HOME OF THE DEMOCRACIA U.S.A. HEROES
A new dawn recently awoke the town of Pueblo, transforming it from a sleepy town nestled in the Colorado rocky mountains to one of hope and energy. Democracia U.S.A. (D-USA) sparked an excitement as its team quickly launched the extension of its successful voter registration campaign further into the Southwest region.
The operation is lead by the Colorado State Coordinator, Isaac Medrano, whose passion for Latino civic empowerment is fueled by his wealth of previous political campaign organizing experience in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, California, Oregon, and Nevada. As the Latino coordinator in Nevada, he was responsible for generating the highest record of Latino turnout for any previous voter election period. In Pueblo, Medrano unleashed a contagious, positive energy into the area, quickly breaking D-USA records!
Over 320 folks were registered to vote in the campaign’s first three days, thanks to the generosity of D-USA funders who enabled D-USA canvassing teams to hit the ground running, knocking on doors by utilizing Pueblo’s most valuable resource: its citizens.
“Our fundamental core belief,” says Jorge Mursuli, President and CEO of Democracia U.S.A., “is that you simply must draw upon the local talents of the region we strive to serve. Community partnership is absolutely paramount.”
Weakened by the collapse of the U.S. steel industry, Pueblo has suffered severe economic hardship, making jobs a scarcity. The news of D-USA canvassing employment opportunities spread like wildfire among the community, with folks eagerly signing up. As evidence of the welcoming news, local unions also sent job-seekers to the new D-USA office located right in the heart of a familiar landmark located in historic downtown – the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Pueblo building. Large crowds flooded the daily orientation sessions.
The bigger story beyond Latino civic engagement is the unexpected positive effect of D-USA’s entry into the Pueblo community. A local food union member who has not worked in four years has been completely transformed by the D-USA canvassing experience. “Laura” (whose name has been changed to protect her privacy), proudly registered 13 of her fellow citizens on her first day working on the voter registration campaign. When Colorado State Coordinator Medrano called her home to notify her of the new work schedule, her husband greeted him with a surprising, enthusiastic response: “I’m so proud of her! I haven’t seen my wife this happy in a long time and I thank you for this!”
“Team Work. Pride. Self-Esteem building by being a part of something bigger than yourself. That’s what we’re all about,” shared Rafael Collazo, National Deputy Director, who spearheaded the Colorado expansion, “Helping make a positive difference in the Latino community by empowering local folks is the key to our success. This has been a life-changing experience here in Pueblo and seeing the transformation has really meant a lot to me.”
Pueblo, Colorado, has been nicknamed “Home of the Heroes” and nowhere is this better evidenced than by one of D-USA’s newest Colorado shining stars, Alejandro. A young, single father whose sincerity of heart penetrated his hip, urban swagger as he shared during orientation training his reason why he wanted to help register his community to vote, “I want to do this for my son, so he can have a better future. It’s for him.” And precisely for that reason, Medrano has described him as “Outstanding,” attributing his passion to the reason Alejandro has successfully risen to become the second-highest D-USA voter registrar to-date.
Democracia U.S.A. is proud to welcome many of the local Pueblo hometown heroes as part of its team. Literally walking in from the street, canvassers repeatedly expressed appreciation for someone finally believing in them enough to “give me a chance when no one else would.” These are the very folks who are helping transform D-USA’s newest Latino voter empowerment campaign into a tremendous success – well beyond mere numbers.
As Medrano continues working hard in Pueblo furthering D-USA’s mission of empowering and increasing the Latino vote, he carries with him a story which serves to fuels his fire. On the first day he hit the ground in Pueblo, Eddie Montour (Director of El Centro del Quinto Sol located in the predominantly Hispanic East Side neighborhood), shared the story of the current Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder Gilbert “Bo” Ortiz’s stunning victory by a razor-sharp margin of only two votes. This amazing fact sharply underscores the tremendous responsibility D-USA carries of ensuring not one Latino vote falls through the cracks of Pueblo’s rocky terrain, and one – you can be sure – that will not be taken lightly!
