A background you can bank on

In my nine years of public service as a State Representative and State Senator, I've focused on creating practical, bipartisan solutions to Colorado's most pressing challenges. While I've passed dozens of bills, the ones I'm most proud of share a common thread: they make government work better for everyday Coloradans by focusing on affordability, opportunity, and smart investments in our shared future.

Leadership

  • Chair, Joint Budget Committee

  • Senate Majority Whip

  • House Majority Whip

  • Chair, Senate Finance Committee

  • Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee

  • Chair, Senate Education Committee

  • Chair, Joint Technology Committee

  • Chair, Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force

  • Chair, NCSL Smart Cities Foundation

  • Chair, Colorado Sportsmen’s Caucus

  • Chair, Aerospace and Defense Caucus

  • Vice Chair, Senate Transportation & Energy Committee

  • Ideas Challenge Finalist, The NewDEAL

If you want to really nerd out on the budget…

My nontoxic approach to politics has been acknowledged by one of Colorado’s harshest critics… Kyle Clark!

Legislator of the year or equivalent

Legislative Accomplishments

Recent Leadership (2022-Present)

Chair of the Joint Budget Committee

  • Balanced Colorado's $16.5 billion budget while protecting education, healthcare, and public safety despite facing over $1 billion in TABOR-mandated cuts

  • Fully funded public K-12 education to Amendment 23 levels for the first time in more than a decade

  • Managed through post-pandemic fiscal challenges while preserving critical state services

Affordable Housing Solutions

  • Created the Middle Income Housing Authority (MIHA) to keep Colorado livable for teachers, nurses, firefighters, and middle-income workers

  • Passed the first-in-the-nation Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit to increase affordable home ownership opportunities

  • Led investments in housing programs that support working families across the state

Financial Oversight and Transparency

  • Championed performance audits for state programs to ensure taxpayer dollars deliver results

  • Led efforts to make Colorado's budgeting process more transparent and accessible to citizens

  • Applied private-sector financial metrics to evaluate program effectiveness and return on investment

Pandemic Response (2020-2022)

Economic Recovery Leadership

  • Sponsored the Restaurant Recovery Act helping small businesses survive during COVID

  • Created a $25 million small business grant program to preserve jobs and support local economies

  • Passed legislation to protect workers and businesses during an unprecedented economic crisis

Worker Support

  • Authored Colorado's comprehensive paid sick leave policy ensuring every Colorado employee earns six days of paid sick leave annually

  • Co-sponsored a family and medical leave insurance program for all Colorado workers

  • Created protections for frontline workers during the pandemic

State House & Senate (2017-2020)

Education Investment

  • Sponsored historic Full-Day Kindergarten legislation that passed the Senate unanimously

  • Created the Colorado Imagination Library, providing monthly books to children ages 0-5

  • Expanded concurrent enrollment programs letting high school students earn college credit

Innovation and Infrastructure

  • Co-sponsored bipartisan transportation package investing billions in roads, bridges, and transit

  • Authored landmark autonomous vehicle legislation positioning Colorado at the forefront of this technology

  • Sponsored legislation to improve vehicle safety through advanced crash avoidance technologies

Fiscal Responsibility

  • Sponsored legislation creating a "Return on Investment Report" showing costs, debt loads, and earnings for every degree at every public Colorado college and university

  • Led efforts to ensure economic development incentives delivered promised results

Climate Action

  • Sponsored legislation to cut Colorado's greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2030

  • Supported clean energy development creating jobs while protecting our environment

  • Worked with utilities to expand renewable energy generation

Making a difference beyond legislation

Protecting military lives

While working for U.S. Senator Ken Salazar, I received a letter from a Colorado soldier whose friend was killed by an IED while in a Humvee gunner's seat. He asked about automated turrets (CROWS) that would have saved his friend's life.

I discovered Congress was about to eliminate this program despite field commanders praising its effectiveness. Working across party lines, I helped save and expand the program. Today, thousands of these systems protect our military personnel overseas.

Advancing equality with faith communities

When President Obama prepared to sign an executive order banning LGBTQ+ discrimination by federal contractors, he faced pressure to include a religious exemption that would have weakened the protections.

As Associate Vice President at Union Theological Seminary, I brought together diverse faith leaders—Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish—who opposed the exemption. Our coalition argued that people of faith should be exemplary, not exempted. Our work helped ensure the order protected LGBTQ+ Americans without loopholes.