CENTRAL SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Voters in Colorado's 5th Congressional District are taking their concerns about Representative Jeff Crank to the pavement.
The event, called "Chalk the Town," took place in Acacia Park in Colorado Springs, where participants wrote phrases and statements — including "Protect Our Democracy" — to spark conversations with passersby about political and societal issues. The event comes with Colorado's primary less than 2 months away.
Lois Page, one of the participants, said a core goal of the event is simply making voters aware of who represents them.
"I can't tell you the number of times people say to us, 'who's Jeff Crank'? And that is the importance of this message that we are alerting people to the understanding that the person who is supposed to be representing them, taking care of them with fiscal responsibility, social responsibility, they don't even know who he is," Page said.
Participant Pamela Blatchford said the chalk drawings are designed to invite questions from people passing through the park.
"They will stop and look, they'll ask questions they didn't know about this or that. So see, I'm getting some information out there that people didn't realize," Blatchford said.
The messages focused on issues including Medicaid cuts, veteran services and affordability. Participant Bear Wilson said cuts to VA services are among the most pressing concerns.
"VA care, budget, the number of people that they let go from the VA services, suicide, suicide helplines, they've cut all that stuff. They say they haven't, but they've cut it. They're not filling positions," Wilson said.
As for Page, her biggest concern is Medicaid.
"Metdicaid, Medicare, and Social Security, and those three social services are being attacked by this current administration, and what is happening is the least among us are being pounded on every day by having the services they so desperately need taken away under the guise that people who are getting these services are committing fraud," Page said.
Page said the format of the event allows participants to make their voices heard in a constructive way. She said chalk is the perfect medium.
"We're able to maintain a peaceful presence with a powerful, short and sweet message and chalking just seems to be a natural way to do that," Page said.
Blatchford said this is not her first time using chalk to share her message. She keeps a box of chalk in her vehicle at all times. She takes it to universities and colleges, libraries, and other public parks.
"I always have chalk in my vehicle. I always have notebooks filled with things to write to inform people all the time," Blatchford said.
She said writing neatly is part of her strategy.
"I try to write neatly so that gets people's attention and they'll stop and read it and ask me questions about it," Blatchford said.
Page said the event draws reactions from people of all ages.
"It doesn't matter if it's an old guy walking by saying, oh yeah that guy 'he's got to go' or a young girl on her skateboard coming by saying what is this? Talk to me about this. What does it mean? And it gives us a chance to make that personal connection with someone who we hope will become a voter," Page said.
We reached out to Crank's office for more than 2 weeks and did not receive a response.
