Trevor Jones is running for the Democratic nomination for House District 5 in the 2026 primaries.
House District 5 covers central Denver. The seat is currently held by Democratic state Rep. Alex Valdez, who is term-limited.
Also running in this primary are Justine Sandoval, Sterling Simms and Thaddeus Clayton. Rayna Kingston withdrew.
Who is Trevor Jones?
Trevor Jones, 39, was born and raised in Denver and is the CEO of a Denver-based software company, Lynx. The company tracks environmental conditions and creates worker safety data and environmental data.
The company began as a consulting firm but quickly evolved into something larger. Jones said his experience with environmental issues would be a plus in politics.
“We do have environmental issues in the north side of HD5, we have disparate impact around things like how many people are admitted to the hospital for asthma because of some of the emissions that come from companies in the north side of the district,” Jones said. “We can hold (companies) to account in a way that's not a finger-wagging exercise, that's actually approaching them on a business level.”
Jones has lived in Dener all his life, leaving only to attend Tulane University in Louisiana. He was there during Hurricane Katrina and called it a formative moment for his political beliefs.
“That experience marked me as a Democrat for my entire life. We saw people that were just totally mistreated by the federal government, by local governments,” Jones said. “I've seen what happens when there's a lack of compassion for the individual and the government level, and that really shaped me.”
Jones said his top three priorities are affordability; public safety, with an emphasis on mental health and gun control; and sustainability.
What’s his experience?
Before Jones was a CEO, he had a few different jobs.
For years, he was an undercover housing tester with the nonprofit Denver Metro Fair Housing Center. Jones was the control, or in his words a “standard white guy.” The idea was to test whether landlords treated him differently than people with disabilities or those from other races and ethnicities. He was also a special education paraprofessional. Jones got a degree in psychology from Tulane and then a master’s in international affairs from the University of Denver.
“DU really changed my life. I found myself presenting at the State Department and meeting diplomats and understanding how Colorado really interfaces with a global community, which I also think is really important for a number of reasons,” Jones said. “It also helped me understand how we can talk about and respond to international issues that sometimes we feel a little bit helpless about, I'm thinking of Gaza, I'm thinking of Ukraine.”
He is married to an immigrant and said the process of getting his wife's green card opened his eyes.
“I want to protect us from the BS, from what's going on federally, but also understand the potential we have,” Jones said. “Trump will go away in two or three years, and so we really need to be thinking hard about what's next.”
Jones' take on the state and national Democratic party
Jones said the party needs to work together and empower each other.
“We need to make sure that as Democrats, both locally and nationally, we're uniting to fight the tyranny of the current administration. We're talking about a cruel or unusual abuse of power,” Jones said. “We're in unique times. When I see Democratic infighting and that kind of thing, it really breaks my heart. We need to just be on the same team.”
More on his campaign
He has a campaign website and said they’re “rocking the acronym” T4D, or Trevor for Denver.
