A Democratic vacancy committee in the Boulder-based House District 10 picked Junie Joseph as the party’s nominee for the general election.

Joseph, who was elected to the Boulder City Council in 2019 and is former mayor pro tem, will replace Rep. Edie Hooton on the November ballot.

A native of Haiti, she moved to the United States at 14. She told the committee she values – and will work for – racial equity, affordable housing, gun safety, reproductive and LGBTQ rights. 

Hooton announced on Aug. 1 she would not seek her fourth and final term in the state House but will finish out her current term, which is slated to end this year. Hooton said she wants to spend more time with her husband, who recently retired. 

Monday’s election by the 62 members on the vacancy committee in attendance was to choose who would replace Hooton on the ballot in November. 

Hooton, herself a vacancy committee member, addressed the group prior to nominations. She said she was very impressed by the quality of the candidates who spoke at a Saturday forum, as well as for the Monday night meeting. 

Eight people initially threw their hats in the ring for the seat. On Monday night, six candidates, including Joseph, were nominated. They included: 

• Tina Mueh, a 30-year science educator, a recent member of the PERA board of trustees and a former president of the Boulder Valley Education Association. She said during speeches Monday evening she has been an engaged Democrat and believes the “most successful legislators have the ability to work on the relationships that are essential to shaping good legislation.” She said the four areas Democrats will focus on are climate change, reproductive rights, education and workers’ rights.
• Celeste Landry, a Boulder Democratic party activist and a volunteer lobbyist at the state Capitol. She became a last-minute elector in December 2016, when Micheal Baca was removed after voting for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich instead of Democratic presidential candidate and Colorado winner Hillary Clinton. Landry told the committee she is dependable, persistent, collaborative and open-minded and will work across the aisle. 
• Jerry Greene, an environmentalist and musician. He criticized some of the decisions by the city if Boulder, saying the main problems in Boulder are homelessness, commuting distance – which he said a contributor to the carbon footprint – and lack of affordable housing. “We have expensive visions” but not much is being done, he said, adding they should work at the state and local level to keep rents to $650 per month, as well as create a path to home ownership. He also called for a government-run health care program. 
• Lynn Guissinger, the first vice-chair of the RTD board of directors and a gubernatorial appointee to the Regional Air Quality Council. Guissinger told the committee she will rely on her deep knowledge of community to solve problems, such as food insecurity and low wages. She said she would also advocate for LGBTQ, reproductive rights and equity. “We need to be bold” on climate change and on the attack on democracy, Guissinger added.
• Aaron Brockett, who was first elected to Boulder City Council in 2015. He was re-elected in 2019 and chosen mayor by the council in November 2019. Brockett said he will stand up for public schools, advocate for tenant rights and affordable housing, and for collective bargaining, and will work to overturn TABOR.

The committee went through several rounds of voting. The first came via approval voting, in which voters can choose more than one candidate. Observers from the state party, as well as some representing candidates, were on hand to monitor the results.

Mueh, Joseph and Brockett advanced to the second round. However, no one got a majority of votes, so Joseph and Mueh squared off for a third round. Joseph took 34 votes to Mueh’s 28.

Joseph will face Republican William DeOreo in November. The Boulder-based seat heavily favors Democrats.