Joe Salazar: “To Make a Difference, be Different”

In a day and age where the political same ol’- same ‘ol simply will not do, State Representative Joe Salazar, candidate for Colorado Attorney General, has made a career of doing things differently. A political rabble-rouser Salazar is pushing back on the establishment.

“I’m often perceived as a lightning rod and there is a reason for it. I don’t have the luxury or the privilege to be on the sidelines watching really bad policy affect our communities,” said Salazar.

In 1993, Salazar worked for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies as a civil rights and criminal investigator. His experience there is what he credits to be the motivating force that drove him to University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

“What I saw was that I was being limited as a civil rights investigator in terms of what I could and could not do for people,” Salazar said.

By 2003 Salazar was practicing through his own firm, taking on civil rights and discrimination-based cases. His success caught recognition from Super Lawyers Magazine, who named Salazar a Rising Star in 2012 as a “Top rated Civil Rights attorney in the area of civil rights and constitutional law.”

Salazar took his conviction for Civil Rights and the constitution to the Colorado Legislature in 2012, where he currently serves in his third term as State Representative for House District 31 (Thornton).

“I was tired of seeing communities being run over by democrats and republicans alike. What really got me going was when in 2011 republicans tried to take away $125,000 from poor kids for free and reduced school lunches to balance the budget. They didn’t go after oil and gas or the big special interests; they went after poor kids.”

You’ll often find Salazar immersed in community activism, building coalitions with community-based organizations. Salazar is a founding member of the Dog House Dems, a group of legislators recognized for being outspoken and firm in standing up to their legislative colleagues when injustice is identified on either side of the isle. Alongside Representative Jovan Melton (HD-41) and Representative Leslie Herod (HD-8), the Dog House Dems push back when communities aren’t prioritized over special interests.

Salazar’s legislative voting record is one in favor of women, LGBTQ folks, the undocumented, and black, indigenous, and Muslim communities. He has supported legislation that protects the health of the environment, domestic violence victims, the houseless community, and reproductive rights. Salazar will be reintroducing the Right to Rest Act this year, legislation to stop the criminalization of the houseless.

As vice-chair of the House State Affairs Committee he helped kill every bill that discriminated against or targeted the LGBTQ community. Every year it has been introduced, Joe co-sponsors legislation banning conversion therapy. As an attorney he represents members of the queer community in front of the Colorado Civil Rights Division against bad employers. This year he is bringing a bill to protect the LGBTQ community from being targeted by the Trump administration.

“I see the same patterns of history being targeted onto the LGBTQ communities as I’ve seen with communities of color,” he said, “We’ve suffered though these indignities throughout the generations, and if I can rise up and stand up with the LGBTQ community to lessen those affects and battle against them, then that is where I’m at and where I’ll always be.”

In his last race, Salazar’s humanitarian, environmental, and social justice platform gained national attention and the support of a fellow progressive; he was one of the original eight elected officials endorsed by presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders.

In May 2017 Salazar announced his candidacy for Colorado Attorney General. His experience as a Civil Rights attorney and as a legislator make him a strong candidate in the race. Salazar is determined to use his knowledge in policymaking and coalition building to serve the people of Colorado.

“I want to return the office of the People’s lawyer back to the People” said Salazar.

Salazar has refused to take campaign contributions from big industries in the past and is running his current campaign in the same fashion. He recalls an envelope he opened in a previous house race:

“I once received a check from the banking industry and I put a Post-It on it that read ’thanks but no thanks’ and sent it back. When I was told ‘you can’t do that,’ I said, ‘the hell I can’t; this is the People’s campaign’ and I won’t be beholden to any big money.'”

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