House District 10 potential nominees now up to eight

With two more people formally expressing interest, there are now eight people contending for the vacant Democratic House District 10 nomination.

Jerry Greene, a sustainable environmentalist and musician, and Xanthe Thomassen, a business professional, have now joined the other six people in officially seeking a nomination for the position left vacant when Rep. Edie Hooton announced she was withdrawing from the race.

Affordable housing, green transportation and homelessness are among the areas in which Greene, a longtime Boulder resident, would focus if chosen as the replacement nominee.

Thomassen in 2020 volunteered to support Colorado’s economic recovery and served as the interim managing director with the National Vote at Home Institute.

Her wife, Dana Derichsweiler, is the former owner of the Walnut Cafe in Boulder.

If selected, Thomassen said she’d be business focused. Costs are rising and businesses are struggling, especially with labor shortages, she added.

“I’d like to figure out an avenue of how we help our existing Boulder community that is struggling to make ends meet,” she said.

Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, RTD Director Lynn Guissinger, City Council member Junie Joseph, political advocate Celeste Landry, former University of Colorado regent Jim Martin and BVSD science teacher Tina Mueh are the others who have formally expressed an interest in the position that ultimately will be filled by a Boulder County Democratic Party vacancy committee.

Outgoing representative Hooton has served almost three full two-year terms in the state Legislature after being elected in 2016. She said she made the decision to withdraw in large part because of the all-consuming nature of the job and her desire to spend more time with her family.

The BoCo Dems plan to select the replacement candidate in a meeting on Aug. 15 that will be publicly streamed on the Boulder County Democratic Party’s Facebook page. The organization intends to host a forum on Aug. 13.

The candidate selected next week will face Republican nominee William DeOreo, who is a water engineer, in the November general election.

Community members can ask questions at HD10@bocodems.org.