Colorado Progressive Coalition!

Greetings from the Colorado Progressive Coalition!

Great Press!
CPC Partners with El Voto Latino to Give Hope & Build Power
(posted August 13, 2007)

Dear Colorado Progressive Coalition Members & Friends:

Thanks to your support, since 2002 CPC has built one of the nation's leading non-partisan voter outreach programs. Each year, we reach tens of thousands of people of color, low- and middle-income people, and young voters - people that most politicians and big money campaigns don't pay attention to - to inspire them to vote. For this, CPC was rated one of the nation's top 5 community voter programs in 2004 by TrueMajority.org.

For 2007-2008, CPC is already building a massive voter program to reach nearly 200,000 voters in the 2008 presidential election. In the months ahead, we'll be reaching out to you to ask for your donation of money and time to help us build a brighter future for Colorado.

In the meantime, we'd like to share with you a great article from Saturday's Greeley Tribune spotlighting CPC's work with El Voto Latino, an excellent Greeley grassroots group. Greeley, as you may recall, was the site of a devastating December immigration raid that tore apart families and depressed a community.

Thanks to the work of CPC staffers Lindsey Hodel and James Johnson, Greeley CPC members Theresa Solis and Nicole Hurt, and excellent local partners like El Voto Latino, LULAC, and others, hope is building in Greeley. Take a look, it's an exciting snapshot of what the article calls an "emboldened and growing" community of activists!

Thank you for your support and membership. In peace,

Bill Vandenberg, for
Colorado Progressive Coalition

El Voto Latino sets sights on municipal election
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20070811/NEWS/70811001&SearchID=73289948156173
Meghan Murphy
August 11, 2007

An emboldened and growing group of El Voto Latino activists expressed high hopes Friday for influencing the 2007 municipal elections through voter registration and education efforts.

"I think the timing is ripe. If we're there with outreach, people will respond," said Don Coloroso of Latinos Unidos at the kickoff event.

In its second year, El Voto Latino is partnering with the Colorado Progressive Coalition and eight other Latino activist groups. The official goal is to recruit 100 volunteers and register 1,000 voters through grassroots efforts. But Coloroso felt that estimate would be easily beat after a year that saw the Swift & Co. immigration raids and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office created in Greeley. The group registered 377 additional voters last year.

Roberto Córdova, director of El Voto Latino, believes that Latinos already significantly influence local elections, but he wants to get that message across to candidates as well.

"What we hope to do is make all the politicians in Greeley aware that there's 4,500 (Latino) votes here," Córdova said.

The group has far more support this year from partnering agencies, which also have election experience. The Progressive Coalition has been active in Colorado for 10 years, although it only opened its northern Colorado office in Greeley two months ago.

Lindsey Hodel, the statewide field director, said the coalition is excited to partner with a group with compatible goals and roots in the community. The coalition focuses on healthcare reform, anti-racism, racial justice and voter outreach.

Aside from door-to-door and supermarket efforts to register voters, El Voto Latino will also host at least two televised bilingual forums to help educate voters, Córdova said. The forums will also give Latinos an opportunity to make candidates aware of local Latino issues.

For more information

The Colorado Progressive Coalition is holding an open house for its new office and the Family Resource Center at 4 p.m., Aug. 24 at 1403 2nd St. in Greeley.

To volunteer for El Voto Latino, call Agner Martinez at 970-324-0801

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