Candi CdeBaca
Candi CdeBaca (born April 10, 1986) is the Councilor for the 9th district of the Denver City Council. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America.
Candi CdeBaca | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Denver City Council from the 9th District | |
| Assumed office July 15, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Albus Brooks |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 10, 1986 Elyria-Swansea, Denver |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic Socialists of America Denocratic Communist Party |
| Alma mater | University of Denver |
| Website | City Council website Campaign website |
Life and career
CdeBaca was born in Swansea, a neighborhood of Denver between rail lines and the Interstate 70. As a teenager, she came home one day to find her mother stuck in the street, unable to maneuver her wheelchair over a ramp-less curb. This experience led her to become an activist. In 2006, she co-founded Project VOYCE (Voices of Youth Changing Education), in response to the closure of her school, and helped to organize a class-action lawsuit against Denver Public Schools. CdeBaca was valedictorian and class president at Manual High School, and a first-generation high school graduate. Eventually, she earned bachelor's and master's degrees simultaneously from the University of Denver, then left for Washington, D.C., to work in education advocacy. She returned to Denver in 2014, and once again became involved in local politics.[1]
Denver City Council
CdeBaca was branded a communist, for the anti-capitalist remarks she made during a candidate forum on April 7, 2019, advocating for "community ownership of land, labor, resources, and distribution of those resources." In the days afterwards, the video was shared widely on right-wing news sites, and CdeBaca reportedly received hundreds of death and rape threats. Albus Brooks, the incumbent councilor for the 9th district, was defeated by CdeBaca in a runoff election on June 4, 2019. Ahead of her swearing-in, CdeBaca clarified in an interview that she did not identify as a communist, would have preferred to run unaffiliated, and considered herself to be an anarchist.[2]
She has faced pushback against a controversial tweet (February 28, 2020), in which she appeared to express support for the idea of spreading coronavirus at a Trump rally. A spokesperson claimed it was a "sarcastic tweet, to call attention to the Trump administration’s downplaying of the coronavirus pandemic as a ‘hoax’ no more dangerous than the common flu."[3]
See also
- List of Democratic Socialists of America who have held office in the United States
References
- Kenney, Andrew (July 15, 2019). "Incoming Denver Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca is a democratic socialist. Here's what that means". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- Burness, Alex (June 25, 2019). "People are calling Denver's newest city council member a communist — but she'd rather be called an anarchist". Raw Story. The Colorado Independent. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- Swanson, Conrad (March 3, 2020). "Denver Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca tweets "sarcastic" endorsement of spreading coronavirus at GOP rallies". The Denver Post. Retrieved March 12, 2020.