Presented by:

• Pastor Caitlin Trussell
• Rabbi Rachel Kobrin
• Rosemary Othmer Pesko
• Kathy Patridge & Jeff Ackermann
• Trudy Gygi
• Meghan Carrier & Sharon Battle
• Ilana Steinberg
• Katy Lunsford
• Vickie Wilhite & Katy Lunsford

Preamble

Welcome & Credential

Neither Enemies Nor Allies Are Permanent.

Invocation

Rabbi Rachel Kobrin: We are not here to give Thoughts and Prayers.

Relational Activity

Rosemary Othmer Pesko: Worked at Denver Health. We do not treat people as God’s Beloved. The dignity of access.

Why Are You Here?

We filled out index cards that describe why we as individuals are here today.

The woman next to me is mourning the loss of a member of her family, for reasons connected to services in this state.

We are here to help along a more humane and just society. Where there is light there is hope.

This morning at another location, Rev. Gretchen Haley recited similar words: Where there is love there is hope.

Roll Call

We are using a technology called Mentimeter to do live audience polling.

• This technology will face competition from me in 2026. It is centralized and used for live interactive presentations. It’s fine, but it’s not sufficient. It pitches itself as a word cloud maker, among other things.

Collective Moment We’re In

Meghan Carrier: We needed more power in the hands of people. House meetings and listening parties began before we knew who the next President in this country would be.

Cognitive empathy, to listen and believe someone’s experience, when it is different than ours. It leads us to take action. In this posture, we are called to be curious and listen deeply, while remaining Whole ourselves.

In the face of the fire of injustice, I have seen laborers of love deliver us. Revolutionary Love is the choice to enter into labor, for others who do not look like us, for our opponents who hurt us, and for ourselves. In this era of enormous rage, when the fires are burning all around us, I believe that revolutionary love is the call of our times.

Sharon Battle: The board president of Together Colorado.

Together, we rise in love and strength. These moments are not new to us; we have weathered storms before.

We will come through stronger, and this one too. We’ve come this far by faith. We won’t turn around. We’ve come this far by faith.

Whether you draw strength from sacred texts, community or resilience within, we are here together.

Some of us gather in places of worship; Some in living rooms; Some in silence.

We have shown up here today, with compassion and love.

We can listen when someone is hurting; We can feed someone when they are hungry; We can visit someone when they are sick or lonely.

Whatever the circumstance, joy or sorrow, abundance or need, love is our foundation.

Together We Rise.

2025 Accomplishments

Ilana Steinberg: A member of the board of Together Colorado.

It has been a painful year. (I will note that Together Colorado helped compel our senator to enact the shutdown that harmed us so.)

There have been many gatherings. At the state level, there were over 150 participants in the legislative lobbying day. Family visitation is a right for those who are incarcerated. Passed a bill to study a universal healthcare plan.

In Boulder County: initiative 1B, funding for mental health services.

In Louisville: defeated bill to prevent affordable housing.

In Lakewood: expand housing options.

In Denver: defeated backroom monopolistic agreement between the city and Xcel energy.

In Colorado Springs: defeated a camping ban that would have criminalized the unhoused.

New organizing efforts in many more cities and towns.

Many day-long trainings for over 400 leaders.

Over 200 house meetings engaging a thousand participants.

Fighting the deconstruction of our public education.

The house meetings are the creation of a community that did not exist to be heard before. Now it has brought governor candidates into this room.

Co-governance, commit to community-driven governance, from local to state. Their budgets, policies and initiatives are seen by us, but we have rarely been consulted.

Prioritize People over profits.

Brookfield Properties, Do You See Our Collective Demand For Affordable Housing, while you drive up our costs with feckless AI services you wield against us?

Gubernatorial Forum

Scott Bottoms and Phil Weiser are here. The others declined.

Bottoms is not a governor candidate according to official resources, he’s representing the CO General Assembly. He may intend to run.

Phil Weiser

Tell us why you decided to run.

His mother’s birth was in a concentration camp. His family believes that this nation is committed to freedom and opportunity to all. His family has experience what justice looks like. A story of resilience. They went from that camp to This Country.

The audience likes his understudy of RBG.

A bullying administration. He’s sued them 43 times and counting.

An affordable Colorado for our kids. Our kids have to thrive and make a good living wage. We need a resilient future and protect our natural resources.

Showing up and really listening to meet the challenges.

What, if any roles, does the state government have in immigration?

A first generation American. A deeply personal situation. This administration says that this system has failed. What can we do?

Keep a close eye on ICE coordinating together. Office works with immigrants rights coalition and RM rights. Every person has the right to due process of law. In Colorado, our law enforcement does that, not immigration. The government is suing him personally and he says he won’t back down. The “New Americans” office. Immigrants are a strength, and we have an obligation to treat them fairly under law.

What would be your priorities for Colorado’s system of education?

Our kids must have opportunities for their future. Starts with thorough system of public education. Fight against the privatization of education. Meet the moment for our kids, who are not okay. Mental health, safety, no mentors. Mentoring gap for income and POC. Lead an initiative for mentors in their lives. Pay teachers failures. Those teachers are heroes.

Retain teachers, provide career and technical education. Path to an actual job. Youth mental health crisis. Already: Suing Meta for their Poisonous Algorithms. As governor: Colorado Corps, how they can engage in good service in industries that are understaffed, like nurses, firefighters, lots more.

What will be your policy priorities for Colorado’s need for energy and water?

Government has urgency to get oil producers online, but when they’re producing, there is no urgency at all. Public health department is not passive and reactive, must be proactive. Capacity to enforce. On track for a clean energy initiative. Federal government is trying to pull us backward: “Hell No.”

Water is our most crucial natural resource. A hallmark of his leadership.

What is your perspective on the Colorado Labor Peace Act, regarding how workers form a union?

When grandparents got here, with no money or language, they got union jobs, and it worked. Fought for unions in a court room; Albertsons merger with Kroger. Safeway & King Soopers.

End the antiquated Labor Peace Act.

We are on our own in Colorado.

What are your plans to address housing challenges in CO, especially as it relates to renters?

Bennets housing plan ignores renters and rural colorado. All matter and they’re different.

Renters: In denver today, landlords conspire to raise the rent. Stop collusion. Suing the companies who do this. End this harmful practice. End junk fees.

Rural colorado: housing laws are not working for rural. Prop 123 is set up for Urban areas.

Colorado Partnership for Rural partnership and revitalization. Home ownership must be acceptable. Median age for home owners if 40. Will have a Chief Housing Officer.

What would be your priorities for healthcare in our state?

The crisis we have in healthcare has multiple causes. Will work to address it on as many fronts as we can. Federal government is in effect taking healthcare away from people. Basic right. Life expectancy. ACA was narrowing the gap. Innovation task force. Rural hospitals are threatened with closure. Private equity roll-ups that jack up costs. Medical debt, surprise in being charged. Pushed in more expensive procedures and tests than they need. Keep providing essential care.

We will pay for this one way or another in this society.

Behavioral health, not ending up in emergency room in states of crisis.

Please share with us what co-governance means to you, and how you can imagine TG and other orgs building co-governing with you?

Co-governance means that you show up again and again, not just at election time. You listen to work together and solve problems.

Democratic party is failing us. Schumer should be gone.

Make sure you show up at caucuses.

Our Democracy is not a spectator sport.

He likes that TG is always on the field. He needs us ongoing. Needs us even more on the other side. These issues affect our lives on such a basic level.

Colorado’s population is at risk of contracting. Young people can’t afford to live here, healthcare, childcare. Kids don’t have a good opportunity for a future. Will this be a resilience state for air and water.

Show up with community, work the problems and come up with solutions that are grounded in the needs of the people in our state.

Critical work, co-governance like this, inspired by this commitment.

For The People

Scott Bottoms

Colorado General Assembly

Tell us why you decided to run.

History goes back to being a pastor for a church. Being engaged in the things of the day. The churches should be engaged with the things of the day.

A few years ago he was asked to run for a representative. He used to say no. Someone asked him to pray about and it sounded like a trap, but now here he is.

Sitting in the House for 3 years, he feels he wants to do more. Voting against bad laws. He wants to have more sway as Governor to help shape that conversation.

What, if any roles, does the state government have in immigration?

There are cartels in our state and it must stop. Talking about migrant communities all over, some by name.

We have been going the wrong direction in our state legislature and we’ve got to turn that around.

What would be your priorities for Colorado’s system of education?

Both parents were educators, superintendent and principal. Hears we’re above 50th percentile. He says it’s not true. Casual search on the internet: If you include higher education, we’re bringing up the average. But K-12 is lacking, reading levels. Colorado spends more in the top 10 states every year, but our education level and quality and product stays the same every year.

We’re spending more for less. We’re spending 75% of all new money to broaden out the administrative body, but not the teacher. Hundreds of millions of dollars, but it’s not going to teachers to pay them what they’re worth.

I definitely believe in school choice, strongly.

• School choice is a trap designed to bankrupt public education.

What will be your policy priorities for Colorado’s need for energy and water?

We are a coal, oil and gas state. Every single statistic says that solar and wind is being subsidized more than it is provided. We’re paying more money than it’s helping us.

• He believes clean energy won’t pay off for 50-some-odd years, a useful figure for him to bang on to create fear that we shouldn’t do clean energy at all.

Drill again in Colorado. Small nuclear reactors (lots of them), 11-acre footprints. We’re going to have datacenters “that go off the charts” for AI.

• In an interview setting, I would press him to clarify What Jobs he thinks these will bring, while those datacenters simultaneously driving up our energy costs such that the public is being taxed for Big Tech projects that serve entities outside of our boundaries. IMO, the only jobs will be for Big Tech nepotists who are explicitly trying to optimize humanity out their org charts.
• I think he’s getting away with this argument in his head because we’ll suddenly unleash oodles of energy.

The biggest issue we have with water in CO is that it’s being sold to out-of-state wealthy people who sit in our highest offices.

January 2025, acquired water rights and then sold it to other states. Keep the water in Colorado.

• In an interview setting, I would like to press him for what he expects Arizona to do when we refuse them water cooperation.

What is your perspective on the Colorado Labor Peace Act, regarding how workers form a union?

Colorado is a Right To Work state: you don’t have to be part of a union if you don’t want to. Does not think unions are ethical if they force people to join in. Voluntarily pay.

Unions used to be a very important part of our society.

Now they’re corrupt and taking our money.

So many new vice principals making more than the teachers.

Unions should have the volunteer mentality. Behind-the-doors deals to say you’re part of a union now.

What are your plans to address housing challenges in CO, especially as it relates to renters?

Housing has been a major issue for a long time.

Growing kids who can’t afford to buy a house. Talking this morning. “Came from church” (pandering)

5.2% more supply than demand.

You’re not hearing that in the news.

Renter costs have started coming down. Interest rates are coming down.

As a home owner, I don’t care either way.

Renter costs are going down. (I’m shaking my head.)

The legislature made laws that made it so easy to sue condo builders that they quit building.

All the laws we pass are for renters. (What?)

Rent is coming down. (What?)

What would be your priorities for healthcare in our state?

Meeting with doctors and such in the state. Legislature has been taking money from mental health providers every year. Closed down all but one facility in CO. 2 Insurance companies left CO because of state regulation, state regulation, state regulation.

He wants to prevent the closure of rural hospitals. Drive 4 hours to have a baby.

• His commentary here is that regulation hurts hospitals, but he’s spinning it like bad regulation only suddenly showed up and made hospitals die overnight. His points are all aimed at going back to a fabled status quo, but the status quo hasn’t changed;
• Lately in 2024, led by Idaho, now-SG Sauer argued before SCOTUS that local law can ignore EMTALA (Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act) rules, effectively ending the duty to care for all patients, based on local politics.
• By framing healthcare businesses as unsustainable, Bottoms is actually arguing that healthcare became spontaneously unsustainable.
• In fact, hyper-ambiguous MAGA policies are making it possible for doctors to be sued for following EMTALA, and thus hospitals are closing because the lawsuit liability is unsustainable; Hospitals are leaving because of MAGA policies, but Bottoms is spinning this like it’s an attack waged by Democrats.
• Mr. Bottoms, the doctors who are leaving your area are leaving because they have no method of surviving the litany of lawsuits you want them to be liable for.

There are too many regulations hurting insurance companies.

Insurance company panels are telling you when you can have surgeries, etc.

One of the worst things that has ever happened to this country is Obamacare.

Please share with us what co-governance means to you, and how you can imagine TG and other orgs building co-governing with you?

This has been in my wheelhouse for 35 years.

Always put the emphasis on church groups, pushing and doing the job that government takes over.

Government money going to food programs and Meals on Wheels. In churches, theres no space for corruption. (He is saying that government use of funds is corruption by literal definition.)

How do churches do this?

(Buddy, they just don’t.)

That’s the job of the church.

Federal effort isn’t working out. (Cites the shutdown, but that’s inverted from his point so I think he’s just freestyling.)

Call-to-Action

Vickie Wilhite & Katy Lunsford: Sign Up for Future Actions.

Voting rights continue to be assaulted. Humanitarian issues like immigration and mass deportations, neighbors are being snatched for their color and language. They continue to be incarcerated at improportional rates.

It is a spiritual struggle over who we are, and how we are connected.

We are called to Dignity, Equity and Justice.

We are losing our basic freedoms. This is not our vision.

We have a different vision. Imagine a democracy remade by us.

We must be able to freely exercise our basic right to vote. The ones we vote for must protect our rights and represent us in all matters. It is our time to create something good, not reduce something bad. Freedom is a state, not an act.

We desire a Colorado where human dignity is at the center of public life. We have been too quiet for too long. There comes a time where you have to say something, make noise and move your feet. The time has chosen us.

Power is organized people, organized ideas and organized money. Power is the ability to achieve our purpose.

We seek power with people, not power over people.

We need you.

You do not need to be a member of a faith community to join us.

We need to build a power base. Develop a sense of belonging.

We want to equip you with the skills to confront the forces with deep pockets, which want to dilute the power of normal people. Social organizing is the machine that amplifies our most powerful tool, which is you.

If you want to help us write the next chapter, we can show you how.

You can reach Autumn Ryan to be heard about this subject at [email protected]. Do not transmit sensitive or private information if it’s unsuitable for others to have.