Wanda James, CU regent and local business owner, has officially made the Denver Democratic ballot after submitting thousands of voter signatures.
“We're just excited that we're just going to be able to casually talk to people. It's what I love to do,” James said in an interview. “Man, this is what I get the charge out of. How do you solve the problems of everyday folks? That's what the government is supposed to do for us.”
James submitted 1,787 valid signatures, surpassing the 1,500 signatures required. James is a CU regent and was the first Black woman to own a cannabis dispensary in the country.
James is competing against Rep. Diana DeGette, a 28-year incumbent, as well as Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros, who outperformed DeGette in the caucus and assembly process.
“Congress has the lowest rating that it has ever had since we've done ratings. And for somebody to have been in office for 30 years, well, they are clearly part of that problem,” James said. “So it's refreshing to be able to have these conversations and bring new ideas to life. Lived experience is important.”
The three will compete in the June primary for the Democratic nomination for the 1st Congressional District.
The campaign plan
James said her team plans to launch something called “Front Porch Congress.”
“We are asking people to invite us to their front porch, and we're going to sit down and talk about what's happening in Congress, and talk to the people about what's on their minds,” James said.
James said she’s heard concerns about affordability — housing, education, gas and health care — as well the war with Iran.
James is a former military officer in the Navy and was the first Black woman to complete the University of Colorado Boulder's Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
“The military is something that I understand completely and has been a part of my entire life,” James said.
Regent censure
Last year, James was censured by the CU regent board over comments she made about what she considered to be racial tropes in a campaign on the risks of cannabis use.
James objected to illustrations that were a part of a CU Anschutz campaign that educated people on the risks of cannabis use called “The Tea on THC.” The images contained Black or dark-skinned males alongside language describing the effects of marijuana, such as laziness and poor school performance, which she considered derogatory to people of color.
The images were quickly pulled from the campaign. But the regents voted 7-1 in favor of the censure, with James abstaining. Some argued that she had displayed a conflict of interest by trying to defund a campaign that could hurt her business and the cannabis industry.
“You continued to publicly attack the program. In a public statement, you called the program … dishonest. In news articles, you implied the program was based on faulty research,” Regent-at-Large Elliott Hood said at the time.
“Even if you believed the research findings were inaccurate, you cannot put your interests or the interests of your trade above the interests of the university you serve.”
James has consistently denied those allegations, saying that she was censored and retaliated against.
CPR News reporter Elaine Tassy contributed to this article.
