Across America, faith in government is fraying. People feel talked down to by the left, left behind by the right, and too often forgotten entirely by both. But here in Colorado, we’re showing what’s possible when public leadership starts not with ideology, but with Main Street — the place where real families live, real problems pile up and real solutions have to be delivered.

At the center of that work is One Main Street Colorado, a labor-led coalition working hand in hand with the business community to expand the middle class and support the local growth our communities depend on.

We don’t lead with slogans. We lead with solutions. Whether you’re a union member, a local business owner, or a parent juggling bills and caregiving, you deserve a government that reflects your values and delivers for your family. That’s the promise we’ve spent the last four years advancing across our state. I’ve sat at tables with union leaders, local business owners and mayors across Colorado. They’re all asking the same thing: Can we build something that actually works again?

In that time, we’ve helped elect practical leaders who prioritize results over rhetoric. We’ve partnered with local governments to pass best-value contracting, ensuring public dollars go toward high-quality, community-rooted work. We’ve organized career fairs that helped Coloradans land jobs with benefits, stability and upward mobility. Just last month in Aurora, 83 Coloradans sat down for interviews that could change their lives — not gigs, but real careers with benefits and stability. That’s what Main Street results look like.

We’ve expanded into communities that traditional political groups often overlook because we believe economic opportunity shouldn’t depend on your zip code. We’ve invested in the long game by strengthening local organizations, building trusted partnerships and creating opportunities for everyday Coloradans to engage more directly in shaping their communities.

We’ve promoted civility at a time when it’s desperately needed. We’ve shared public polling that’s become a roadmap for Democrats looking to reconnect with the working and middle class. We’ve helped aligned organizations scale their work. And we’ve put our money where our mission is: backing upward mobility, local leadership and stronger communities.

Too many political movements today thrive on outrage and division. MAGA Republicans are banning books, attacking LGBTQ+ youth and undermining democracy. At the same time, some in the Democratic party are so consumed by ideological purity they reject practical progress, vilify economic development, and alienate the very voters we need to build lasting change. We’re building a politics that works for people who’ve tuned out, given up, or felt pushed aside by both parties.

One Main Street Colorado stands firmly in the middle. Not because we’re moderate, but because we’re effective. We get things done. We build coalitions that can govern. We reject the chaos both extremes bring. We don’t do keyboard crusades — we deliver real-world wins.

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Our coalition is bigger than any one candidate or campaign. It includes union leaders, local business owners and community members who understand what’s at stake. Together, we’re redefining what a pro–middle class, pro–business, pro–worker coalition can look like — rooted in results, not rhetoric.

That’s why we launched “Main Street is for Everyone,” a panel series focused on economic empowerment in Black, Latino and LGBTQ communities. Our first panel drew a powerful crowd in Denver, and we’re headed to Pueblo and Aurora this fall. We’re not guests in these communities. We’re from them. And when we show up, we bring more than a message. We bring a plan: careers, wages, homeownership and dignity.

This work is shaping governance too. Our model helped inspire the Colorado Opportunity Caucus, a growing group of state, county and municipal leaders focused on what actually works, not just what sounds good. They’re restoring civility in public life, fostering collaboration across communities and centering the issues families talk about around the kitchen table: housing, health care, wages and the rising cost of living. In a time when national chaos dominates the headlines, Colorado is offering a blueprint for what real leadership can look like, and it’s built from the ground up.

In 2026, Colorado will once again be in the national spotlight with high-stakes elections for Congress, governor, legislative seats and local offices. One Main Street Colorado will be there — supporting candidates, coalitions, and communities ready to build a stronger, more inclusive economy.

As chaos creeps in from Washington, we’re proving local leadership still works — if you build it from Main Street out.

We’ll also keep doing what we do best: rejecting extremism, rebuilding trust in government and reconnecting with people who’ve been left behind by both parties. Because Colorado deserves more than division. It deserves solutions.

We believe Main Street should be the focus in every town, every district and in every decision that gets made. That’s where hardworking families live. That’s where dignity is earned, futures are built, and progress is made — block by block, family by family and win by win. Let’s keep building it together. 

Andrew Short is executive director of One Main Street Colorado, a labor-led coalition working hand-in-hand with the business community to expand the middle-class pushback against the politics of division, and deliver kitchen-table results for communities across the state.