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Pettersen aspires to reinvest in the next generation

RUNNING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 7 | Democratic state Senator Brittany Pettersen (Photo/El Comercio de Colorado)

MAKING THE AMERICAN DREAM POSSIBLE AGAIN

Antonio Martínez/ El Comercio de Colorado

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Democratic state Senator Brittany Pettersen is running to represent Colorado’s seventh congressional district. One of her main concerns are the rising costs to live in Colorado and the effects that is going to have on the next generation of Coloradans. She spoke about investing in “access to early childhood education, our public schools, and making sure that if you work hard and play by the rules, you have the opportunity to succeed.” That, she believes, is the American Dream. However, that’s becoming harder to achieve and she wants to change that.

Advocating for others

There are many local and national issues in which Pettersen has advocated for other people’s voices. Pettersen expressed that one of her biggest accomplishments has been “bringing the strongest equal pay for Equal Work Act law in the country.” She then explained that this law addresses the systemic obstacles that women and people of color face everyday in so many areas of life, compared to their white male counterparts.

This has helped provide people with a low cost Roth IRA (retirement plan) option. Besides this, Pettersen has also advocated for and supported issues such as gun safety and protecting women’s reproductive healthcare in Colorado.

More treatment for drug addictions, not prison

Pettersen expressed her belief that “we do not need to throw people in prison if they’re struggling with addiction and have low possession of drugs.” Instead she believes that we should provide addicts with more recovery and treatment, and go after the actual drug traffickers.

Pettersen shared how she herself has seen how broken our system is, while she helped her mother fight for her life as she struggled through substance abuse and opioid addiction. Pettersen believes that her experiences beside her mother’s battles have given her an important perspective on the national issue of drug addiction.