Average rent in Denver increased by 45% over the past 10 years. Gas increased by 100%. Food by 44%. Have your wages kept up? Workers' rights are repeatedly curtailed, while corporations get hall passes. Denver must be a city for all, not the 1%.

Companies come into Denver and buy up neighborhood homes only to flip them or charge exorbitant rents. Or, worse, they build giant, luxury apartment high-rises that no average Denverite could afford. Housing in Denver should cater to the income of existing residents, not to wealthy outsiders.

Most people end up in jail for low-level, non-violent crimes, leading to an intentional pipeline of vulnerable people being funneled to for-profit prison systems that implement modern day slavery in Colorado. These racist and ableist systems must be circumvented.

As someone who skipped meals because I couldn't afford food, eating ice to feel full, I know firsthand how important food security is to health and mental well-being. We deserve healthy food for all Denverites.

Since my early twenties, I've worked with our neighbors experiencing homelessness. It's time to set aside the misconceptions and unjustified fears. Housing-first policies work. Let's put a roof over every Denverite's head.

Big tech will not save us. They're not even trying to save us. They're trying to make money off of us. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can push back against their schemes to use Denver as a foothold for surveillance, data centers, and cheap labor.