“Never separate the life you live from the words you speak.” ― Paul Wellstone

I believe politics shouldn’t be about winning, but about improving people’s lives and the world we live in. And that’s why I’ve dedicated my life to fighting for the public interest.

Concerned about our future and who was making decisions, I was the founding executive director for New Era Colorado. The organization was founded on the simple concept that democracy works better when more people show up. Fifteen years later, I’m extremely proud of the organization that New Era has become. They’ve registered over 200,000 voters, advocated at the Capitol for issues that affect young people like student debt, and perhaps most importantly trained hundreds of young leaders to be the future grassroots organizers, advocates, and political leaders of Colorado.

I am the product of hardworking parents that taught me the future belongs to those who are passionate and who work hard. From my father, a family physician, I learned what it means to devote one’s life to the service of others. From house calls to hospital visits to being perpetually “on call,” he has been a constant caretaker for others. It was my mother who taught me that improving people’s lives can also occur through political participation. Growing up, I went door-to-door with her each year to canvass for progressive candidates. She taught me the power of civic participation and to fight for what I believe, always.

The future I wanted to fight for when founding New Era Colorado as a recent CU graduate is now the present and there is no doubt that we’re faced with the fierce urgency of now. Although my generation is the first to experience the impacts of climate change, it’s the last to be able to do anything about it. It’s time for bold action. As your Senator, I have fought to pass the most aggressive carbon emission reduction goals in the country, increase investment and development of renewable energy in Colorado, championed the largest overhaul of oil and gas regulations in over 60 years, and established the Office of Climate Preparedness in Colorado.

As a passionate progressive, I fight not just to create a better planet, but also to improve the lives of all who inhabit it. Middle class Coloradans and their families are struggling to get ahead. The middle class is squeezed with higher education choices that are not affordable and have little security for their future. Our state needs to invest deeper in public schools and higher education in order to stop the skyrocketing tuition increases that lead to our young people graduating with crippling student debt. As someone who has spent his entire life in the middle class, I know that the opportunity to create a better life for oneself is fundamental to building an economy that works for all of us. As your Senator, I’ve worked to increase the state’s investment in K-12 education, including full day Kindergarten for every child in Colorado, and higher education. I’ve worked to create more affordable housing options, improve consumer protection standards, strengthen the rights of workers to collectively bargain, and allow local municipalities to increase their minimum wage.

Boulder County is my home and I’m proud to be a part of this amazing community. My wife, Lindsay, a middle school teacher, and I are lucky to live in our little 1,100 square ft home in downtown Boulder with our daughters Isa and Marlow. I’m a partner of a small business, Bread Bar, a bar in the historic town of Silver Plume, Colorado. When not working, I can often be found in my backyard garden with our dog Ellie, biking some of the hundreds of miles of county backroads, drinking a beer at my favorite brewery, or sitting at the counter of a local coffee shop.