In one of the reddest cities in the state and the country, three political progressives were elected in landslides to the Colorado Springs City Council earlier this April.

Though those City Council seats are nonpartisan, Dawn Haliburton-Rudy says it’s the first steps in changing the political geography of the long-time conservative stronghold in El Paso County.

“If we can create monumental shift within our political landscape, that holds huge implications nationwide,” Haliburton-Rudy said.

On the heels of President Donald Trump’s win to take the White House, Haliburton-Rudy, along with co-chair Greg Walta, launched a new progressive political group Together for Colorado Springs. Hundreds showed up for a Feb. 8 launch party, excited there was finally a progressive voice in Colorado Springs.

Known for its strong military and religious community, Trump won El Paso County by more than 20 points over Hillary Clinton.

“I don’t think there has been a political group in a formal way, in a registered way, that represents the political interests of progressives in Colorado Springs,” Haliburton-Rudy said. “It was historical.”

Still in its early days, Together for Colorado Springs has already seen success in campaigns at the local level. The group endorsed those three progressive candidates — newcomers Yolanda Avila and Richard Skorman, and incumbent Jill Gaebler for City Council — providing staff and ground work during their campaigns. They all cruised to easy victories.

Changing the political landscape

Haliburton-Rudy said early talks about the group started in May 2016, but the election of Donald Trump was undoubtedly an incentive to get the group off the ground.

“I won’t stretch the truth, and say that this last election didn’t have anything to do with the timing of our launch,” she said.

But bucking the tradition of conservatism in Colorado Springs was the impetus for the group.

“This really came out of an understanding that we found ourselves in Colorado Springs, stuck in the stronghold of conservatism that seems to be going farther and farther to the right,” Haliburton-Rudy said.

Permanency is the key

Becoming a permanent political fixture in the community is the key to advancing its progressive agenda and countering the conservative stronghold in Colorado Springs, Haliburton-Rudy said.

“Our goal is permanency, and a progressive voice that actually has a say in our local politics and has sway within policy-making,” she said.

Next on the group’s agenda is supporting progressive candidates for the school board in the November election, expanding trails and open space in the city and tackling Colorado Springs’ homelessness.

“It’s deplorable that we have not put our mind power to the best use to decide what we can do for our homeless veteran population,” she said, adding the city should allocate more funds toward addressing homelessness.

Haliburton-Rudy said the group will look to partner with Colorado’s cannabis industry to get the moratorium lifted on new medical marijuana businesses and make recreational pot sales legal in Colorado Springs.

With permanency in Colorado Springs an overarching goal for the group, Haliburton-Rudy says as Together for Colorado Springs grows, it will look to expand its reach to state issues it might be able to sway, Haliburton-Rudy said.

— adam@coloradostatesman.com