Arapahoe County Democrats in House District 37 are expected to appoint a replacement for House Rep. Ruby Dickson of Littleton on Wednesday evening. 

The HD37 vacancy meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with a candidates’ forum. The meeting will be livestreamed.

Democrats in Arapahoe and Adams counties are working to replace state House reps Dickson and Said Sharbini after the lawmakers resigned last year citing a toxic work environment as a reason to quit. 

Once the vacancies have been filled, 29 current lawmakers in the Colorado General Assembly will have gained their seats through the vacancy process.

On Jan. 18, Adams County Democrats will meet to pick a replacement for Sharbini of Commerce City, who stepped down on Dec. 31. Besides the toxic work environment, Sharbini also stated he had to quit for financial reasons in his resignation letter. 

So, who is running for the seats?

In House District 37, four candidates are vying to finish Dickson’s term. Those applicants include Ashish Vaidya, Chad Clifford, Kevin Biehl and Nathan Wilkes.

Ashish Vaidya is a high school and college educator and an active member of the Democratic party. He is a first-generation American son of Indian immigrants whose family has a history in the nonviolent movement of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Vaidya would be the third Asian-American lawmaker and the second Democratic Asian-American lawmaker, following in the footsteps of the late Rep. Dennis Apuan (D) and former state Rep. Janah Joshi (R), both of Colorado Springs.

He has already won endorsements from state Rep. Iman Jodeh of Aurora, and other elected leaders in Arapahoe County.

Noting the issues that led to Dickson and Sharbini’s resignation, Vaidya said he is running “because we need kind-hearted leaders in our state legislature.”

In his platform, Vaidya cited standard Democratic issues, including affordable housing, education, criminal justice reform, and reproductive healthcare.

Vaidya also points to issues for Asian Americans.

“House District 37 has the largest Asian American population of any house district in the state of Colorado,” Vaidya noted on his website. He believes the Asian American community is disengaged from state politics because they largely feel that they have no voice in state government, and that leads to workplace discrimination and high rates of domestic violence for South Asian American immigrant women.

“I want to engage with this community and connect the vulnerable members with the state resources they need to overcome violence and injustice,” he wrote.

Chad Clifford is a lobbyist and police officer with the Colorado Rangers Shared Law Enforcement Reserve, a state agency whose members serve as “force multipliers” for law enforcement agencies in Colorado. The agency was started in 1861, disbanded in 1927, and reconstituted in 2017.

Clifford also serves in emergency management as a government operations lead for the American Red Cross.

“Many candidates can pass the test on ‘headline issues’ but lack depth when pressed to expand or respond,” Clifford wrote on his website. “I am familiar with current issues, current legislation, and have real ideas about how to deal with those issues.”

Like Vaidya, Clifford wants to focus on affordable housing and healthcare along with addressing public safety issues.

Clifford and Vaidya plan to run for the HD37 seat in the June 25 primary election.

Two other HD37 candidates who have not filed to run in the June primary are Kevin Biehl and Nathan Wilkes.

Biehl is the director of community engagement and strategic partnerships at the Second Chance Center in Aurora. He previously led security operations and community teams at Disney, Airbnb and Lyft.

Biehl ran for the Centennial City Council last year but withdrew his candidacy before the election.

Wilkes is an independent contractor in information technology and is involved in the universal healthcare movement.

Biehl is active in the Arapahoe County Democratic Party. He served on the state’s 208 commission on health care and was a founding member of the Colorado Health Insurance Exchange Board. He is currently a member of the state’s All Payer Claims Database Advisory Committee and the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Council.

Democrats in House District 31 will gather on Jan. 18 to select a replacement for Sharbini.

Julia Marvin and Jacque Phillips are vying for the seat. Both are also planning to run in the June primary.