Your next Colorado representative could not only be an Arapahoe High School alum, but also the state’s youngest member of the House. 

A 2014 graduate, Jaylen Mosquiera (R) has been involved in local politics for the past eight years, starting as a precinct leader, which allowed him to spread awareness of topics he felt passionate about to people in his community. From there he attended Metro State University, where he was given the opportunity to work on campaigns for Colorado politicians.

However, it wasn’t until a year ago that Mosquiera took the leap to run for office. 

“I decided to run because, No. 1, I grew up here and this is a community that I cherish and really care about,” he says. “But, No. 2, I was unhappy with our current representation. I felt like we weren’t getting represented the way that we should with the issues that we’re dealing with in this community. And I wanted to step up and be the voice for everyone to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard and brought to the table.”

One of the most prominent issues Mosqueira is focusing on is inflation and cost of living, and he says both greatly impact Arapahoe students as housing prices in District 38 are continuing to rise as inflation worsens across the state.

“As we’re all growing up and trying to find our way in the world, it is even harder to live in House District 38 and Colorado,” he says. “We have lots of young folks that are leaving the state because it’s simply too expensive. And we need to work on the cost of living to ensure that we are building our workforce and keeping folks in our community. 

“As you enter into the world–whether that’s college, whether that’s tech school, whether that’s a trade–any decision you make coming out of high school is a hard one to make and it needs to be affordable for you. … You need to be able to have somewhere to live.”

Another topic Mosquiera says affects Arapahoe students is the cost of in-state college tuition. Lowering the rate for Colorado residents is something that is often overlooked, he adds, as representatives apportion money to different state funded institutions. Mosquiera says lowering the tuition for state schools is unlikely, however, if elected, he hopes to hold a seat on the Education Committee to fight for equitable transferring of credits from two-year institutions to four-year universities and degrees. 

“So many high schools across Colorado tell their seniors to take college credits, and oftentimes they do that to reduce the cost for them,” he says. “Then they go to apply to a CU or CSU or some of those four years, and they’re told that those credits don’t count. Why are we as the state driving our seniors to take these classes for credits and then they don’t count when they go to college?” 

Mosquiera also hopes to work on legislation to reduce crime in the state if elected. 

“The last couple of years we’ve seen laws that decriminalize a lot of areas of crime, and one of those is any theft under $2,500,” he says. “You are written a ticket and let go. That means that if the single mother trying to get her kid to school and make it to work has her car stolen, there’s no consequence for the person that stole that car. And there’s no accountability.” 

But Mosquiera’s message to teenage voters at Arapahoe is to simply vote. 

“Whether you’re right, or left or unaffiliated, it is important to have your voice heard,” he says. “There are a lot of ballot initiatives and people running for different positions, so make sure you take the time to do some research on those folks, do some research on the initiatives and make sure you turn in your ballot by Nov. 8.”