Naomi López

• Economic Policy, Job Creation and Social Justice
• Energy, Environment, and Climate
• Healthcare

Do you believe that healthcare is a human right?

Will you support the expansion of Medicaid and the Colorado Health Care Option to cover more uninsured and underinsured Coloradans?

Will you create/support policy to address the rising costs of prescription drugs and medical services?

Do you support access to comprehensive health care that includes reproductive freedom for people with uteruses?

Will you ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to education, employment, health care, and social services in Colorado?

Do you support the separation of church and state and the protection of religious freedom for all faiths and beliefs?

Will you fight to address and correct the systemic racism and discrimination that affects communities of color in Colorado?

Will you ensure that LGBTQ+ Coloradans are treated with dignity and respect in all aspects of society?

How will you protect and expand the civil rights and liberties of all Coloradans?

As a county commissioner, I will ensure that all decision made by the board include robust conversations surrounding how funding allocations, programming and solutions have the civil rights of all our citizens at the forefront of decision making. I will ensure that I be a fierce advocate for the rights of our most marginalized citizens; those experiencing homelessness, at risk youth, LGBTQIA+ youth, adults and families, our communities of color, those incarcerated in our county jails, those trapped in cycles of poverty, veterans, our elders, differently abled residents, and those struggling with mental health and substance abuse crises.

Cost of living, housing costs, and homelessness were the top issues in a recent Colorado Polling Institute Poll. What would you propose to remedy and address these issues?

County Commissioners have such a direct role in ensuring that our county residents have resources to help them out of cycles of poverty and into a more stable and healthy existence. Housing is a human right and criminalizing surviving without a safe place to live has never worked to solve homelessness and should immediately be stopped. I will work with the Colorado Springs Homeless Union to create an effective plan to use our already existing, houseless community organizations, and substance use/mental health providers/organizations in conjunction with securing all available federal and state monies available to go towards hiring more mental health providers and to expanding the effectiveness of services. I will also work to educate the community as to what the data tells us about the numbers of families and individuals who are experiencing homelessness in order to curb the negative public stigma on the individuals facing housing insecurity and how we can curb the rate of homeless by providing robust social services well before a family or individual is forced out of attainable housing and into our public spaces. I will also work to find real solutions to our housing crisis that does not solely rely on unbridled housing development that ignores environmental safeguards and that ensures the proper infrastructure is in place to account to safe water supplies, traffic plans, community access to open space, and emergency service access.

Do you support workers’ rights to organize, bargain collectively, and earn a living wage?

Will you work to reform the tax system to make it more progressive and fair?

Will you fight to fully fund public schools?

Will you fight to ensure that every child has access to early childhood education, universal pre-K, and full-day kindergarten?

Will you advocate for the expansion of public higher education opportunities and affordability?

How will you support the implementation of high academic standards and assessments that measure critical thinking and problem-solving skills?

As a public-school educator and advocate, I understand fully the numerous barriers existing within our public-school systems that negatively impact our children with the most need. Although County Commissioners do not directly impact public school policy, they can do a lot to support the county’s effort to ensure that we create a society that is welcoming and supportive to all families and children regardless of race, culture, spiritual belief, immigration status, gender or sexual orientation, special needs, or social capital. I will support all efforts to ensure that our public schools have robust post-secondary programming options that extend beyond higher education to include trade and early credit programs. I will fight against any rhetoric that falsely asserts that attending to the social and emotional wellbeing of our children while in school is an attack against parental rights or freedoms. I will promote the statistically reliable fact that a more diverse community and workforce, that has access to mental health services and upward mobility opportunities, positively contributes to an economically prosperous community.

Will you combat the climate crisis and advocate for renewable energy?

Will you protect Colorado’s water quality and quantity, especially in the face of drought and population growth?

Will you fight to preserve and enhance Colorado’s public lands, wildlife, and biodiversity?

Will you promote environmental justice and ensure that all communities have a healthy and safe environment?

What is your position on the current immigration policies and practices of the United States?

I feel that there is a long way to go to strengthen our immigration policies that are under attack and that DACA needs to be protected. As County Commissioners are local administrators, I would not directly influence federal immigration policies. However, I would not do as that current commissioners did in the past few weeks and create a false “crisis” to stoke fear and an “us against them” rhetoric to score partisan political points. Apart from the original peoples of the Americas, we are all the decedents of immigrants unto this land. I am a descendant of the Spanish conquistadores that came to then Mexico and the Apache people of this region. My family has lived on this land since it was called Atzlán. I will always, proudly, defend the dignity and human rights of all people that come to our land to seek refuge and better opportunities for their children and as commissioner, will work to find real solutions with state, city, and federal agencies to ensure we help all our residents in need. I will also work to ensure that the rights of the First Peoples of our county, and surrounding counties, are honored and respected.

How will you ensure that the state of Colorado is ready and robust to face the threats of natural disasters, cyberattacks, terrorism, and foreign aggression?

As a county commissioner, I will work closely with the Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, The Bureau of Land Management, the US Forrest Service and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to ensure that we are working together to protect our county lands, wildlife and residential properties from the devastation wild fire and flooding can have on our lives. Mitigation efforts are not enough to ensure that our residents and public lands are safe. We must also work to ensure there are early identification systems in place and working to respond to fires and flooding as soon as they occur. We have the military bases within our community that are willing to partner with the County to ensure that they house emergency response aircraft and vehicles to assist in a swift response to natural disasters. As a commissioner I will foster these relationships with our state, federal and military agencies to ensure that El Paso County has an effective plan to mitigate and respond to any emergencies that we may face. I will also ensure that I advocate for and secure all available federal funds and programming that is intended to curb the risks of increasing natural disasters by addressing climate change and green solutions.

How will you ensure that Colorado is a state with social and economic safeguards to maintain a decent standard of living and adequate nutrition for our aging population?

County Commissioners have a direct impact on the funding and creation of programming that address the overall wellbeing of our Elders, including the work done through the Department of Health and Human Services, the Pikes Peak Library District, the Housing Authority, Department of Veteran Affairs, and others. I will examine to find any systematic breaks within the wrap-around services available for Seniors and find creative solutions to bridge and fix these gaps.