Candi Lee CdeBaca (born April 10, 1986) is the Councilor for the 9th district of the
Denver City Council. She is a member of the
Democratic Party and the
Democratic Socialists of America.
Life and career
CdeBaca was born in Swansea, in a neighborhood of Denver between rail lines and the
Interstate 70. As a teenager, she came home one day to find her mother stuck in the street, unable to maneuver her wheelchair over a ramp-less curb. This experience led her to become an activist. In 2006, she co-founded Project VOYCE (Voices of Youth Changing Education), in response to the closure of her school, and helped to organize a
class-action lawsuit against
Denver Public Schools. CdeBaca was valedictorian and class president at
Manual High School, and a first-generation high school graduate. Eventually, she earned bachelor's and master's degrees simultaneously from the
University of Denver, then left for
Washington, D.C., to work in education advocacy. She returned to Denver in 2014, and once again became involved in local politics.
Denver City Council
CdeBaca was branded a
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, for the
anti-capitalist
Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...
remarks she made during a candidate forum on April 7, 2019, advocating for "
community ownership of land, labor, resources, and distribution of those resources." In the days afterwards, the video was shared widely on
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
news sites, and CdeBaca reportedly received hundreds of death and rape threats.
, the incumbent councilor for the 9th district, was defeated by CdeBaca in a runoff election on June 4, 2019. Ahead of her swearing-in, CdeBaca clarified in an interview that she did not identify as a communist, would have preferred to run unaffiliated, and considered herself to be an
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
.
She has faced pushback against a controversial tweet (February 28, 2020), in which she appeared to express support for the idea of spreading
coronavirus
Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...
at a
Trump rally. A spokesperson claimed it was a "sarcastic tweet, to call attention to the Trump administration’s downplaying of the
coronavirus pandemic as a ‘hoax’ no more dangerous than the common flu."
As a member of Denver City Council she has championed a number of progressive reforms. Candi co-sponsored Charter Amendment 2E to bring more balance to mayoral appointments. She also successfully led the charge to force the city of Denver to divest from halfway houses run by private prison companies.
See also
*
List of Democratic Socialists of America who have held office in the United States
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:CdeBaca, Candi
Colorado Democrats
Living people
Women city councillors in Colorado
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Denver City Council members
Democratic Socialists of America politicians from Colorado
American anarchists
American anti-capitalists
1986 births
University of Denver alumni