background, which includes military service and stints on the Aspen City Council, Aspen School District Board of Education and the state economic development commission.
He also discussed the issues he plans to focus on in his campaign.
About 50 people turned out Dec. 15 for our Dem Club lunch on the future of public media.
Tami Graham, executive director of KSUT, and Rick Holter, a local NPR veteran, discussed the challenging financial landscape now that the Trump Administration has defunded NPR and PBS.
Graham gave an update on her recent trip to Washington for a hearing on a lawsuit challenging Trump's actions. KSUT, Aspen Public Radio and Colorado Public Radio are plaintiffs in the suit.
The next lunch is Jan. 26th and will feature PIRAC, a local immigrant rights group.
Our representative in the statehouse, Katie Stewart, has drawn a Republican opponent for the November 2026 election.
Naomi Riess is a land-use consultant in La Plata County.
Looks like her key campaign issue is "less regulation."
This Durango Herald article gives more detail on her qualifications.
Our successful food drive made the pages of The Pagosa Sun. We try not to quibble, but they sadly did not mention that we collected $7,500 and two SUVs' worth of pantry goods from our generous community, while SNAP benefits were frozen by the Trump administration. And that we donated $500 of our own as a party.
We also were happy to see the story about our upcoming Dems Club meeting presentation from Rise Above Violence, an organization that supports local victims of domestic violence. (That's on Monday, Nov. 17th, and we hope to see you there.) Meanwhile the local GOP is policing whether lawmakers are MAGA enough (that's also in the latest issue of The Sun).
Finally, we're proud that several of our volunteers are actively setting up a local League of Women Voters chapter, a nonpartisan group. You don't have to read the paper - or your favorite news site - to know that informed and engaed voters are good for democracy.
