profile
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Q&A with Rep.-elect Tim Hernández | Activist-turned-legislator on channeling his fire
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Sixteen months ago, Tim Hernández lost his job teaching at North High School. Today, he represents the school’s northwest Denver district in the Colorado House of Representatives. A committee of Denver Democrats selected Hernández to represent House District 4 on Aug. 26, as the district’s former representative, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, resigned to join the Denver City Council.…
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Q&A with Sen. Mark Baisley | Senator on building coalitions while voting contrarian
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When the Colorado legislature passes a new law, chances are Sen. Mark Baisley voted against it. The Woodland Park Republican was the state Senate’s designated contrarian during the 2023 legislative session, voting against more than half of the bills that became law and being the only “no” vote on a dozen different bills. But that didn’t…
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Q&A with Rep. Ruby Dickson | Colorado’s youngest legislator on leading future-facing policy
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At just 27 years old, Rep. Ruby Dickson is the youngest state legislator in the Colorado Capitol. A Colorado native, Dickson grew up in the Denver metro area attending public schools and performing the national anthem at Rockies games. She earned a master’s degree in economics from Oxford University just over a year before returning…
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Q&A with Rep. Ron Weinberg | First-year lawmaker on building bridges
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The 2023 legislative session was one of the most contentious the state has seen. But you wouldn’t know that from watching Rep. Ron Weinberg. In a year defined by dissension, the first-year Republican lawmaker from Loveland stood out as a beacon of camaraderie and bipartisanship. From grilling dinner for the lawmakers during late-night debates to being…
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Q&A with Tom Sullivan | Centennial lawmaker on being a champion for gun violence prevention
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Colorado Sen. Tom Sullivan has fought to end gun violence since his son, Alex, was killed in the Aurora movie theater mass shooting in July 2012. Over nearly 11 years, Sullivan testified for gun legislation in Washington D.C., advocated for a package of gun control bills passed in Colorado in 2013, was elected to the…
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Q&A with Sen. Julie Gonzales | Democratic whip on legislating for marginalized communities
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Sen. Julie Gonzales is one of the Colorado Democratic Party’s top political heavyweights going into her second term in the state Senate. After spending more than a decade advocating for progressive policies from the streets of her Denver community, Gonzales was elected to the Senate in 2018 – earning a whopping 83.1% of the vote.…
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Q&A with Rose Pugliese | House GOP’s assistant minority leader on starting conversations
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Rep. Rose Pugliese is the most powerful freshman lawmaker in a near powerless party. Pugliese, R-Colorado Springs, is assistant minority leader for the GOP caucus in the state House of Representatives – making her the only first-year legislator to hold party leadership in both the state House and Senate. She was elected to represent House…
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Governor’s Citizenship Medal: Longtime former Congressman Ed Perlmutter honored
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Ed Perlmutter always knew he wanted to spend his life giving back to Colorado. As a child in Jefferson County, Perlmutter said he watched his father love and serve their state, inspiring him to do the same. This inspiration carried Perlmutter through his decades-long career as a lawyer, through eight years as a state senator…
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Q&A with Steve Fenberg | Colorado Senate president on what’s to come next session
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Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg is preparing to enter the next legislative session with near unprecedented power, largely the result of Democratic dominance in the midterm elections. A Boulder Democrat, Fenberg’s party flipped seven seats from red to blue in the November election, creating a 69-31 Democrat-Republican split in the state legislature. In the House,…
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Q&A with Sen. Gonzales and Rep. Froelich | On making Colorado a sanctuary for abortion access
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In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, Colorado has emerged as a national leader for abortion protections. Even before the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision was released in June, state lawmakers enshrined abortion as a fundamental right under the Reproductive Health Equity Act. Among the most permissive…
