Pace chosen as House Democratic leader; Todd, Levy, Hullinghorst will also be on leadership team

State House Democrats, fresh off an election that appears to have stripped them of their majority in the chamber, chose a Pueblo legislator as their new caucus leader.

Rep. Sal Pace, who was re-elected Nov. 2 to his second term, will be the Democrats' floor general. He defeated the current assistant majority leader, Rep. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, in a vote held today.

The current speaker, Rep. Terrence Carroll, D-Denver, and majority leader, Rep. Paul Weissman, D-Louisville, are term-limited and will not return for the 68th General Assembly.

Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, will be assistant caucus leader, while Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, will be whip.

Rep. Dicky Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder, will serve as deputy whip.

Rep. Lois Court, D-Denver, D-Aurora, will be the Democrats' caucus chair in the next legislative session. Her assistant chair will be Rep. Su Ryden, D-Aurora.

The outcome of the election for a House seat in Jefferson County remained in doubt as of Thursday, as a margin of approximately 200 votes separated district 29 frontrunner Robert Ramirez from incumbent Democrat Debbie Benefield.

If Ramirez prevails, the GOP's claimed majority will be official.

Photos of Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, and Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, courtesy Wikimedia.

Suthers re-elected; Republicans oust Treasurer Kennedy, Secretary of State Buescher

Republicans ousted the state treasurer and secretary of state in Tuesday's election as attorney general John Suthers was re-elected, giving the GOP three of five statewide elected offices.

Democrats John Hickenlooper and Joe Garcia were elected governor and lieutenant governor.

Walker Stapleton, a real estate developer and investor, defeated incumbent Democratic treasurer Cary Kennedy in a close race, while GOP election lawyer Scott Gessler beat incumbent secretary of state Bernie Buescher.

Kennedy's work as treasurer has included achieving a positive return on the investment of the state's financial reserves during the recent recession, as well as implementing bipartisan legislation to finance improvements and repairs of public schools. She also posted online, for the first time, the state's investments and a statement of cash flows and helped put in place a searchable database of the state's revenues and expenditures.

Stapleton, a relative of former President George W. Bush, argued during his campaign that Colorado should not use federal stimulus dollars to balance its budget and said he would push the General Assembly to restore a spending cap.

Gessler, a former federal prosecutor and a U.S. Army reserve veteran, has been the Colorado Republican Party's go-to lawyer on election issues for several years. He has advocated for legislation that would require all voters to show a government-issued identification card at the polls and was involved in GOP efforts to secure a favorable re-districting of legislative and Congressional seats in 2001 and 2002.

Buescher, a former state representative from Grand Junction, was appointed secretary of state after Republican Mike Coffman was elected to Congress in Nov. 2008.

Suthers, a former U.S. attorney for the district of Colorado, beat Boulder county district attorney Stan Garnett despite reports that a man whom he had released from jail under a plea bargain had gone on to commit several murders.

Photo of treasurer-elect Walker Stapleton courtesy of Stapleton for Colorado.

Hickenlooper wins landslide election as governor

Democratic Denver mayor John Hickenlooper rolled to an easy win in the governor's race Tuesday, beating former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo and GOP businessman Dan Maes in a landslide.

Former Colorado State University-Pueblo president Joe Garcia won election as lieutenant governor on Hickenlooper's ticket.

Hickenlooper, a former geologist and restaurateur, ran a mostly positive campaign that emphasized bipartisanship and a commitment to strengthen the state's economy.

"We will implement a jobs plan that starts with economic development at the grass roots level, empowering local communities by starting with their vision of what works best and building on that vision to make Colorado a national center for innovation in every field from agriculture to energy and technology," he said at an election night celebration.

As Denver's leader, Hickenlooper, 58, was lauded as one of the top five big-city mayors in America by Time magazine. During his tenure he spearheaded efforts to lower the number of homeless people in Denver, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city, and secure public approval of tax assessments used to fund scientific and cultural facilities.

He was first elected as the Mile High City's chief executive in 2003 and won re-election in 2007.

Garcia, a former director of the state Department of Regulatory Agencies, has been president of CSU-Pueblo since 2006. Before taking that post he was president of Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs for five years.

A graduate of Harvard University's law school and John F. Kennedy School of Government, Garcia practiced law for ten years before embarking on a career in higher education.

AG Suthers joins all other states in probe of foreclosure procedures

Colorado will join the rest of the states in the union in an effort to investigate the procedures used by lenders to foreclose homes.

The main objective of the probe is to determine whether lenders, loan servicing agencies, or those who represent them have submitted legal pleadings in foreclosure cases that wrongly attest to the accuracy of claims that the party seeking foreclosure owns the note.

"Homeowners have a right to know that when their banks or lenders foreclose on their homes that all of the information used in the process is correct,” Suthers said. “I signed onto this multi-state effort for the fundamental reason that we need to ensure the integrity of Colorado’s foreclosure process."

Concern about the possibility that lenders have misled state courts on the question whether the statements in affidavits are accurate led to an attempt in Congress to validate their actions.

Legislation that would give lenders cover for errors contained in affidavits, and which would have the effect of accelerating foreclosure cases, was pocket-vetoed by President Obama earlier this month.

Education commissioner Jones to leave for Las Vegas job

Colorado will soon be seeking a new state education commissioner.

The current occupant of that post, Dwight Jones, has accepted a job as superintendent of the Clark County School District in Nevada.

Jones, 48, has been commissioner of public education since 2007.

"I look forward with enthusiasm to working with the educators, school staff and community in Clark County, and I will make the transition to Nevada as soon as I can ensure a smooth exit from Colorado," Jones said in a statement. "I am keenly excited about the work and challenges ahead."

Before taking his current post Jones was superintendent of the Fountain-Fort Carson School District in El Paso County.

He has been complemented for improving relationships between the Colorado Department of Education, local school districts, and the state's largest teacher organization.

Jones has also been a central player in implementing the Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids and the new teacher tenure law adopted by the General Assembly last spring.

Jones' salary will go up from about $223,000 to about $270,000 when he takes the job overseeing the nation's fifth-largest school district.

The state Board of Education will choose a replacement. However, two members of that board face re-election bids in November and therefore the board may put off a decision on a permanent replacement until the results are known.

Marquez appointed to supreme court

A state deputy attorney general will become the next state supreme court justice.

Monica Marquez, 41, has been chosen by Gov. Bill Ritter to replace retiring chief justice Mary Mullarkey.

“Monica is an analytical and independent thinker," Ritter said. "She has a wealth of personal and professional experiences, and a deep reverence for the role our legal system plays in the everyday lives of Coloradans, and in the inter-relationship between our courts and public policy. She respects the rule of law, is conscientious and will bring an unbiased and just perspective to the court and all the cases that it hears."

The appointment also drew praise from Republican attorney general John Suthers, Marquez' boss.

"In selecting Deputy Attorney General Marquez, the governor has made an excellent appointment to the Colorado Supreme Court,” Suthers said. “Monica is one of the brightest attorneys I have worked with in my long career in public service. Her clear, concise writing and sharp legal mind will make her an outstanding addition to the Colorado Supreme Court.”

Suthers also wrote a letter of recommendation supporting Marquez' candidacy for the high court.

Marquez is the chief of the state services section in the attorney general's office. She oversees the team of lawyers who represent nine executive branch agencies, including the governor's office.

Marquez has worked for the Department of Law since 2002. Before entering public service she was an associate at the law firm Holme, Roberts, and Owen and a law clerk for two federal judges.

She earned her law degree at Yale Law School and her undergraduate degree at Stanford University. Marquez is a graduate of Grand Junction High School.

Marquez will have to seek retention after a two-year provisional term. Her name will appear on the 2012 ballot.

“Naming a new Supreme Court justice is a tremendous responsibility and privilege,” the Governor said. “I had three exemplary choices and a difficult decision to make. While Chief Justice Mullarkey leaves behind an irreplaceable legacy, I am confident Monica Marquez will serve the people of Colorado with distinction, honor and integrity.”

This blog is suspended

After two years of coverage of the Colorado General Assembly, I have decided to suspend this blog.

My work as a journalist has shifted away from political coverage.

I have found that my interests have moved in the direction of writing about science and the environment.

You can follow some of my science writing here.

I maintain another blog dedicated to environmental law and policy here.

I have appreciated your willingness to read this blog. I hope you will continue to read my work and I encourage you to follow me on Twitter.

This blog is suspended, not terminated, and that's for a reason. If there is a good journalist out there who is interested in helping me to manage it, and who is excited about the prospect of providing consistent and quality writing about the work of Colorado's government, I hope you will contact me.