Except for the unanimous decision by the House Democratic caucus to designate Rep. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, Democrat from Boulder, to serve as the speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives for the 70th General Assembly — and that was indeed monumental — most of the remaining leadership elections on Nov. 14 more closely resembled minor intra-party squabbles where candidates vied for office, albeit with a heightened sense of congeniality. There were a couple of surprises, but when the 28 returnees and six newly elected members of the House Democratic caucus concluded business a couple hours later, they appeared united in their desire to work together in their slightly smaller 34-31 majority.

“People will tell us that a split legislature will place many challenges in our path,” the 71-year-old Hullinghorst said after the vote, referring to the switch in control of the Senate from Democrat to Republican. “I prefer to regard these as opportunities to succeed. We have the opportunity to work across the aisle in the House, and with the Senate, to develop bipartisan legislation that moves Colorado forward.”

Hullinghorst, who served as majority leader in the 69th General Assembly, will assume the title and responsibilities of her new position on Jan. 7. She is the first woman Democratic speaker in state’s history, and the first from Boulder County since 1880. She gets to appoint the chairs and Democratic members of the House committees of reference, where legislative bills receive their first thorough vetting. She will also name the speaker pro tempore and make appointments to interim and year-round committees and to numerous state boards and commissions.

When Hullinghorst is formally elected on the first day of the new session to succeed term-limited House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, the House will include 30 women among its 65 members, which is, at 46 percent, the highest ratio of female legislators in Colorado House history. And according to historians at the Capitol, Colorado will reclaim (from Vermont) the distinction of having the greatest percentage (42 percent) of female legislators in the 50 states.

Speaker-designate Hullinghorst has been involved in public policy in Colorado since 1975. She was the intergovernmental relations director for Boulder County for more than two decades. Her specialty is environmental and development policy, and past Colorado governors have appointed her to serve on the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board and the Metropolitan Water Roundtable.

Rep. Crisanta Duran of Denver was elected as majority leader in a two-way race against Rep. Dan Pabon, who had considered running for speaker earlier on, but switched to the second leadership spot after some soul-searching vote counting. Most political observers expected Pabon to prevail, but Duran ultimately won.

As majority leader, Duran will run the House calendar, scheduling bills and making sure that a full and fair debate ensues in getting the House’s business done in the 120-day session.

Rep. Dominick Moreno of Commerce City defeated Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, for assistant majority leader. Rep. Angela Williams, who had toyed with running for a higher level position in the not so distant past, ousted Rep. Lois Court for caucus chair. Rep. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette, was chosen as assistant caucus chair; Rep. Su Ryden, D-Aurora, as whip, and Rep. Brittany Petterson, D-Lakewood, emerged victorious in her race for deputy whip against Boulder Rep. KC Becker.

Reps. Williams and Foote will manage caucus meetings. The primary task for Reps. Ryden and Pettersen is to make sure caucus members are present to vote.

State Rep. Angela Williams of Denver, the new chair of the House Democratic caucus, is congratulated by Rep. KC Becker of Boulder and Rep.-elect Susan Lontine of Denver. Williams challenged incumbent caucus chair Lois Court for the leadership position.

Reps. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst of Boulder, Lois Court of Denver and Su Ryden of Aurora enjoy a laugh during a break in the caucus proceedings at the state Capitol on Nov. 14. Fellow Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Boulder, is seated nearby.

Above, Rep. Brittany Petterson, D-Lakewood, is congratulated by fellow Reps. Max Tyler, Tracy Kraft-Tharp and KC Becker, whom she defeated for the position of deputy whip.

Democratic Reps. Tracy Kraft-Tharp of Arvada and Dan Pabon of Denver feign surprise when a camera captures their levity after a caucus meeting on Friday.

Photos by Jody Hope Strogoff/The Colorado Statesman

— Jody@coloradostatesman.com

See the November 14 print edition for full photo coverage.