By Landon Mascareñaz

Everywhere I went these past two weeks, the sentiment was the same: “What are we going to do about political extremism and the conflict in this country?” I heard it from folks on the left, right and center. Events in Minnesota and Portland, the political violence this past fall, the protests that followed which sparked hundreds of people marching in Colorado, and the growing political conflict between cities, states and the Trump administration all point to dangerous escalation in our country.

It seems clear something is profoundly wrong. John Hopkins showed nearly 84% of Americans believe democracy is in crisis or not doing well. A recent poll from the Colorado Polling Institute found three-quarters of Coloradans believe we are in a political crisis and expect political violence to escalate. The global Edelman trust barometer shows a striking decline in trust in institutions shaking our society. The rise in polarization, negative partisanship (which means we hate the other side more than we love our own political faction), and extremism are all around us. Changes are happening swiftly in our politics with almost half of all Americans identifying as independents, a majority here in Colorado.

We are watching how our closed political system is facilitating this crisis and also not responding to it simultaneously: closed primaries, low-turnout in primary races where most races are decided, campaign finance loopholes, the deprioritization of civics in our schools, winner-take-all elections, off-cycle low turnout elections, etc. Americans and Coloradans intrinsically know something is wrong. We urgently need our leaders to propose solutions.

You might be surprised to discover too many of our leaders, namely politicians and parties, are not addressing the crisis and not proposing an agenda. U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s website does not include these issues on his list of priorities on his website running for governor. Attorney General Phil Weiser’s website for his governor run also does not feature this as a priority, but includes a sub-bullet called “Stand Up for Our Democracy” focused on protecting elections, framing it as a fighting back against Trump rather than an affirmative agenda. One of the most prominent Republicans in the race, State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, doesn’t speak to it at all on her website. Credit to our current Gov. Jared Polis who recently spoke in favor of the open primary as a solution to polarization.

You might not know it from their website, but we can solve this crisis and the solutions are right in front of us. Recent reports from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Our Common Purpose and Expanding Representation), American Bar Association (Task Force on American Democracy), and so many others have brought together luminaries who believe in solutions we could use to open up and redesign our democracy. Options like ranked-choice voting, open primaries, independent redistricting, civics education clean elections and campaign finance reform, multi-member districts, and even expanding the House of Representatives. 

In 2025, Courageous Colorado conducted both a cross-partisan statewide listening tour and an activation tour: first to hear what Coloradans of all backgrounds thought could solve the crisis and then to work with individual communities to pick what issue might make sense for them to work on. Our community events produced a list very similar to what national experts suggested with additional local reforms like term limits, innovations like citizen assemblies, even year elections, moving county races to becoming non-partisan, and so much more. 

Politicians and our leaders might disagree with these expert and community generated solutions. And you know what? That’s okay! Just like we disagree on housing or tax policy, we can disagree on how to solve the political crisis in our country. We should, however, have a robust debate that includes lots of potential solutions from across the political aisle. And yes, affordability and safety may be bigger concerns for many voters, and that’s fair. Campaigns and candidates may have learned from previous lessons not to make this the only or central issue but we can all agree that this is an issue that cannot be avoided or ignored.

Colorado has been an incredible state for my family and so many others over the decades, propelling us to the middle-class and providing a home that we all love. Colorado has been a leader in innovative policy and we’ve shown a path to the whole nation on critical issues before. Our nation cries out for courageous leadership to name the crisis, to fight for solutions even when your friends or allies may oppose you, and to work with all of us for a better future.

Landon Mascareñaz is chief executive officer of Courageous Colorado & Courageous Colorado Action, a cross-partisan/nonpartisan organization. He serves as chairman of the State Board for Colorado Community Colleges & Occupational Education and is the co-author of The Open System: Redesigning Education & Reigniting Democracy.