Grassroots Democracy

Every year, our Legislative Committee tracks bills that might impact the Western Slope, including legislation that we have put forward ourselves. When important bills are coming up for a vote, depending on the circumstances, we might send members to Denver to testify, ask our legislative liaison to lobby on our behalf or send out alerts to our membership to call their representatives. Each year we also host our annual People’s Lobby Trip. A group of members and allies travels to Denver with Alliance organizers to get a taste of how our state government works by meeting with legislators and speaking with them about specific bills of interest.

A pinnacle of grassroots democracy happens when voters put forward a statewide ballot initiative on a critical issue. Over recent years, our Alliance has participated in a number of statewide and local coalitions, working to pass an initiative — everything from circulating petitions to ‘get out the vote’ canvassing. Recent examples of our campaigns include the 2019 Spring City Election bid for a Community Center in Grand Junction and the 2016 Minimum Wage initiative which succeeded in raising the state’s minimum wage to $12/hour by 2020.

Developing leaders in our communities to champion important issues is key to building grassroots power. We offer in-depth organizing trainings structured to support the campaigns, programs, and issues our affiliate groups, members, and allied organizations are working on. These trainings cover topics including: • Direct voter contact • Social media tips and best practices • Volunteer recruitment and retention • Issue campaign planning

Sometimes government agencies have formal processes for gathering public opinion about a specific project or regulation. We take full advantage of those opportunities by alerting our members, encouraging comment-writing participation, or, in the case of public hearings, organizing attendance and testimony.