Dusti Gurule
Posted June 18, 2026
A statewide candidate for Attorney General, Jena Griswold, declined an invitation to participate in our Community Power Town Hall in Pueblo. During the event, her official Instagram account appeared in the livestream audience, watching the conversation unfold in real time.
That moment has stayed with us. Not because it was dramatic or personal. But because it captured something we’ve witnessed repeatedly over the last six months of organizing across Colorado. The candidates who made time for community conversations were often the same candidates willing to answer difficult questions, share their lived experiences, and engage directly with voters.
As part of our primary endorsement process, COLOR Action Fund hosted candidate interviews and Community Power Town Halls for state and federal races. Every Democratic candidate was invited. Participation was voluntary. The livestreams, endorsements, and event materials remain available for anyone who wants to review them.
As Colorado’s only Latine reproductive justice political organization, we notice those choices.
Not because anyone owes us their time or attendance alone determines leadership. We notice that communities like ours are often expected to deliver votes before we are offered a voice and a safe space to dialogue.
Election after election, our communities are asked to vote, volunteer, organize, donate, and mobilize our families. Campaigns celebrate our turnout, our demographics, and our political importance. Yet when we create opportunities for conversation, accountability, and relationship, too many candidates suddenly become unavailable.
The Pueblo moment, along with no-shows from U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper, CD-1 candidate Diana DeGette, and CD-8 candidate Shannon Bird, reflects something larger than a scheduling conflict. We also saw a similar pattern in several state legislative races. It reflects a style of politics that seeks access to the community without accountability to it, and politicians who want to hear what people are saying without being willing to answer for their actions, decisions, or values in the same space.
Leading up to the June 30 primary election, we have watched candidates make choices about where they spend their time, whose experiences they engage with, and what communities they prioritize. Those choices tell us far more than campaign mailers, digital ads, or talking points ever could.
Showing up does not guarantee our support. But refusing to show up tells us a lot about who deserves it.
Dusti Gurule President and CEO of COLOR Action Fund.
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