Barbara O’Brien | |
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47th Lieutenant Governor of Colorado | |
In office January 9, 2007 –January 11, 2011 | |
Governor | Bill Ritter |
Preceded by | Jane E. Norton |
Succeeded by | Joe García |
Personal details | |
Born | Barbara O'Brien April 18,1950 Brawley,California,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Richard O'Brien [1] |
Profession | Charity president [1] |
Barbara O'Brien (born April 18,1950) was the 47th Lieutenant Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She previously served eight years as an elected member of the board of Denver Public Schools from 2013 to 2021. [2]
She was chosen as running mate by Bill Ritter,the Democratic candidate for Governor of Colorado in the 2006 election. [3] The Ritter/O'Brien ticket won with 57% of the vote. [4] As lieutenant governor she made education her signature issue. [5] [6] Ritter chose not to run for re-election in 2010, [7] and O'Brien also stepped down at the end of her term.
Prior to becoming lieutenant governor,she was a speechwriter and policy advisor for Governor Richard Lamm.[ citation needed ]
Barbara O'Brien was elected as the at-large school director of the Denver Public Schools School Board on November 5,2013,claiming 59.5% of the vote and winning over Michael Kiley and Joan Poston. [8] and was reelected in November 2017 to another term. [9]
The Denver Post newspaper stated that candidates who promised reform won the majority of local school board elections across Colorado in the November 2013 off-year election,and that O'Brien,as well as her fellow winners for Denver School Board positions,were reform candidates. [10]
As of March 2012 [update] ,O'Brien was a senior fellow at the Piton Foundation,which uses its private funding to develop,manage,and incubate programs to create opportunities for lower-income families in Denver. [11] [ full citation needed ]
In 2013,O'Brien was named President of Get Smart Schools,a Denver-based public education reform group. [1]
O'Brien is married to Richard O'Brien,and has two sons,Jared and Connor. [1]