When Colorado House Democrats return for the legislative session in three weeks, the caucus will be led on policy by two wonks who will share responsibilities.

David Oppenheim, who served as chief of staff under former Speaker Mark Ferrandino, was persuaded to come back after leaving the caucus in 2014. He will serve in the upcoming session as chief of staff for House Democrats.

Kelly Watkins, who served in the last legislative session as deputy chief of staff for outgoing Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, will return in the upcoming session as chief adviser to incoming Speaker Crisanta Duran.

“To paraphrase Captain Planet, ‘With our powers combined,’ we can be bigger, faster, stronger, and hopefully more responsive to the speaker and the caucus,” Oppenheim said. “So far, in the first few weeks, it’s been working extraordinarily well. I’m excited about our structure and our process this year.”

Oppenheim had been doing consulting work for Denver-based Hilltop Public Solutions. When he served under Ferrandino, Oppenheim helped advance one of the most progressive agendas in recent memory in the legislature, including same-sex civil unions and gun-control measures.

The arrangement with Oppenheim and Watkins sharing policy leadership roles is unusual, but not unprecedented. Former lawmaker Paul Weissmann shared chief of staff responsibilities with Oppenheim under then-Minority Leader Sal Pace before Weissman left in 2012.

For Watkins and Oppenheim, working in the legislature is a labor of love. Watkins began her career working as an aide for Duran.

“Clearly I just couldn’t get enough, so here I am,” she joked. “I’m very excited to continue working with Speaker Duran and our caucus in this expanded role.”

“I really enjoyed my time on the outside,” Oppenheim added. “But there’s just something that’s just really invigorating about the legislative process, at least for political nerds such as myself.”