A vacancy committee will meet on Thursday to select a candidate to replace Rep. Jennifer Parenti, D-Erie, in the House District 19 election. Parenti announced she was dropping out of the race last month. 

In a letter announcing her departure, Parenti cited the prevalence of “personal agendas and special interests” in the legislature, which she said made it hard for her to maintain her sense of integrity. 

Four candidates, Anil Pesaramelli, James Reed, Richard Garcia, and Jillaire McMillan, are now vying to represent the Democratic Party in the November election. Pesaramelli, a software engineer at Kaiser Permanente, previously ran for the Boulder Valley School District School Board. Reed, an IT professional, also has experience on the board, having served as vice president and president.

Garcia, the father of Rep. Lorena Garcia, D-Denver, served on the Boulder Valley School District Board for eight years and is a founder of the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition. McMillan is a writer and works as Director of Volunteers for Mormon Woman for Ethical Government. 

The winning candidate will face Republican Dan Woog, who was defeated by Parenti in the 2022 election.

House District 19 includes parts of Weld and Boulder counties, covering the cities of Erie, Dacono, Del Camino, and Firestone. 

Parenti has opted to finish serving her elected term. While her replacement will be chosen in time for voters to decide the election, there have been questions over state lawmakers quitting during elected terms, allowing vacancy committees to select replacements.

Some have criticized the vacancy committee process, arguing a very small number of highly-partisan individuals get to pick people who then craft policy that affects broads swaths of people and businesses.

Nearly a third of lawmakers last session have been appointed by a committee rather than elected by constituents. Colorado is one of just five states that allows party insiders to select replacements when a legislator steps down. 

An initiative called Proposition 310, backed by former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry, aims to change the state’s vacancy process and may appear on the ballot this November, depending on whether it collects enough signatures by the deadline. 

Known as Ranked Choice Voting, the ballot measure has until close of business on Aug. 5 to submit signatures to be considered for the November ballot.

Correction: a previous version of this story stated Pesaramelli served on the Boulder Valley School Board. He did not; he ran for the board but did not win the race.