Neal Walia: Why Representation Matters for Congressional District One
Neal Walia, Democratic Candidate for Congress
In 1973, Pat Schroeder became the first woman elected to Congress in the history of our state. She served our communities until 1997, when our current representative, Congresswoman Diana Degette, took office. That is a combined total of 50 years of a singular demographic in the halls of Congress; representation of a historically diverse city built on the labor of Black, Indigenous and People of Color. These are the communities who have been most impacted by the rampant development and gentrification that has flooded our city, and in turn has slowly killed the culture and economic opportunity that once made Denver such a special place to call home.
Representation matters. Our lived experiences; our history, and our neighborhoods shape our understanding of our needs and priorities as a community. In the history of our state, a person of color has never represented our district in our nation’s capital. The systems of white supremacy that have isolated our district to experiencing a singular demographic of representation are generating dire consequences for the working class and BIPOC communities residing in our district. Denverites are currently feeling the full weight of the American economy, not to mention the repercussions of a sitting incumbent who is rarely present and disconnected from the struggles of her constituents. The need for change is urgent. And for the first time in a long time, we have a real opportunity to do that this year in the June 28th Democratic Primary.
I am running for Congress because I want our communities to know there is someone who shares their struggles fighting for them both here and in Washington D.C. I am running because I want to turn our district, arguably the most progressive district on this side of the country, into a leading voice in the fight for a Green New Deal, universal healthcare, and major federal investments into affordable housing and permanent supportive housing to correct the crisis that has been growing under our noses for the last two decades; a crisis in which our current representative finally engaged on for the first time this year.
As a person of color and the son of immigrants who has grown up in Colorado, I care deeply about protecting the historic BIPOC communities of our district who have built Denver into the city so many love. Culture and community has played a pivotal role in shaping me as a person, and I know that when we lose our neighborhoods to gentrification, we lose community. It pains me that current development in our district is actively displacing longtime residents, killing our small businesses, and pricing out our communities. There is a noticeable lack of intentionality in our current representation to halt these patterns of injustice.
I am running for office because as a person of color who has spent his entire life fighting for equality and justice for his community, I understand that in order to transform our communities who have been victims of white supremacy, we have to intentionally advocate for real policy solutions that build equity within our communities. This means directly addressing the wealth gap, home ownership gap, and education gap that the black and brown communities of our district have been experiencing for generations. It also means aggressively fighting for reparations, specifically, reparations in the form of financial investments, for black and brown families, their education, and their businesses.
On June 28th, our communities have the opportunity to make history by electing the first person of color as the Congressional representative of our district. By coming together at this moment, we can make a choice to take a step away from the establishment and put the people of our district above party, profit, and politics. Please vote for Neal Walia as the next congressman of Colorado’s First Congressional District in the June 28th Democratic Primary.