We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Davis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, how does your business help the community?
Engaging in party politics is difficult for anyone, but young people face obstacles unique to our community. Between school, taking first steps into political careers, starting families, navigating the bureaucracy of party politics can feel like a waste of time to many young people who want to immediately impact elections and legislative policy processes.

Thankfully, the leadership team of the Colorado Young Democrats (CYD) strives to create a space within the Colorado Democratic Party (CDP) that cuts red tape, empowers young people to organize in ways that work for them, and teaches members how to work within party systems and norms to advance their goals. Since adopting this approach to organizing in April 2023, we have recruited over 160 members across the state, have over ten local chapters up and down the front range, and have elected members into CDP leadership positions at local, county, and statewide levels. Looking forward, we plan to use the youth power in CYD to elect Democrats that align with our values, advocate for policies that address the immediate needs of young people, and work with CDP to ensure that our party is not just accessible to young people, but accessible to all marginalized communities!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In August 2023, I was diagnosed as Autistic with ADHD (AuDHD), which put my passion for politics into perspective. At seven years old, I had opinions on hanging chads in Florida. At fourteen, I became an advocate for healthcare as a human right. At twenty-four, I graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a double major in political science and philosophy. This special interest in politics has given me a deep understanding of political organizing and the stakes of inaction.

During the Democratic Party’s 2017 reorganization meeting, I became the Second Vice Chair of the Arapahoe County Democratic Party, where I facilitated contested caucuses and assemblies, vacancy committee meetings for elected offices, and learned the inner workings of Democratic Party politics. Shortly thereafter, I took my first position as campaign manager, which began an electoral organizing career that has included small-town ballot initiatives, some of the most competitive congressional campaigns in the country, and countless candidate endorsement interviews. While this work has been rewarding, it hasn’t been easy.

Organizing as a young person, particularly within political parties, forces one to deal with the following obstacles:

1) The slow pace of the party’s bureaucratic approach to organizing
2) Incompatibility of the party with traditional youth organizing tactics
3) Impressions that your age makes you less capable of long-term, strategic planning

To overcome these challenges, I used my position as Chair of the Colorado Young Democrats to create a space that genuinely meets young people where they are. This means emphasizing the importance of holding Democrats in public office accountable to our values, supporting young people when they run for office, and breaking down barriers that make the Democratic Party inaccessible to young people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A political tour of Colorado would have to start at the state capital, where we would meet outstanding elected officials such as Representative Lorena Garcia, Representative Yara Zokaie, and Senator Iman Jodeh. I am consistently floored by the excellent work these women do to improve our state for all. Representative Manny Rutinel, our youngest state representative, is also a must-meet player under the dome. His advocacy for the environment centers on his constituents, who are directly impacted by the pollution of the Suncor oil refinery.

Next, we would stop at the Colorado Democratic Party headquarters to meet CDP Chair Shad Murib and the party staff. Working with these party leaders to contact voters and educate party members about our mission and tactics is always rewarding!

We would finish our day at Stoney’s Bar and Grill, a favorite spot for party members and elected officials to meet after a long day of advocacy work and campaigning.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Countless people deserve a shoutout by the Colorado Young Democrats! First, I would like to thank our donors who have given us the financial support to help fund young delegates to the Democratic National Convention last summer, youth outreach campaigns, and host events to create a community of politically active young people. I would also like to give a shoutout to mentors like DNC Member Howard Chou, Jefferson Democratic Latino Initiative Chair Vicky Lopez, and Weld County Democratic Party Chair Jeri Shepherd. The CYD Executive Board all deserve shoutouts: Jasmine Ramirez, Christian Seale, Lindsay Saunders-Velez, Sam Jarris, Jeremi Medina, Elizabeth Sulivan, Braeden Miguel, Sasha Lindau, and Sean Gelson. I’ll also extend a special thank you to our local chapter chairs and chairs of our standing committees: Dani Dawes Cox, Michale Barlow-Roach, Andrew Barton, Luke Miller, Aidan Susser, Alex Kim, Sophia Johnson, Sydney Haney, Jacob Topping, Jack Ridpath, Liz Webb, Charlotte Pardo, Tom Byron, and Connor Roderick. Finally, our membership deserves the biggest thank you because our organization would not exist without them!

Website: https://www.coloradoyoungdems.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coloradoyoungdemocrats?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-davis-5b5780181

Twitter: None

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColoradoYoungDemocrats

Yelp: None

Youtube: None

Other: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/coyoungdems.bsky.social

Image Credits
I have the right to use the images provided.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.