Political consultant Katy Atkinson died Thursday after battling a recurrence of cancer. She was 59.

Atkinson began working for Republican politicians in the late 1970s, right after graduating from Colorado College in 1978, first as an aide to House Speaker Bev Bledsoe and later on U.S. Rep. Hank Brown’s campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1990. As a political consultant, she counted U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis, gubernatorial candidate Bruce Benson and U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as clients. In 2005, she gained bipartisan cred as lead spokesperson for the Referenda C & D campaign to lift the state’s revenue limit under TABOR, supporting a coalition of state politicians including Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, and House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, a Democrat.

She was a frequent guest on Colorado Public Television’s Colorado Inside Out and served as spokesperson for the family of Claire Davis, the victim of a shooting at Arapahoe County High School in 2013.

Among the tributes that poured in from both sides of the aisle was a statement released by Senate Minority Leader Lucia Guzman, D-Denver.

“I was so saddened to hear about Katy’s passing this morning. Katy was a true professional who was beloved and respected by all, and will be missed,” Guzman said. “She accomplished so much across our great state, and was a shining example of bipartisanship. My heart goes out to Katy’s family for their tremendous loss.”

Hickenlooper appointsCourt of Appeals judge

Gov. John Hickenlooper announced last week that Rebecca Rankin Freyre was his appointment as a judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals. She fills a vacancy created by the appointment of Justice Richard Gabriel to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Freyre has been a part of the Colorado State Public Defender’s Office since 1991 and before her judicial appointment served in the Public Defender’s appellate division, handling appeals of felony convictions, sentences and post-conviction matters. She served as a felony trial deputy and handled a full caseload in the district court, as well as working as a trial deputy in Arapahoe County, representing indigent adults charged with misdemeanors and juveniles facing all charges.

She received her undergraduate degree from Smith College and her law degree from the University of Denver College of Law.