Once again, the Democratic Party has to fill a vacancy in Senate District 31, the district that represents central and southeastern Denver and parts of Glendale and Arapahoe County.
The seat is open because state Sen. Chris Hansen will not serve his second term. He won re-election, but then said he’d step down to be CEO of La Plata Electric Association in southwestern Colorado.
His replacement for the next two years will be selected by a group of more than 100 people in the district. The vacancy committee will include volunteer precinct organizers, Democratic state legislators and local party officers who live in the district.
Whoever wins will have a strong chance of staying in the squarely Democratic seat in coming elections. They will serve until the next general election in 2026, when they can run as the incumbent if they choose. This is the third vacancy in the district in recent years.
The vacancy committee will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
The public can attend, if there’s space. But only voting vacancy committee members will be allowed to participate in the decision making.
Candidates will participate in a forum just before the vote. Anybody can submit questions for the candidates at the Democratic Party of Denver website.
Denverite spoke to the candidates to hear more about who they are, why they’re running and what their top issues are affordability, the environment and protecting Colorado from Donald Trump’s presidency. We met lawmakers and lawyers, parents, business owners, veterans and entrepreneurs – all with a commitment to Colorado.
They are presented in alphabetical order by last name.
Matthew Ball
A fifth-generation Coloradan with three kids of his own, Matt Ball, 38, grew up in Colorado and spent years in the military as an Army ranger. He did three combat deployments in Afghanistan and one in Turkey, where he was with a group of special operators combating ISIS in Syria.
When he returned to the United States, like many veterans, he experienced mental health struggles — which he says has informed his priorities since.
He attended law school at Stanford, and practiced appellate and private criminal defense law for five years.
Mayor Mike Johnston recruited Ball as his director of policy. He has been instrumental in creating the city’s Road to Recovery program, helping people get treatment for mental health issues and substance use disorders, among other priorities.
Colorado, he says, is lagging when it comes to addressing mental health and having enough beds in treatment programs for the people who need them.
“We really need a strong voice to help build up a mental health system at the state level,” he said.
At the statehouse, he wants to ensure that new laws include local input.
While Ball has enjoyed taking “big swings” with the Johnston administration, he says he is running as his own person.
“I'm not riding with anybody else's ideology,” he said.
Ball is joining the race, in part, because of his concerns over another Donald Trump presidency.
“Looking at the prospect of a second Trump administration, we are going to need a lot of strength at the Statehouse to keep Colorado as strong as it is, as a bulwark against what is happening federally,” he said.
Sean Camacho
Attorney and Air Force reservist Sean Camacho, 41, grew up in Colorado Springs in a military family, the son of an Army dad and a mom who worked as a union meat cutter. Camacho served in Afghanistan, Iraq, East Africa and Colombia. After leaving the military, he used the G.I. Bill to pay for law school.
Camacho now lives in the Lowry neighborhood. He’s the recently elected House District 6 representative, having defeated Democratic Rep. Elisabeth Epps in the primary before winning the general against Republican Kyle Witter. Camacho is slated to start working as a House representative in the upcoming session.
Hansen, the outgoing senator, has endorsed Camacho to take his seat — a move that upset many party members who didn’t think the outgoing candidate should have sway in whoever took his seat.
As an attorney, Camacho has represented government and commercial clients, from small businesses to defense contractors.
Camacho said his priorities include modernizing Denver’s tax code, providing more housing, improving the environment, and lowering the cost of living. With the state facing a $1 billion deficit, he says the role needs a strategic thinker.
Camacho said he’s concerned about the lack of diversity in the Senate and wants to fill a representation gap among Latinos in office.
Camacho said he already won the support of voters in House District 6, which overlaps with pars of Senate District 31.
“Why wouldn't I give those voters who trusted me to represent them in [HD] 6 that same opportunity to represent them in the Senate?” he said.
Chris Chiari
Hotelier and film producer Chris Chiari, 51, was raised in New York City and attended a Navy military high school. He went to college in Boston, took his first job in Los Angeles and moved to South Florida.
At 27, he was diagnosed with melanoma. A doctor told him “not to make a long-term plan.” Through that process, he learned about the flaws of the healthcare system.
Shortly after, he got involved in Democratic politics as the chair of the Broward County Young Democrats. He sat on citizen advisory groups for schools, utilities and law enforcement in Florida.
In 2013, Chiari moved to Denver. He’s run for Denver City Council and served as the chair of House District 2. For the past six years, he has owned the Patterson Inn, a boutique Capitol Hill hotel, where he lives and wants to open a legal cannabis lounge.
“I am in this race to listen to this district and then bring bills and initiatives forward that are a representation of the district,” Chiari said.
He’s positioning himself as an alternative to the status quo, namely Rep. Steven Woodrow and Camacho, both elected House members, whom he says are the presumed leaders of the vacancy contest.
At the heart of his campaign is a commitment to “a clean environment” — an issue he’s worked on with Ean Tafoya and Brian Loma on the Waste No More campaign.
“It's time that Colorado sets the standard, lays down the benchmark, and gives everyone else something to look up to and keep up with,” he said.
Iris Halpern
Attorney Iris Halpern, 44, was born in Philadelphia and raised in Massachusetts. She attended law school in Berkeley and came to Colorado to work for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Halpern, who lives in Congress Park, currently works for Rathod Mohamedbhai and focuses on civil rights and fighting employment discrimination. She has represented victims of police violence. Lately, she’s been focused on protecting librarians from book bans in Colorado and beyond, in states including Texas.
She decided to enter the race after Republicans swept the national elections. She wants to use her legal mind and the legislative process to protect Colorado from “a hostile federal administration.”
“Our values, the things we care about, the things that make Colorado great, are going to be under attack,” Halpern said.
“If we want to protect our communities, celebrate and make progress on issues that we find to be important to us, and to make sure that our values continue to be at the forefront of who we are, we're going to have to create a plan to do that,” Halpern said.
Addressing the lack of affordable housing, supporting small businesses, and prioritizing safety, civil rights and environmental sustainability top her agenda, she said.
Halpern wants to address a variety of safety issues, including aggressive driving in dense neighborhoods.
She wants to protect the rights of the LGBTQ community and communities of color, and she hopes to preserve residents’ autonomy over their health choices.
Shaneis Malouff
Shaneis Malouff, 34, grew up the oldest of five kids in Colorado. She’s a board certified medical provider by trade, though she currently is the chief of staff for the Auraria Campus. She has worked on health care legislation in seven states. She currently lives in Capitol Hill.
Ten years ago, she started working as an an orthotist and prosthetist. During that time, she saw cracks in the health-care system, including insurance companies denying coverage for prosthetics. This inspired her to work in public health policy.
After November’s election, she was frustrated with Republican victories and Trump’s impending second term. When the vacancy came open, she decided to run and embarked on a listening tour.
She said that while she heard about the environment, health care, education and housing, the common thread was the need for more state spending.
“What we all agree on is most of these things, if not all of those things, cost money,” she said. “And we’re at a billion-dollar shortfall at the state right now.”
As she sees it, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is the heart of the problem.
Malouff wants to cap the profit margins of insurance companies and put other limits on profits in health care. She also wants to increase taxes on the top 1 percent of earners to address the state’s budget deficit. (Under TABOR, this could only be done with a vote of the people.)
Malouff says she’s committed to bipartisanship, and points to laws she’s helped pass in both blue and red states.
“We have to make sure that we do things energetically, we do things together as much as we possibly can, and we're also fierce in the sense that we stand up for what we believe in,” she said.
Monica VanBuskirk
Monica VanBuskirk, 44, was born to a carpenter and a nurse in Belize. She spent her childhood with her family following migrant farm workers through the Midwest. She’s the owner of the business consultancy Meapta and Campster.kids is raising her kids in Denver on the border of the Hilltop and Lowry neighborhoods.
She has served as a precinct officer for the Democratic Party. She is an expert in health care finance and policy.
When she learned about the SD31 vacancy, people encouraged her to run, she said. She was also motivated by the November election results.
“We have to be incredibly cognizant of the fact that Colorado is a beacon of democracy, but also in some ways, a target,” she said. “And so I'm running because I'm good at being strategic and also have the fortitude to stand up for Colorado in what I think are going to be some pretty contentious policy situations.”
VanBuskirk has asked the precinct organizers to talk to the community to identify big issues. She says district residents’ top priorities include affordability for housing and childcare.
VanBuskirk says she’s committed to public safety. She’s worried about cuts to Medicare and how to protect immigrants and transgender people from any federal attacks.
She plans on bracing the state for reductions in federal funding for areas like health and education. She wants to replace federal funds with new fees on Coloradans, businesses and visitors.
As she sees it, the role of state legislators is to prepare to play defense and offense against the incoming presidential administration.
“A scarcity mindset is a hard one to stay collaborative in,” VanBuskirk said. “I think it will require a lot of fortitude and strength on the part of our legislature.”
Steven Woodrow
Rep. Steven Woodrow, 44, grew up in the suburbs of Detroit. He was raised by his single mom, a teacher. His father died of a heart disease when Woodrow was an infant — a disease Woodrow inherited.
Woodrow attended law school in Chicago and later represented political clients. But otherwise, he stayed out of Chicago politics.
Woodrow moved to Colorado in 2011. The economy was suffering, but he was doing well with a firm. During the 2016 election, he became interested in local Democratic politics and started working with the precinct committee. At the time, Democrats were working to take over the state Senate.
Woodrow, who currently lives in Washington Park, holds the House seat previously occupied by Chris Hansen. Woodrow first became a representative through an earlier vacancy process in 2020.
Woodrow’s House seat came open when then-Rep. Hansen was appointed to replace Sen. Lois Court , who had resigned from SD31. That left House District 6 open, and Woodrow beat six competitors to take the seat.
Woodrow took office just before pandemic shutdowns took effect in the U.S.
“For about six weeks, it was the typical drinking out of a fire hose for a new rep,” he said. Then COVID hit. “That fire hose turned into several water cannons.”
In office, he’s worked to secure federal funds for COVID-19 relief, affordable housing and mental health care. He has won two reelection campaigns.
He was a key proponent of HB24-1313, a bill to allow more housing development near transit, and HB24-1304, a bill that prohibits some cities from requiring the construction of new parking spots in developments near transit. Both bills passed.
He said his priorities in the Senate would include addressing climate change, preventing the Colorado National Guard from being co-opted to serve federal interests, gun violence, homelessness, affordable housing, criminal justice reform and public education.
“I'm the only one in the race with legislative experience and a legislative record that I’m really proud of,” he said.
His experience in the House would be valuable in the Senate, he argued. Democrats have smaller margins in the Senate, and there are fewer senators, making each vote even more important.
“We really need effective representation for the Senate district on day one,” he said. “I have the experience and the relationships.”
What’s next?
The vacancy committee will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at Christ Church United Methodist on 690 Colorado Blvd.
Vacancy members and residents will begin checking in at 6 p.m. The candidate forum will start at 6:30 p.m. and voting will begin at 7:30 p.m.
For more information, go to the Denver Democrats’ website.
Editor’s note: This article was corrected Jan. 6, 2024, at 7:30 a.m. to note that Malouff is a board-certified medical provider, not a doctor. It also previously stated that Chiari was the chair of the Broward County Democrats. In fact, he was the chair of the Broward County Young Democrats.
