There have been moments of humor and joy, and lots of work on big bills over the past seven years for outgoing Speaker of the House KC Becker.

The departing Democrat from Boulder spoke with Colorado Politics about the highs and lows of her tenure at the statehouse as she prepares for the next phase of her life. Hint: it’s not necessarily political. But it could be.

During the special session, one of the few moments of levity came when jokes flew around the chamber about the height difference between Becker (who barely clears 5 feet tall) and her successor, Speaker-elect Alec Garnett, a Denver Democrat who stands at well over 6 feet, 2 inches. Becker never comes up short in the wit department. 

Becker and Rep. Lori Saine, a Republican from Dacono – about as ideologically different as they come – call themselves charter members of the “really short gal representative” caucus, as noted on the special session’s final day. Both were term-limited. 

Becker also had a second chance – the first was in June, at the end of the regular session – to say goodbye to her 64 colleagues.

“I didn’t expect to be back up here and can’t miss the opportunity to say something,” Becker began at the end of the special session last month.

Relationships matter

She recalled something former House Speaker Mark Ferrandino (2013-14) used to say: “You earn your votes in the aisle, not in the well.”

“If you ever think you will persuade someone by standing in the well, you likely aren’t,” she said. “If you want to really be heard by the people who hold votes, walk over and talk to them. Do it over and over again. Make those friends, whether you will persuade them or not, talk about your ideas, let them talk about theirs.”

Some of her most valuable relationships in the Capitol are with people from the Republican side, she said. 

“This is an opportunity to expand your knowledge, horizons and make a difference by just walking 10 or 15 feet,” Becker said of crossing the aisle dividing the parties through the center of the House floor. “At the end of the day, you can go to the well, you have the right to speak your mind … If you only want to make a point, you can do that. If you want to make a difference, walk the 15 feet. Take the time. It’s worth it.”

Becker began her legislative career through the vacancy route, appointed in October 2013 to replace Rep. Claire Levy, who resigned to become executive director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. Becker had served on the Boulder City Council, including as the council’s representative to the Denver Regional Council of Governments.

Becker (the KC stands for Kathleen Collins) notably served on the House’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee and on Finance. Ag might seem an odd fit for a Boulderite, but Becker points out that HD13 is, by land mass, much more rural rather than urban. While it includes the portion of west Boulder, where she and much of the district’s population live, the boundaries go all the way to the Wyoming state line north of Walden, some 150 miles away.   It includes five counties: Boulder, Grand, Gilpin, Clear Creek and Jackson. The district includes the areas ravaged by wildfires, including the recent East Troublesome blaze around Grand Lake and the Williams Fork fire near Winter Park and Fraser.

In 2017, Becker moved into leadership as House majority leader, working alongside then-House Speaker Crisanta Duran of Denver. It was not a match made in Heaven, as the saying goes: The two Democrats clashed over issues big and small, such as when Duran excluded Becker, the majority leader, from press conferences on bills she was managing. 

Things she’ll miss

Becker said she’ll miss:

• Rep. James Coleman of Denver, doing a spot-on impersonation of President Barack Obama. “That makes you smile, every time.”
• The approval of the previous day’s minutes, when members would normally give a perfunctory approval, but instead some cry out, “Nooooo!” Becker was amused by the confusion from that. “It’s a silly tradition, but it made me laugh every day.”

Becker said she’ll also miss the camaraderie from both sides of the aisle. Noting Ferrandino’s saying about relationships, she said people would see her talking to Republicans during second reading debates, and that’s “where the real work was happening. There’s much more camaraderie across the aisle than people realize.”

Becker also spoke about who she’ll miss most, and lots of Republican names come up. “When you have a heavy lift that’s bipartisan, you just end up in the trenches” spending a lot of time with lawmakers, she said.

In each of her seven years, at least half of the bills on which she was a prime sponsor had Republicans as co-primes. You see the same names over and over: Sen. Ellen Roberts of Durango, Sen. Bob Rankin of Carbondale, Sen. Don Coram of Montrose, Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg of Sterling and Sen. Kevin Priola of Henderson. That’s not counting the many times her name was added to a Republican-led bill from the Senate, frequently introduced by Priola or Sonnenberg. 

In 2017, for example, there were a couple of Senate bills – that’s when Republicans held the majority in that chamber – in which Becker was the only Democratic co-prime sponsor. 

“I can’t say enough good things about her,” Sonnenberg, among the most conservative lawmakers in the Senate, told Colorado Politics. 

He explained, “She always had an open-door policy,” whether it was to get advice or to see if there was something they could work on together.

Sonnenberg said he and the Speaker bridged the partisan divide, because “she was smart enough to figure out there were areas I could help her with, and when I needed help, she could have influence.”

The two teamed up on rural issues, such as broadband, conservation easements and water, including a 2016 law protecting Colorado water from federal overreach.

“She works really well with a lot of people,” added Priola, a former House member who served with Becker on the chamber’s Finance Committee, where they clashed over the conservative-loved Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. “We care a lot about policy (and) saw eye-to-eye on key issues.”

They both grew up in a family business, so they could relate. “We just hit it off,” he said.

Lasting respect

When you ask what she’s most proud of, it’s those bipartisan bills that come up first. 

She cites Senate Bill 18-200, legislation to help shore up the unfunded liability for the Public Employees’ Retirement Association, which Becker worked on with Sen. Jack Tate, a Centennial Republican, and a bill for which she took a lot of flak from her caucus. The final version passed on an unexpectedly slim 34-29 vote, with 23 “no” votes coming from Democrats, including then-Speaker Duran. 

Had the General Assembly not taken that action in 2018, “We wouldn’t have had the money to do it the last two years, nor the political will,” she said. That would have led to an even worse decline in PERA had they not passed it. “Sometimes a bill can be very hard to do, but years down the road” those who are impacted are appreciative, she said.

Becker was part of the quartet who helped pass the most significant legislation in 2017, Senate Bill 17-267, titled Sustainability of Rural Colorado.  Becker put in long hours on the bill with Sonnenberg, Republican Rep. Jon Becker of Fort Morgan (no relation) and the bill’s other Democratic sponsor, Sen. Lucia Guzman of Denver.

“When you have huge bills and you’re doing them with someone from across the aisle, once you cross the finish line on an impactful bill, it makes a lasting impression with lasting respect,” she said. 

She also pointed to Rankin and Coram, particularly on broadband issues, as among the Republicans she enjoyed working with, as well as Rep. Matt Soper of Delta, whom she called thoughtful and approachable.

The Boulder progressive

Becker still hails from Boulder, however.

She sponsored Colorado’s landmark Climate Action Plan, House Bill 19-1261. She was in the driver’s seat, with Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, a fellow Boulder progressive, behind Senate Bill 19-181 to draft new regulations on oil and gas drilling,  the most controversial bill of last year’s session.

Becker also backed House Bill-19 1314, the “just transition” bill to help coal industry workers train for new jobs. As communities shift from more natural resource-based economies to renewable energy economies, the question becomes what to do for workers.  Colorado’s passage of the transition bill has been gaining attention from legislatures around the country, she said. 

Not everything has been a ringing success. Becker was the public face and legislative sponsor of Proposition CC in 2019, an attempt to allow the state to retain TABOR revenues. Voters rejected it by 7 percentage points. She also tried her hand at reforms in electioneering communications in 2016 and 2017, without success.

Tough times

There were other dark times, such as her last year as majority leader in 2018, the #MeToo year, when Becker presided over a debate and vote to expel Democratic Rep. Steve Lebsock of Thornton over sexual harassment allegations, including retaliation against those who had made or supported those allegations. 

Becker called the day Lebsock was expelled one of the most difficult days in the legislature. She said she began the day not knowing if the votes were there to do it. The tide turned when Republicans began going to the well. Rep. Larry Liston of Colorado Springs said he didn’t want his daughters to be treated that way.

“I came in here as a no vote today,” Liston said that day. “After listening to this, I will be yes vote.”

The tide shifted completely when then-House Assistant Minority Leader Cole Wist of Centennial said he too would vote for expulsion.

“That was such a show of leadership,” Becker said. 

The House vote was 52-9. Lebsock became the first lawmaker expelled from the chamber in a century. 

The process was challenging, not the least of which was the confidentiality aspect, she said. The investigation took place behind closed doors, but it had to be done that way, Becker said.

 Becker told legislators to have faith and work toward a fair and full investigation. That also meant relying on her training as a lawyer. “I knew I wanted a very full investigation and to be as open and transparent as possible,” Becker said.

Becker noted she had never had issues with Lebsock and viewed him as a good friend for a long time before the allegations surfaced.

Figuring out the future

The departing speaker is still figuring her next move.

Becker, who turned 51 in November, said she’s also excited for what she will do next, although that isn’t yet clear.

“I’ve got time. I’ll figure it out … I don’t feel rushed,” she said. “Politics is 40% serendipity, 40% timing and the rest is talent. You don’t know if everything will line up.”

At the top of her list, she wants to spend more time with her two sons, 12-year-old Leo and 9-year-old Ryder, and husband, Miles Kunkel.

She might start a small business, work for a nonprofit or reengage with public policy, Becker said.

Her parting advice to future legislative leaders? 

“Don’t do it if you’re not interested in policy, people and talking to the press,” Becker said. “If your focus is your profile, why do it? People can see right through that.”

She hopes future speakers also find as many moments of joy and humor as she did.