Week 23: Don't just talk the talk. Also walk the walk!

Dear Colorado Voter,

The two Democrats competing in the Secretary of State primary election spent $600,000. The winner, Amanda Gonzalez, was outspent two to one.

The primary election is only round 1. Any media and pundits prematurely proclaiming Amanda G. the "next Secretary of State" are disrespecting the process. Allow the voters to consider me and the other SoS candidates on the November ballot! (Two Amandas are running. The other is Amanda Campbell of the American Constitution Party.) Journalists and the media have a duty to report on all serious candidates and to put them under the microscope.

Words are cheap; actions are the real deal! I am the only candidate walking the walk for your right to vote and for better representation. Amanda G. talks the talk, but doesn't always follow through by walking the walk.

I have challenged two 2025 bills that – for the first time in American history – unconstitutionally allow the government in a special election to take away the right to vote based on party affiliation. On Amanda G.'s website: "Your vote is your power. I won't let anyone take that from you." What is she saying about these unconstitutional bills? Nothing. On Nov 15, 2025, when I asked her in person about the bills, she said she'd look into them. Since then, still nothing.

I have spent the past 15 years working for election results that reflect the will of the electorate. In the June 15th Common Cause candidate forum, Amanda G. said that she would "absolutely" support county clerks by promulgating rules for proportional ranked voting. Yet, after a March 3, 2025 hearing on House Bill 25-1265, she thanked the committee Vice Chair for his amendment to strip proportional ranked voting from the bill. Her action reveals a lack of commitment to better representation.

Colorado is a "blue" state, but the Secretary of State should be nonpartisan. The Forward Party encourages voters to look at candidates, not their party label. The Forward Party endorses candidates across the political spectrum. Voters who call themselves independents can exercise that independence by voting for the best candidates instead of a straight-party ballot! Even The Denver Post in 2022 broke away from its slew of endorsements for Democrats to endorse a well-respected Republican, Pam Anderson, for Secretary of State.

My website's Priorities page has more examples of how I not only talk the talk but also walk the walk.

With enthusiasm and purpose,

Celeste