Colorado state Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez is seeking to leave the state legislature in favor of her local city council. 

Gonzales-Gutierrez, D-Denver, announced she will be running for the at-large seat on the Denver City Council during the municipal election in 2023 in a campaign video released on Monday. 

“I’m fighting to make Denver a city that works for all,” Gonzales-Gutierrez said in the video. “The people of Denver deserve affordable housing and a safe, healthy place to raise their families.” 

Gonzales-Gutierrez has served in the state House of Representatives since 2019, most recently being reelected on Nov. 8 to serve through 2024. She was reelected with 82.7% of the vote over her Republican opponent, Jack Daus. 

Gonzales-Gutierrez was considered a leading contender to become House majority leader for the upcoming legislative session, but she decided against running during the election on Nov. 11. Gonzales-Gutierrez nominated Rep. Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge as majority leader instead, who won the role. 

Gonzales-Gutierrez, a Denver native, said she wants to bring her political focus “closer to home,” pointing to her work on the legislature investing in affordable housing, renter protections and mental health systems. 

“I love this city, but like so many in Denver, we’ve struggled to raise our families in the same neighborhoods we grew up in,” Gonzales-Gutierrez said. “This used to be a place where working people could put down generational roots. People like my grandparents.” 

Gonzales-Gutierrez is the latest of multiple state lawmakers attempting to leave the legislature for city government. 

Democrats Sen. Chris Hansen and Rep. Leslie Herod have both thrown their hats into the race for Denver mayor. Other lawmakers have been repeatedly named as potential candidates, including Rep. Alex Valdez and former House Speaker Alec Garnett, who was recently named chief of staff to Gov. Jared Polis starting in 2023. 

If Gonzales-Gutierrez were to be elected to the city council next year, a vacancy committee would select a replacement to fill her seat representing House District 4. 

Denver’s municipal election is on April 4.