On election night, while leading significantly in the polls, Colorado College alum Yolanda Avila appeared confident that she would become the first Democrat to win a seat on the El Paso County Commission in more than 50 years.
“We are gonna make shit happen,” a jubilant Avila said in a speech to supporters as votes were still coming in and some races were too close to call.
In Colorado, county commissioners are responsible for deciding how to direct local property tax revenue to departments, according to Colorado Counties, Inc., an organization that represents county commissioners. Among other things, commissioners also determine how much money goes to departments, including transportation, health and human services and law enforcement. Uniquely, El Paso County Commissioners are also in charge of the county Department of Public Health.
In a post-election interview with The Catalyst, Avila said the El Paso County Commission recently stopped funding the county’s suicide prevention measures, which had previously taken place through the Department of Public Health. She said she was “particularly concerned about that,” and that she hoped to reallocate these funds and see the county’s suicide rates drop.
“Being an elected official at this capacity gives at least enough clout — dare I say, power — to make some effective change,” Avila said.
The former city councilwoman graduated from CC in 1985 with a degree in international political economy. As of Wednesday afternoon, she led her opponent, incumbent Republican Lauren Nelson, by thousands of votes, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s website.
Calling the outcome an “upset,” The Gazette newspaper reported on election night that Avila “looks to win” based on the numbers.
In an election night speech to supporters posted to social media, the potential county commissioner-elect said the fact that the District 5 commissioner seat had not been occupied by a Democrat in so long was “unacceptable.”
“Well, guess what?” she added. “Yolanda Avila has gone through the door.”
In addition to being the first Democrat to hold the position in over 53 years, Avila will also be the first female Democrat, the first Latina and the first blind person to ever fill the District 5 commissioner seat.
Evan Holmes, a Colorado College senior who has been working on behalf of Avila’s campaign, said, “No county commission seat has been won by a Democrat since 1970, so when I got the results last night we were thrilled.”
Avila represented a Southeast Colorado Springs district on the city council from 2017 to 2025. Before she was a councilwoman, she was a criminal defense investigator with the Orange County Public Defender’s Office in California. According to her website, she also worked at organizations including the Latin American Research and Service Agency, MiCasa Women’s Resource Center and Colorado Women’s Employment and Education, where she says she helped women move from public assistance to stable careers.
Speaking to CC students during an Oct. 22 campaign event on campus, Avila said her time at the college shaped her life and work ethic, especially when it came to quick turnarounds and deadlines.
“After CC, everything was easy,” she said. Avila added that when she had to put in lots of time for her jobs and work hard to meet deadlines, she would recall her time on the Block Plan. “I would go into CC mode,” she said. “And it was amazing.”
When asked what she planned to do for CC students while serving on the county commission, Avila described how she had already helped them in her role as a previous public official. While serving on the city council, she said she was able to get college students in Colorado Springs, including at CC, free access to city buses.
Recently, however, she said she was dismayed to learn that many CC students weren’t taking advantage of the service. She encouraged CC students to do so, saying public transportation not only helps the environment but can help students better discover the place where they live.
“This is a beautiful city,” she said, inviting students to take the bus to her district in southeast Colorado Springs where she lives.
Avila said that the CC campus “feels like home,” and that she often writes recommendation letters and hires CC students to work on her staff.
“I feel like I learned way more from all of you than I could give to you,” she said.
Editor’s Note: All information in this article is relevant as of our print deadline — 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Consult the Colorado Secretary of State’s website for updated information as more ballots are counted.
Abigail Hill, Peyton Kifer, Molly Luikart, Skyler Siegfried, Henry B. Turner, Madeleine Louisell and Yini Zheng contributed to this story. Katherine Marsella and Madeleine Louisell are volunteers for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Weiser, who became governor-elect on Nov. 3.