Former Colorado state Sen. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, has declared his intention to run for county commissioner in Jefferson County. 

The seat is an open one. Commissioner Casey Tighe, a Democrat, is term-limited. Two Republicans – Joni Inman and Frank Huftless, both of Golden – have already entered the race. 

Kerr was appointed to the House District 26 seat in March 2006 and served in that body until 2012. He was elected to represent Senate District 22 in 2012 (the seat had been redrawn after reapportionment in 2011), winning by 5 percentage points over former state Rep. Ken Summer. He won re-election narrowly in 2014 over Republican Tony Sanchez, by just over 2 percentage points, and served until the end of the 2018 session, when he was term-limited. Kerr served as house assistant majority leader during the 2009-10 sessions.

He made an aborted attempt to run for the 7th Congressional District in 2017, but stepped down when Congressman Ed Perlmutter, D-Arvada, announced he would seek another term instead of running for governor.

Kerr, a middle and high school geography teacher and member of the Colorado Education Association, was known as an advocate for public education in the General Assembly. He sat on education committees in the House and Senate, including as chair of Senate Education in 2014.

Three times Kerr carried bills in the Senate to provide state-paid all-day Kindergarten. While he was unsuccessful, the mantle was picked up in 2019 by Gov. Jared Polis and signed into law earlier this year. Kerr also advocated several times for parental leave bills that would allow parents time off to attend their children’s school activities. That’s an issue that has yet to resurface in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

He was also known as a fierce advocate for bicycles. He regularly rode to the state Capitol during the session, often in bad weather. He sponsored bills on bicycles, such as regulating electric bicycles and one that authorized what’s known as the “Idaho stop.” If adopted by local governments, cyclists can ride through red lights or stop signs when safe to do so. In 2018, he rode to the Capitol 81 days, or 66%, of the 120-day session.

Kerr told Colorado Politics Monday that while people in Jeffco might not agree with him 100% of the time, they know him from his 12 years in the General Assembly, and trust his leadership and his ability to make tough decisions. 

Chief among those tough decisions is likely handling the county’s budget. Voters this month rejected a de-Brucing measure that would have staved off a $16 million budget cut. The person who makes those kinds of decisions should have Jeffco values and a sense of Jeffco’s past and future, Kerr explained.

“I think the voters of Jeffco agree I’m a good person to be in that position,” he said. “I want someone like me to make those tough decisions.”

He also plans to continue advocating for multi-modal transportation solutions, such as allowing the Idaho stop in Jefferson County.

“We have to make it easier for people to move around and through the county,” he said. “I’m not shying away from discussions that will move us forward.”

State Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp, D-Arvada, announced last week she would challenge incumbent Jeffco Commissioner and former state Rep. Libby Szabo, a Republican, for the District 1 seat. Kraft-Tharp is term-limited in 2020.