An open letter to Sen. John Hickenlooper from a local trans person

Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper

Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper (D) held a town hall meeting in Grand Junction on Monday, April 14 at the Asteria Theater at Colorado Mesa University. Following is a letter that one attendee at the town hall named Ramana sent Sen. Hickenlooper after the event, to share her impressions about his town hall meeting. Ramana sent the letter to the Senator, but didn’t know if he would ever actually see or read it, so she’s willing to share it publicly as an open letter. It is published here in its entirety:

I was at your town hall on Monday…

…and I’m scared. I’m so scared. I’m scared for myself, a trans individual. I’m scared for my friend and coworker who just passed her citizenship test. I’m scared for my parents, 73 and 75, who are trying to decide if they need VPNs [virtual private networks] on their phones. I’m scared for the people who come into my workplace to fill out forms to request government assistance and tell me their stories. I’m scared for the college kids I build community with. 

You spoke, at the townhall, about trying to build relationships with Republican legislators and appointees that would be strong enough to withstand the pressure of rich men and Trump. You said you hoped it worked, that maybe you were wrong. I think your results speak for themselves. This is what you were doing during the last Trump presidency, as I understand it, and here we are. Trump again. I strongly believe you need to change tactics. You voted for Rubio, and now he’s enabling the illegal removal of residents of the United States. We are scared and this is not helping to create accountability for the Trump administration.

Dean Withers, Grand Junction-based political commentator and livestreamer (Screenshot: TikTok)

You spoke, at the townhall, about social media and involving young people. But you also don’t seem to be willing to create the kind of sensationalization, drama, or statement that will bring you to the forefront as a moral, upright, leader of those who believe in democracy. Hire a young social media manager. You don’t even have BlueSky, from what I can tell. Start grooming young influencers, young democrats, especially on the Western Slope, who have the bonafides of coming from working class families, coming from conservative rural areas, and help them achieve the success you have. You could do worse than look at Dean Withers, or Keith, who spoke at your townhall and is already learning how to be a leader in the CMU student government.  We are scared, and we need you to demonstrate positive ways forward.

You spoke, at the townhall, about building community and focusing on local elections as something that we, the constituents, can do. Guide us. We have community, we have Mutual Aid Partners, we have Humanists Doing Good, we have social activities at Mesa County Public Libraries. But we don’t know how to change that. The Democratic National Party does not appear to be helping local Democrat leaders. I hear nothing but “why should we even try?” I hear questions about how to create grassroots movements. And you gave us no specifics, no concrete details or guides on how to build community and foster more liberal local elections. Put an organizing guide on your website, or prominent links to one. Campaign to make Election Day and National Holiday so that younger people can volunteer at the polls. We are scared, and only concrete, specific instructions are going to make an impact when we don’t have the bandwidth to be anything but scared. 

You spoke, at the townhall, about the things that keep you up at night, specifically, the plight of Gazans and Immigrants. I find that when something keeps me up at night it is because I have not done everything I could do to help. You are a Senator of the United States of America. You are a symbol, and when symbols say something, when symbols unite and speak together, change can begin. You can lead us. But you need to speak in specific and committed ways. You told us stories about your family, about things you’ve done, but the perennial complaint about politicians is not that they can’t be humanized, that they don’t have lives, it is that they can never commit. Show us that you are different. Commit to a position. State, specify, what you will do and won’t do and hold that line. Demonstrate your strong sense of ethics and morals. We are scared, and it doesn’t look like you are protecting us. 

You spoke at the townhall about your commitment to the environment and how you were trying to work with mining companies to promote green energy policies. This was good to know. Do more of this, and by ‘this’ I mean explaining what you are actually doing to your constituents, especially when it looks like you are betraying us. Many of us asked you for a simple action: to vote no on Trump nominees. It may be symbolic, but it is often symbolism that stokes the flames of community and civic spirit. We are scared, and it looks like you are betraying us. 

I wasn’t sure how to label this message. I hope it gets to you. You asked for suggestions. These are mine. I will also be posting this letter in some public settings. I want you to know we, your constituents, are trying. I help organize small social groups. I go to rallies and protests. I do the things you suggested. Will you do any of the things I suggested?