A NOTE FROM STERLING SIMMS:
The decisions of the next five years will determine my generations’ future for the next twenty. From AI, to the climate crisis, and unprecedented threats to our democracy, we will be the ones who inherit the costs of whatever lies ahead. We need a seat at the table where those decisions are being made. I’m running for State House because I’m fighting to build a Colorado that is prepared for the future, and resilient enough to stand on its own in the face of Wall Street’s instability and Washington’s neglect. I hope you’ll join me!
PUBLIC BANKING
Every year we’re told we have to face a crippling budget crisis that cuts essential services and leaves our most vulnerable families to fend for themselves. The truth is, we're not broke.
Colorado is the 35th largest economy in the world, but our money doesn't stay in our hands. Our state sends billions of taxpayer dollars to out-of state-banks, which they use to invest in extractive industry, for profits that only benefit themselves and their shareholders. I want to bring our money home to build wealth for our own families and invest in our own communities, not on Wall Street, and not in Washington.
I want Colorado to become the second state in the nation* to charter a public bank to help stabilize our budget, divest from Wall Street, and ensure that our tax dollars are only used for the benefit of the people, all of the people.
COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING
We don’t have an affordability crisis in America. We have an inequality crisis that has translated into a cost-of-living crisis. Too many industries are dominated by out-of-state corporations that set our prices, and move their profits somewhere else. I want to focus on energizing our local private sector, by uplifting our small business owners and entrepreneurs to build a new economy where market shares are dominated by Colorado companies. Building and keeping legacy businesses in our state is the surest path to long term sustainability. As a legislator my highest economic priority will not be growth for growth’s sake, but to be thoughtful to build wealth in our own communities that stays where it matters most, at home.
CLEAN & SAFE STREETS
Expanded Community Resources:
No responder should be sent to a call that they are ill-equipped or unsuited to resolve. I have seen first hand how our state’s severe lack of referral resources are harming our communities and driving certain criminal activity while rates of other forms of crime are trending downward. Our co-responder network has been revolutionary, yet it is significantly under resourced, with calls often requiring a uniformed response in its place. I will fight to expand our regional co-responder networks, while working to provide our traditional officers with the resources they need to keep our streets safe in a manner that upholds the highest standards of professionalism and accountability, while promoting trust and good faith with the communities they protect and serve.
Weapons Accountability:
Thanks to Colorado’s efforts at combatting gun violence, we are currently witnessing the lowest firearm homicide rates of the past decade. There is still much more to be done, far too many people continue to use firearms to harm others in avoidable tragedies. I am committed to passing weapons accountability laws that ensure all gun owners are held to the high standards of responsibility that comes with the right to bear arms.
End Public Use:
Our state is 48th in the nation for mental health service capacity; it is 2nd in the nation for service need. As a result, Colorado is one of the most prevalent states in the nation for drug addiction, with the highest rates of addicts who are unable to receive recovery support. For far too long, we relied on the carceral justice system to solve the opioid crisis. 40 years of mass incarceration has now given way to 6 years of de-regulation. The result has been record numbers of Coloradans using and dying of drug overdoses on our streets. These overdoses were not only reversible, they were preventable all together. We can’t continue to rely on failed policies of the past, nor can we expect to turn the tide by de-regulating and relying on services that don’t exist. I will fight to expand clinical community resources across the entire spectrum of recovery to bring an end to the use of deadly opioids in our public spaces, and ensure for all Coloradans facing addiction that recovery is always possible, and relapse is never fatal.
CLIMATE ACTION
House District Five is home to the most contaminated zip code in America. We don’t see the effects of the climate crisis on TV, we see it in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and in the places in our community condemned as environmental hazard. From nuclear waste and refinery emissions, to dog food, and data centers, we know first hand the costs of climate catastrophe in pursuit of corporate profits. Colorado has made tremendous strides in holding our largest polluters accountable, HD-5 has led the way in that fight. I want to continue our legacy of climate action by building on the state’s rule making efforts to regulate PFAS and other forever chemicals, by protecting environmentally sensitive communities from the impacts of AI data centers and heavy industry, and by passing legislation that reduces the cost of lowering the carbon footprint of our homes and commercial spaces.
EDUCATION
WITHOUT DEBT
Gen-Z has one of the largest debt burdens of any generation in American history, much of this is due to the staggering costs of higher education which traps our youth in thousands of dollars in debt before they’re old enough to rent a car. While we work towards a system that provides affordable graduate education for every Coloradan, we must provide an alternative to private student loans. I will fight to build a flexible, low interest student loan program similar to North Dakota’s “DEAL,” to provide one of the most affordable graduate educations in the country for all Colorado students.
AFFORDABLE
HOUSING
Housing is a human right, yet it is treated like a commodity. Thousands of Coloradans are housing insecure, and far too many of them are forced to live on the streets. Displacement remains a constant concern of Denver’s legacy residents, and students have little confidence in their ability to become homeowners. Housing stability will be a key focus of mine in the State Legislature. I will fight to build on the state’s momentum of promoting community land trusts in communities like House District Five which is home to some of the most at risk neighborhoods for gentrification in Denver. I want to combat exclusionary zoning and predatory lending practices, that divide our communities, drive up the costs of development, and leave renters struggling to pay their bills, all while investing in social housing, and expanding tenant protections and eviction defense to offer a lifeline to our neighbors who are living on the edge of homelessness.
