Stories of struggle, hardship fuel Rep. Ryan Gonzalez’s push for practical state solutions
By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
What makes a leader relatable? For newly-elected Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, R-Greeley, representing the 50th District in Weld County, it’s growing up in a household where sacrifices weren’t optional, but survival.
Gonzalez knows the struggles of everyday Coloradans. As the son of a single mother and a domestic violence survivor, he has lived through them.
“When I was 12, my sister ran away. She was gone for three weeks. And I was out putting up missing signs everywhere,” Gonzalez said. “My mom couldn’t eat or sleep. A mother’s worry is, is my daughter safe? Will I find her in a ditch somewhere? The whole time, my dad knew where she was and was covering it up.”
For Gonzalez, these moments reflected his mother’s enduring streng...