Jennifer Coken is a candidate for House District 4.  She is a champion of progressive causes, a woman of action, and a caring neighbor.  The lessons in her youth taught her both the inequity and decency of humanity, instilling in her strength of character, resolve, and deep compassion.  Over the past two decades, she has led efforts to improve education, healthcare, the environment, support workers rights, fight poverty, and work to end homelessness and hunger.

Jennifer believes in a government that is responsive to the needs of the people and has policies she’s ready to implement on day one. Policies like Creating Renewable Energy Tax Incentives and Green Energy Districts to sustain and create small businesses, jobs and careers, and repealing tax cuts for the oil and gas industry and using those savings to provide a quality education for all of Colorado’s students.

The issues in this campaign are the ones Jennifer has been fighting for all of her life; the economy, education, careers, healthcare and the environment, she welcomes an ongoing debate about these issues to find solutions that are just and sustainable for Colorado.

Currently, Jennifer is the director of the Western Clean Energy Campaign. Previously she served as deputy director of the Congressional Hunger Center, and as executive director of the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness. She also served as the director of development for the Public Education Network, a national association working to advance public school reform in low-income communities across our country.

Active in Colorado, Jennifer served as the chair of the Democratic Party of Denver and was U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette's political director. She is the former Chair of the Board of Directors of Denver SCORES, which works to strengthen urban public school communities through writing, literacy and community service, and is a current trainer for Democracy for America and Latinos for America.

Jennifer’s inspiration comes from people like Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez and Rachel Carson.  It also comes from her Grandma, “she was a 5 foot nothing powerhouse, who taught us about hard work, making a contribution, and being a strong independent woman.”  Her mom instilled the lessons of the past from the Holocaust to the Civil Rights movement as the foundation for Jennifer to build her life work upon.

As a young Jewish girl studying her heritage, Jennifer was horrified to learn of the loss of her own family and the lives of 11 million others.  It was from this experience she vowed to always speak up for herself and others no matter the cost.  This is why she has spent the last 22 years of her life organizing communities and making sure they are heard.

Taking these lessons and combining them with today’s challenges, Jennifer’s legislative agenda will embrace bills that support labor unions, expand healthcare coverage for all Coloradans, and reform and improve our public education system.

Jennifer has co-founded innovative solution based programs like:

Like building these courageous programs, Jennifer will take her depth of experience and leverage it with the expertise of community   stakeholders to develop policy.  She knows that the system is not working a more cooperative lawmaking process is needed so that good bills do not get railroaded.  Jennifer will work to make the legislature a respected branch of the government and an effective voice for the people.

Jennifer knows that fiscal responsibility is doing with taxpayer money what couldn't be done alone. It's about improving our community by taking care of our poor, our children, and our seniors   It's about investing in education, for our children and Colorado’s future economy and it’s about Colorado becoming the clean energy capitol of the world. Furthermore, it's about restraint. We need to establish a rainy-day fund so that in lean times we don't have to cut programs like the Senior Homestead Property Tax Exemption, or raid Veterans or Education funds for roads and bridges. It's time to rewrite the budget and release the state of Colorado from the stranglehold of TABOR.  It’s about taking on the tough issues even in these difficult times and standing up for Colorado’s economy, families, seniors, and our natural resources.