A Boulder County Democratic vacancy committee will convene on March 18 to select a successor to former Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis of Longmont.

Jaquez Lewis resigned on Feb. 17 after allegations surfaced that she had submitted a fabricated letter of support to a Senate ethics committee investigating a complaint charging she mistreated aides and interns.

Ten candidates have announced their intention to seek the seat.

Among them is Katie Wallace of Longmont, who is currently executive director of the Colorado Democratic Senate Campaign Fund. She spent a year as a district director for U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo and two years in the office of U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse.

She also worked as a legislative aide to then-Rep. Mike Foote, D-Lafayette.

Wallace is endorsed by Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont, the only state representative who lives in Senate District 17. Foote, Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, and Rep. Kyle Brown, D-Lafayette, also endorsed her.

Andrew Barton has also announced his intention to run for SD17.

Barton is currently the program manager for Colorado Common Cause and president of Boulder Young Democrats. He has worked as a policy manager for the National Conference of State Legislatures and as a legislative aide to Sen. Janice Marchman, D-Loveland, who has endorsed him.

Barton interned for Foote when he was a state senator.

Another candidate is Martha Wilson, who is a clinical consultant for the Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel. According to a statement, she is a “strong champion for disability rights” and serves as a licensed professional counselor, “providing essential support for individuals dealing with grief, stress, and discrimination traumas. She is also a national child welfare reform consultant.”

Wilson recently became a public safety policy advisor for the City of Boulder Police Department.

The Colorado Democratic Party also listed seven other candidates as of Feb. 25:

• Justin Brooks, the former mayor of Erie, who the state’s ethics commission is currently investigating for allegedly helping to obtain funding for a nonprofit he runs

• Kathy Hagen, the state legislative lead for Moms Demand Action

• Julie Marshall, the public relations director of The Center for a Humane Economy, which backed Proposition 127 (the measure bans the hunting of big cats) in last November’s election

• Anil Pesaramelli, a member of the Erie Town Council

• Michael Rayl

• Peter Salas, a community activist and former member of the Boulder Valley School Board

• Shiquita Yarbrough, a member of the Longmont City Council.

The vacancy committee will select the 21st lawmaker in the current Colorado General Assembly to have gained a seat through a vacancy election. The SD17 winner will become the fourth state senator and the fifth lawmaker in 2025 to earn a seat in the legislature through the vacancy process.