Every day when I’m knocking doors, and I talk with my neighbors about their priorities, the first question I ask them is — what do you want to see from the state legislature? We’ve talked with thousands of people since last June and there is a common thread that runs deep in our conversations. Folks in Colorado are looking for a new generation of leadership that doesn’t rely on old talking points and political connections, but one that can take a stand and make real change happen on the merits of the policy and the respect of their constituents.

Standing up for our progressive values should not be something that we are ashamed of, or something we should have to gloss over or make excuses for. So I’m going to bring forward some common issues I hear in our community:

I am, and have always been, fervently anti-death penalty. I will not equivocate on this issue, and I look forward to putting the death penalty out to pasture like we should have several times over the past eight years. If a red state like Nebraska can eliminate the death penalty, there is no reason why Colorado can’t or shouldn’t.

As a small business owner myself, I will take on the travesty that is Colorado’s lack of a living wage. Our current minimum wage is outdated and arcane in the way we restrict its rise, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use every tool in the toolbox to improve peoples’ lives. I look forward to building coalitions with Colorado’s progressive business community and booming startups to work toward a fix to our state’s inability to raise the wage. I run a business (and a campaign) where a $15 minimum wage is standard, and look forward to working with other businesses and talking about how it can work, and how it will benefit our community.

The legacy of leadership by my mentor and supporter Sen. Pat Steadman on LGBT rights is second to none. We’ve just seen birth certificate modernization and a ban on conversion therapy both fail due to lack of a Democratic majority. If we needed any clearer indication on how out of step with modern values extremist Republicans are, there it is. I will work endlessly to make sure that we get and keep a Democratic majority in the Senate, plain and simple.

Now, these issues aren’t necessarily new, but the ways in which we move forward need to be. When Democrats abandon the base on issues so central to their districts, it is time for a change. Building coalitions with Republicans is a central part of legislating, but jumping ship on Democratic issues to preserve political alliances or for political favors stands contrary to our values.

I don’t think that these ideas are revolutionary, but the way that I plan to make them happen very much is. The Denver delegation in the General Assembly is expected to be the bastion of progressive leadership, which is why we honor the incredible work and legacy of Sen. Pat Steadman. Colorado is in a new progressive age in which public policy is made in the daylight instead of deals made by the political establishment behind closed doors. Twitter, Facebook, and the blogosphere are here to stay and a new generation of leadership will be required to be more accessible, more willing to listen, and more able to communicate with a broadening range of constituents. Pat understands this new reality, and endorses our campaign and our positive message moving forward.

To that end, our campaign has knocked over 14,000 doors and that’s not just about winning an election, it is about real people and real issues that need to be represented at the Capitol. I intend to serve like I campaign, and that is by leading on critical issues from the beginning and representing the district in ways that transmit your voices within your party and in your government.

And that is what a new generation of progressive #coleg leadership looks like.