A testament to fighting for the promise of democracy, Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) and Mountain Voices Project (MVP) brought together 400 leaders and candidates for governor and attorney general for the largest action of Colorado’s primary election campaign season. Leaders shared powerful testimonies and secured public commitments from every candidate to take specific action on labor, education, housing, immigration, and consumer protections in Colorado.

Since last July, Mountain Voices Project has worked with residents of Sopris Mountain Collective, a cooperative in Glenwood Springs, to organize funding to establish the park as a resident-owned community. This would keep 100 homes in the park permanently affordable in a region facing an extreme housing crisis. 

After making their case to Glenwood Springs City Council (pictured above), residents are now calling on the City of Aspen to contribute public funding toward a resident-ownership purchase of the mobile home park. As the current land owner considers a $23 million offer from an undisclosed buyer, residents continue using fundraising, political, and legal tools to advance their cooperative effort.

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"They've developed a process of attentive listening over the years, talking to people about their lives and identifying the needs of a particular group," said [Bishop Mark] Seitz. "When we were trying to create a process for the synod, it occurred to me it was exactly the approach they'd long taken."

After months of work with leaders in the business, non-profit and education communities, Mountain Voices Project and the Glenwood Community Housing Coalition made a significant step forward in pursuing an investment in local workforce housing.

At the urging of MVP, the Glenwood Springs City Council advanced a ballot proposition for a 2.5% increase in the lodging tax to invest in workforce housing with a 6-1 vote.  15 MVP leaders representing seven member institutions packed the city council chambers during deliberation. 

This follows a civic academy at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church where residents and stakeholders learned about the potential impact of this initiative.  If approved by voters, the Lodging Tax will increase from 2.5% to 5%, and generate new revenue dedicated for workforce housing strategies. 

Leaders plan to educate voters about the ballot proposition in advance of the election.

Lodging Tax to Go to Voters in Glenwood Springs This Fall, Post Independent [pdf]

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...during the early portion of an Aug. 11 meeting of Pitkin County commissioners... representatives of the Mountain Voices Project — a consortium of more than 25 nonprofits, faith-based organizations and other entities in the Roaring Fork Valley — sought financial support for a new “landlord-tenant recovery fund” designed to assist low-income families struggling to make ends meet amid the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lindsay Lofaro, executive director of The Buddy Program in Aspen, was one of several speakers advocating for Pitkin County’s support of the fund. She got involved in facilitating the discussion, she said, because her nonprofit mentoring organization is a member of Mountain Voices Project (also known as MVP) — and also because of her familiarity with Pitkin County officials and local fundraising sources.

According to information provided by MVP, the overall request is for $1 million to get the program started this year...

The general plan calls for families to receive three months of rental assistance. MVP will supply one-third of the payments to landlords. The families themselves will pay one-third. The balance would be foregone by the landlords themselves, should they agree to participate. The Uncle Bob Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the Garfield County Housing Authority, will serve as fiscal agent for the fund.

[Photo Credit: Andre Salvail, Aspen Daily News]

Help On The Way: Valleywide Relief Project Aims to Avert Evictions During Uncertain Times, Aspen Daily News [pdf]

'Mountain Voices' Speaks Against Evictions, Displacement, Aspen Daily News [pdf]

'Mountain Voices' Levanta su Voz en Contra del Desalojo, Aspen Daily News [en español]