Statewide report shows Latino policy priorities are dominated by economic

In its second year, the Colorado Latino Policy Agenda seeks to provide elected officials, community leaders and policymakers with an insight into the makeup, views and priorities of Latinos in Colorado.

“The 2022 Colorado Latino Policy Agenda makes clear that the challenges facing Latinos when it comes to jobs, housing and the economy are severe — and in need of significant action from officials at the local, state and federal levels,” said Alex Sánchez, President and CEO of Voces Unidas de las Montañas and Voces Unidas Action Fund, at a press conference for the new report on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

“With fresh data revealing new priorities for Latinos, this year’s report also allows us to expand on our research base from 2021 as we work with elected officials and community leaders to recommend and explore solutions for the future,” Alex Sánchez added.

The 2022 report was commissioned by the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), COLOR Action Fund, Voces Unidas de las Montañas and Voces Unidas Action Fund.

The survey, conducted by BSP Research, surveyed 1,504 Latino registered voters from across the state. Gabriel Sanchez, who led the poll for BSP Research, said on Wednesday that this made it “the largest survey of its kind in Colorado,” and was designed to give it a small margin of error as well as an opportunity to compare results across four regions in the state.

The results from the survey are broken down by segments including demographics as well as by the Denver, Northeast, Southeast and Western regions of Colorado.

“This is unprecedented research and we have never been able to pull out data by region or by congressional district. Localizing data is critical for the discussions that need to be had at the local and regional level. Our goal is for community members, policymakers, media and others to have relevant polling data that can be used for local action,” Alex Sánchez said Thursday in an interview with the Vail Daily

Additionally, the importance of this data can be seen in some of the data itself. At the press conference, Gabriel Sanchez said that while the report shows high enthusiasm and intention for Latinos to vote in elections, 58% responded that they are not being reported contacted (or mobilized) on political and policy matters in the state.

In Congressional Districts 2 and 3 — which both represent portions of Eagle County — these numbers were even higher with 67% and 69% of participants responding they had not been contacted regarding the election. These were the highest percentages in the state.

With this, Alex Sánchez said on Wednesday that it showed the “need to do more work to ensure…