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Local resident Cole Buerger makes his case to be the Democratic candidate for House District 57

House District 57 candidate Cole Buerger, right, meets with local residents Walt Seubert and Catherine Leist at Bangkok Happy Bowl while campaigning in Aspen. Buerger is one of two local Democrats hoping to challenge Republican incumbent Perry Will in the November election.
Courtesy of Cole Buerger
House District 57 candidate Cole Buerger, right, meets with local residents Walt Seubert and Catherine Leist at Bangkok Happy Bowl while campaigning in Aspen. Buerger is one of two local Democrats hoping to challenge Republican incumbent Perry Will in the November election.

Democrats Cole Buerger and Elizabeth Velasco of Glenwood Springs are running in the June primary for the Colorado House of Representatives’ District 57.

The winner in the primary will challenge Republican incumbent Perry Will of New Castle in the November election.

In previous elections, House District 57 encompassed the northwestern corner of the state and only included part of the Roaring Fork Valley from Carbondale to Glenwood Springs.

The district, redrawn late last year for this election cycle, now encompasses a much narrower slice of northwestern Colorado, including all of the Roaring Fork valley and a portion of the Colorado River valley from Glenwood to Parachute.

Ballotpedia
The red outline on the map on the left shows the previous boundary for House District 57, and the red outline on the map on the right shows the new boundary, which was redrawn as part of the statewide redistricting process late last year. The new district map applies to this election cycle and officially goes into effect when the winning candidate takes office in January.

Aspen Public Radio is speaking with the candidates for House District 57 this week, starting with Democratic candidate Cole Buerger.

Buerger grew up in Silt and later headed East to study and work in the fields of international affairs and public policy.

He now runs his own consulting and communications business, where he works with organizations to help strengthen their mission — whether it's advocating for mental health or getting out the vote.

Buerger got about 53% of the delegate votes at the multicounty assembly Friday, which means his name will be listed first on the June primary ballot.

Aspen Public Radio talked with Buerger to learn more about his campaign.

Listen to the conversation above.

Eleanor is an award-winning journalist and "Morning Edition" anchor. She has reported on a wide range of topics in her community, including the impacts of federal immigration policies on local DACA recipients, creative efforts to solve the valley's affordable housing crisis, and hungry goats fighting climate change across the West through targeted grazing. Connecting with people from all walks of life and creating empathic spaces for them to tell their stories fuels her work.
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