Defying Gravity (and Convention)

Driven by a passion for social justice, both Colorado State Senator Dominick Moreno and One Colorado’s Communications Manager, Austin Montoya, understand the value in breaking from convention to achieve their goals.

Nearly a decade ago, Dominick Moreno had just graduated from Georgetown University and trekked back across the country to Adams County, Colorado, where he was born and raised. It didn’t take long for him to decide to run for city council, even though he wrote off his campaign as a long shot.

As we chatted over coffee during the final days of summer, he recounted walking up the stairs of his parents’ basement, where he had been living, to tell them his plan.

“They both looked at me like I was insane,” he said. “But they were obviously very supportive and wanted me to be successful.”

Despite having lived in our nation’s capitol in college, Moreno initially had no idea how to campaign. He went into it blindly and mimicked his opponents’ strategies, like knocking on voters’ doors. He even bought a book called How to Win a Local Election.

But his lack of experience also kept him immune to certain pressures and conventions.

For example, he found it disrespectful to the decision-making process to ask people for their vote while canvassing. He didn’t expect anyone to be able to make up their mind based on a 30-second interaction. Instead, he had conversations with them about the issues they cared about and sought out their opinions.

Not only did he win his first election, he got more votes than the other two candidates combined.

Moreno stayed true to that technique throughout his campaigns for seats in the State House of Representatives and the State Senate as well. In 2016, he was elected to the Senate as a representative of Adams County. His colleagues selected him to serve on the Joint Budget Committee, which is responsible for writing and balancing Colorado’s $28 billion annual budget—a rare distinction for a freshman senator. For him, it’s worth straying from the pack in order to stay true to his morals.

Moreno also stood out in ways that were beyond his control, the most apparent of which being his age. It was tough for him to gain respect at times, so he was very intentional about his appearance. He didn’t own a suit, so he wore the most professional attire he had—a button-down shirt and a tie—every day.

He recalled an instance when he and the oldest city council member were having a debate that got heated. While Moreno was speaking, a fellow city council member turned to him and said, “Why don’t you shut up.”

“Everyone there was very taken aback because that’s not how you address people in a city council meeting,” he said. The mayor, who was facilitating, didn’t even object in Moreno’s defense. “I felt really lonely that day.”

Moreno knew that the only reason this council member felt that he could talk to him that way was because Moreno was young, so he pulled him aside after the meeting and politely told him not to do that in the future. The council member graciously apologized and was respectful from then on.

Despite the challenges that came with being young, there was no denying his fresh perspective and innovative ideas, and Morena accomplished a lot, including a smoking ban in parks in Commerce City and a land donation for a new Boys and Girls club.

Mental health services have also been an important political issue for him because, on a personal level, mental health services helped him through his coming out process in college, helped him gain the confidence to come out to his family after he graduated, and helped him face the push-back he got once he came out publicly.

Moreno’s political experience has shown him the importance of political representatives who reflect the community they represent, whether that means young folks, LGBTQ folks, or people of color.

“But,” he said, “the legislature is still not representative of the population as a whole.”

As a life-long resident in his district and as an out LGBTQ politician of color, Moreno is in the perfect position to understand issues facing his constituents. By not losing sight of what is important to him personally, he is better able to convey the concerns of his community as their political representative.

He is not alone.

“For me it comes naturally as a gay man of color. It’s always at the forefront of our minds,” said Austin Montoya, about One Colorado and their goals of disseminating messages to a wide array of communities. One of the reasons Montoya was drawn to One Colorado was because they deemphasize the boundaries between communities and have an intersectional approach to their work.

Instead of forming to the mold of fellow social justice organizations, One Colorado expands what social justice means and pushes its fellow organizations to do the same.

One Colorado is known as an LGBTQ advocacy organization, but Montoya points out the simple truth that, “our community is full of many different communities.” No one fits into just one category. It is through this lens that One Colorado aims to deliver information, and it is this lens that distinguishes One Colorado from the other social justice organizations with which Montoya has worked.

Montoya always wanted to be involved with One Colorado, but his job gives him a vantage point to see the intolerance that still exists even within the organization. He said that it’s difficult to sit in a committee and see representatives and leaders of his community saying bigoted, inaccurate things about people like him.

“It’s hard not to feel personally attacked,” he said. At that point, it’s about him as a person, not just his career. “My personal life becomes very public.”

But, for him, it’s worth it. He reasoned that he never would have been satisfied in his original career path of journalism because he could not sit on the sidelines and be an unbiased observer.

Both Montoya and Moreno make sacrifices to stay true to their values for the benefit of their communities, and their message is simple: There is no one correct way to make change, and the most important thing Coloradans can do for their community is to get involved as early as possible, in any way possible. Follow your instincts.