Not Just a Seat
A Pathway for Our Communities
"I’m running for Council Member At‑Large, Seat B to ensure every community has a voice. As the first tribally enrolled Native American woman to run for this seat, I bring not only my lived experience but the strength and stories of those historically left out of city decisions."
-Kristina Maldonado Bad Hand
Headshot taken by Mark Woolcott
Indigenous People's Day celebration 2025, photo taken by eight16creative
Leadership You Know
Integrity and Action
Kristina Maldonado Bad Hand is a Sicangu Lakota and Cherokee artist, organizer, and advocate for equity, inclusion, and authentic cultural representation. She is a small business advocate dedicated to strengthening Indigenous creative communities. With over a decade of experience in youth arts education, she advances literacy, social-emotional learning, and cultural representation through partnerships with organizations like RedLine Contemporary Art Center and the Denver Art Museum. Through her leadership and her work on the Living Land Project with Denver Parks & Recreation, she champions cultural practice revitalization from an ecological perspective, reconnecting communities to land-based knowledge, sustainability, and Indigenous creative economies.
The Vision:
Our Common Future
Local Ownership & Community Wealth
Denver’s land, homes, and storefronts should be owned by the people who live and work here , not out-of-state developers or hedge funds.
We will:
-
Prioritize Colorado-based ownership in new development
-
Help small businesses buy their buildings
-
Create pathways from renting or homelessness to affordable homeownership
-
Keep neighborhood profits circulating locally
Goal: Build generational wealth for Denver families, not distant investors.
Safe, Clean & Thriving Neighborhoods
Public safety and quality of life start on our streets and in our schools.
We will:
-
Deliver block-by-block clean, green streets with real accountability
-
Support practical gun safety measures to reduce school violence
-
Expand mental health and violence prevention programs
-
Invest in local workforce pipelines and apprenticeships
​
Goal: Neighborhoods where families feel safe, supported, and proud.
Affordability That Actually Works
Denver must be livable for working people, not just high earners.
We will:
-
Expand affordable homeownership and rent-to-own programs
-
Support small businesses and community commerce
-
Lower healthcare cost burdens through transparency and local solutions
-
Connect residents to real-world education and job opportunities
​
Goal: Stability today. Ownership tomorrow. Opportunity for all.
From Vision to Action
Real change doesn’t happen because one person has a good idea, it happens when a community comes together with a shared purpose. Moving from vision to action means building real partnerships, listening deeply, and creating space for every voice to shape the path forward. As a community organizer, I know that progress is never top‑down. It grows from relationships, trust, and the belief that we are stronger when we work side by side.
Collaboration isn’t just a strategy; it’s the true meaning of community. People coming together, pooling their strengths, and turning collective hopes into concrete solutions that improve all of our lives.