Chelsea Gaona-Lincoln
Last Friday we spoke with local high-schooler Lilian Smith. She shared her experiences with the Black Lives Matter protests and the armed civilians on Sherman Avenue. This week we welcome Chelsea Gaona-Lincoln. Chelsea is our National Committeewoman and a candidate for the Idaho Legislature D10B. She plans to enlighten us about the rationale behind the IDP recommendation that county parties exclusively promote black-led Black Lives Matter events. Her overview includes a quick refresher on the recommendations and why they were made.
If you are not already on our Zoom meeting invitation list, please contact Ruben. His email address is rmiranda2265@gmail.com.
About Chelsea
Chelsea is a member of the LGBTQ community and a proud Latina. She grew up on the family dairy in the migrant farming community of Wilder ID. Although still in Canyon County, she now lives in Caldwell. She moved there to attend school at the College of Idaho. She loves her community and the home she shares with her spouse and their first child who is named Rolly.
Her professional background is in mental health. In fact, she served for 18 years as a behavioral therapist for children with cognitive disabilities. Now, she works for a nonprofit called Legal Voice. Legal Voice is a Seattle based progressive law firm. The firm works to protect and expand women’s and LGBTQ+ legal rights through litigation. Chelsea is their first and only remote hire in Idaho. Her responsibilities include working on three legal cases and conducting grassroots organizing.
Chelsea grew up in a conservative household. Nonetheless, she discovered that her true political home was in the Idaho Democratic Party while working on an educational ballot initiative in 2011. Soon after, she agreed to serve as the Canyon County Democrats Communications Chair. Later, she became their Party Chair. She also co-founded the LGBTA Democratic Caucus of Idaho and served on the Platform Committee and Review Board for three cycles. Moreover, she helped recruit and train precinct and legislative district candidates. Now, she serves as the Region 3 Committeewoman and was recently selected as National Committeewoman elect. This is her second legislative run in District 10. You can find more about her campaign on Facebook or Lincolnforidaho.com.
If time permits, Chelsea will discuss the Supreme Court decision confirming that LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination violates the Civil Rights Act. In addition, she will explain how this decision affects the Add the Words campaign and our messaging going forward. For some background about the court decision, read the Idaho Stateman article ‘Work to be done,’ but Idaho advocates laud Supreme Court’s LGBTQ discrimination decision.
