NOTE: ClimateCon! is a conference celebrating climate innovation and inspiring action. I founded ClimateCon! in 2023. This is the letter I’m sending the ClimateCon! community.
Dear ClimateCon! Community,
For over 2 years, as I’ve built this ClimateCon! community, I’ve worked hard to keep politics at the edge of these conferences, not front and center. Even as the disastrous election of last November unfolded, I kept it down. Way down. As the environmental consequences have taken shape, it has been harder and harder to keep politics at bay. Increasingly, I find it harder to keep my mouth shut. My tongue needs stitches over here, I’m biting it so hard and so frequently.
The fact is, my party, the Democratic Party, fucked up. And I don’t mean they kind of fucked up. They made the Mistake of the Century.
One core reason is that they have drifted away from working people, ever entranced by the money of the rich always hanging around with the powerful.
I’m running for office to offer the voters of Commerce City and Welby a chance to push the party back to it’s working class roots.
As many of you know, I work from 3am-9am as a Pre-Loader at UPS. It’s a union job. The Teamsters ensure us all both dignity at work and top notch health care at home. We get both not because of the kindness of company executives and shareholders. We are able to protect our rights and our families because of hard won demands from our rank and file workers, standing in unison behind a powerful union.
We work hard for low pay. But we get to do so with our dignity in tact and our health protected.
I’m running to represent the half of us who struggle to live on income below the median, which in Commerce City was $73,578 for an individual last year. For good or for bad, I find myself below median income once again. Like most of my life.
My race will be concluded on June 30th. The Democratic Party will have a primary here in the 32nd, which is all of Commerce City, Welby and a few other precincts. This district is heavily Democratic. Republicans don’t always even bother to field a candidate, and when they do, they lose mightily. Suffice to say, at the risk of sounding arrogant, that whoever wins the primary on June 30th will be our Representative here in Commerce City for the next 8 years when they will be termed out.
Party primaries are unique beasts. Most people don’t want to get into politics to begin with. When they do, it’s easier to put on your blue or your red and take a stand against the other side. General elections are clear and stark. Primaries are murky and can get ugly quickly.
A primary usually comes down small, almost trivial differences on policy. It can be determined by a small vote margin on a low voter turnout. Like 10-15% voter turnout.
It can swing on a better financed operation running a better ground game. But because primaries are intra-party, most people stay on the sidelines, and money is usually very hard to come by.
You can learn more about my nascent campaign at www.ScanlonForColorado.com. I’d be honored if you could donate $25 or $450. I’ve got a 10 month run, all or nothing, on an 8 year stint at the Capitol.
As you would expect, sustainability and climate action will be core issues for me.
Lastly, the campaign is hiring, if you know a young professional looking to continue or start in politics working hard for low pay have them email me at michael@scanlonforcolorado.com. Learn more here: www.ScanlonForColorado.com
Keep being awesome!
Love,
Michael
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