Spotlight: Dennis Apuan

Photo: December 2009 during a holiday party Apuan hosted at the Filipino-American Cultural Center (FACC) in Denver with Governor Bill Ritter as the guest of honor.

When did you know you wanted to get involved in politics?
I’ve always been involved in community activism and grassroots organizing. You see, there is much discussion in our communities about values and public policy. As American citizens, we are called to bring our values to the full spectrum of public policy deliberations and to make our voices heard in the public square. We are called to work for an end to poverty and oppression, as well as to be peacemakers and justice-seekers in a broken world in need of healing and reconciliation.  We are called to welcome the stranger and sojourner, to provide justice for the worker, and to care for the poor in our midst.
With over a decade’s work experience in the non-profit sector, I have championed the cause of the disenfranchised, marginalized, and disempowered.  I have fought to ensure that voices of division or exclusion - even hate - do not dominate the public discourse, and further ensured that that the voice of the people consistently impact matters of public policy.  I have likewise stood for fairness and equal opportunity for all.

All of these passions melded profoundly in the words of Senator Paul Wellstone who once said, “Electoral politics without grassroots organizing is a politics without a base, community organizing without electoral politics is marginal politics, and electoral politics and community organizing without good, sound public policy is politics without a head.”  Almost instantaneously since that epiphany was a realization that the voice of the people is the voice of God, and there was no turning back ever since.

Why did you move to Colorado Springs from Los Angeles? What was your experience like immigrating to the States?
After nearly a decade’s successful sales management career in southern California, I moved to Colorado Springs in 1997 to be reunified with my sister and her family, my niece, my nephew, and my great niece.  I was working two jobs at the same time back then and it felt to me like I was part of a rat race but was getting me nowhere.  The high cost of living, the traffic and congestion, the mass consumerism... all these took its own toll that left me searching for meaning.

I was seeking a change of pace and an opportunity to regroup. I’ve been quietly drawn into the nonprofit sector in general for a while, and working for social change and transformation, in particular, was beckoning on the horizon.

As I would discover later, I had to transform myself first if I were to make a difference in this world and leave it better than the way I found it.  Part of that journey was finding my own voice, and empowering people, similarly, to find their own voiceand believing that we all must embody the change we wish to see.  Since that epiphany, I have found my sense of call in doing justice and building community.
My family and I are first generation immigrants from Manila, the Philippines, who immigrated to the United States in the eighties seeking better economic opportunities.

I would characterize my immigrant experience as liberating and transforming.  Having grown up under martial rule and a dictatorial regime where you couldn’t disagree with the prevailing policies of a repressive administration, or not having the freedom to express your own beliefs, the period of adjustment was deeply profound. My own faith carried me through it all, with an abiding trust in the holy One who is free to reshape us, restore us, and redeem us as the first step toward finding our own freedom and liberation.

Has being a Filipino American affected your career?
Yes, being a minority has helped shape my belief that all people deserve a place at the table, combined with a responsibility on our part for those who are most vulnerable, those who most often kept from the table.  This intention flows from the heart of God, who reaches out in love to all of us - rich, poor, and in-between.  All of us matter, all of us have a voice at the table.

In doing advocacy and activism work for over a decade, I’ve come to realize that the very first step in doing justice is understanding why we do this work.  When we advocate for the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the most vulnerable in our society, we are doing what our faith demands of us.  It’s not always about being politically correct; it’s also about being faithfully correct.

Prior to becoming a candidate in 2008, I was a community organizer for Colorado Unity, an umbrella organization and coalition of nonprofit, civil and human rights, labor, faith-based, and women’s organizations that advance equal opportunity for all Coloradans.  It aims to transform the public debate on the need for inclusivity and diversity in education and the work place into one which promotes a factual understanding of why policies such as affirmative action are critical to progress and essential for confronting the racial and gender discrimination that continues today.

Towards gaining an understanding of U.S. foreign policy and how it impacts other nations, I have traveled to Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia.  In speaking truth to power, I have immensely valued listening to people’s stories and hearing their cries, thus further strengthening a personal and moral resolve to work for social change.  I truly believe that a better world is possible - a world of peace with justice, a world of fairness and equality, a world of hope and healing.

What advice do you have for young people interested politics?
Be informed, stay engaged, and be the change you wish to see. Part of what makes our country great is the beautiful diversity of our citizens and the diversity of our views. But if we do not express our views, we deny the national and local debate the benefit of our experiences and opinions. We deny ourselves the opportunity to contribute to a better future for everyone.

Each generation has a responsibility to make the future better for the next. I’ve slowly come to realize that America is held together by an overwhelming majority of people who share a basic belief in leaving a better world for future generations, and who are willing to fight for it if given the opportunity. How we make our contribution to a better future is a personal decision, whether through public policy advocacy, public service, or each one’s own unique way.

What current projects or legislation are you working on?
At this time, I have at least three House bills, of which I am the prime sponsor, heard in committee or awaiting its hearing.
House Bill 10-1043, concerning outdated references to the federal aid to families with dependent children, will help usher Colorado’s social services programs into the future by eliminating restrictive language and providing greater flexibility in implementation.
To honor Colorado’s veterans for their service to our country, House Bill 10-1139 creates a set of two special license plates that will identify the owner of the vehicle as a veteran of either the Afghanistan or Iraq War. These individuals have made tremendous sacrifices; leaving their families and children and riskingb their lives to maintain our freedom and safety.

House Bill 10-1242, concerning uniform application in the individual insurance market, will cut red tape and paperwork for consumers by requiring insurance carriers to use a standard application.

What are your plans for the future?
The work always goes on... we just keep on keeping on, as they say. As the only Asian Pacific American serving in the 67th General Assembly and the very first Filipino-American to ever serve in the Colorado Legislature, it is such a profound privilege to represent and serve our diverse communities. There are many mountains yet to climb and trails yet to blaze, and I hope to leave my own footprints in my neck of the woods! May we all find peace and harmony as we grow, courage in the struggle to express our beliefs, and may our conscience assure each of us that another world is possible when love finds its voice through all of us.