Meet Jeff
Colorado raised, Colorado values
I grew up right here in Colorado, and it's shaped everything from my boots to my heart. With our frontier spirit and independent streak, we're a state that values self-reliance but knows when to come together. This balance between independence and community has guided my approach to making government work efficiently and effectively, ensuring our shared investments lead to shared prosperity for all Coloradans.
About a year ago Rie and I welcomed our son Kit. We're raising him with the same Colorado values we both grew up on. He's already developing a love for our mountains and an understandable frustration with traffic on I-70. Along with our floppy dog Walt, we enjoy long walks on the community trails here in Greenwood Village.
Values-led problem solving
A few years ago I earned a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard. It's one of the most religiously diverse schools in the country, with people of all faiths and none. My time there taught me to bring diverse groups of people together around shared values, whatever the source of those values.
Just this year, as Chair of Colorado's Joint Budget Committee, I balanced our state's $16.5 billion budget despite more than $1 billion in required cuts because of TABOR. Despite this challenge, we protected investments in education, public safety, and Medicaid, earning unanimous support from the bipartisan budget committee. The budget is a moral document that puts in dollars and cents exactly what we value and how much we value it. Good financial management isn't just about numbers—it's about values and priorities.
“Nice boots”
While earning my master's degree I met my wife, AnnMarie. She noticed my cowboy boots from across the room, came over and said, "Nice boots." Feeling out of place and thinking she had just insulted me, I shot back, "Look, I'm from Colorado, so I can wear cowboy boots." Without missing a beat, AnnMarie replied, "Yeah, I'm from Colorado too, and I like your boots."
Naturally my only option was to marry her.
The NICU parent club
Everyone says kids change your life. Our 1-year old son Kit came into the world at just over 2 lbs, very suddenly and very unexpectedly 2.5 months early. (At 29 weeks exactly, for you fellow NICU parents.)
After 65 days in the NICU, Kit came home the same day we heard the 2024 budget in the Senate. I gave a tribute on the Senate floor expressing my gratitude to Kit’s wonderful caregivers at Rose Medical Center. And then promptly left to go get my baby!
To mark Kit’s 1st birthday in January 2025, I introduced legislation to extend Colorado family leave to cover NICU stays. It doesn’t cost Colorado tax payers even one more cent, but it’s a small way we can come together to support NICU families—and provide clarity for their employers—during one of the hardest periods of their lives.