Yes, there is an El Paso County Democratic party

El Paso County Democrats kicked off its campaign season in April with a rally on the steps of the Colorado Springs City Hall.Speakers included Rep. Michael Merrifield (House District 18), Susan O’Connell (wife of Jay Fawcett, a veteran of the first Gulf War and candidate for Joel Hefley’s seat in the House of Representatives), John Gudvangen (president of District 11 Board of Education), Jessica Spencer (president of Young Democrats) and JJ Courtright (co-founder of the group, Drinking Liberally). The speakers declared their support for the following principles:

• Fiscal responsibility in government
• Defense for all of the human rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights
• A clear separation of church and state
• Freedom from undue government interference in our private lives and personal decisions
• A quality environment in which to raise our children
• The value of diversity within the community
• Rewarding honest, hard work with a living wage and fair taxation
• Community support for strong families

After explaining why it was so important to mobilize grassroots support, the speakers led the energized crowd in a cheer of “Together, America Can Do Better!”After the rally, volunteers walked through city neighborhoods to reach out to the more than 71,000 Democrats in El Paso County. According to Karen Teja, spokesperson for the Democratic Party in El Paso County, data prepared by the county shows that 54 percent of El Paso County’s 182,791 voters are unaffiliated, Democratic or belong to parties other than the Republican Party.The Democratic Party is fielding candidates for state Senate Districts 9 and 11 as well as state House Districts 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21.For more information on the candidates and a calendar of events, see www.peakdems.org.