Spencer Swalm | |
---|---|
Member of the ColoradoHouseofRepresentatives from the 37th district | |
In office January 10, 2007 –January 7, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Lauri Clapp |
Succeeded by | Jack Tate |
Personal details | |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Marleen [1] |
Profession | Insurance broker |
Website | http://www.spencerswalm.com/ |
Spencer Swalm is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. First elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006,Swalm represented House District 37,which encompasses most of the city of Centennial,Colorado. [2] Term limited,he did not run for re-election in 2014,so his term ended in January 2015. [3]
Born in Colorado, [1] Swalm attended Colorado College before transferring to the University of Colorado at Boulder,graduating with a bachelor's degree in history [4] in 1975. [5] He then earned a J.D. from the University of Denver in 1979. [5]
After practicing law for over a decade, [5] specializing in estate planning, [4] Swalm entered the employee benefits and health insurance business in 1990 as a partner in Redstone Benefit Systems. He has served as the chair of the legislative committee of the Colorado State Association of Health Underwriters. [5]
In the early 1980s,Swalm began writing op-ed pieces opposing government transportation subsidies and joined the Independence Institute,a Colorado free-market think tank,eventually becoming a senior fellow. [4] He opposed the 2004 tax measure funding the FasTracks light rail expansion. [6] He has also served on the board of the Colorado Council on Economic Education. Politically,Swalm has been a member of the Colorado Republican Business Coalition,the Centennial Republican Forum,the Arapahoe County Republican Men's Club,and was treasurer for the Sixth Congressional District Republican Committee. [4]
Swalm is married;he and his wife,Marleen,have three children: [1] Byron,Lauren,and Jocelyn. [7] Swalm has taught Sunday school and served on the missions committee of his church,Grace Chapel,and has taken several missionary trips to the Amazon Basin in Bolivia. [5]
Swalm won election to Colorado's 37th House District in 2006. He faced Centennial Councilwoman Betty Ann Habig in the Republican primary,losing to her at the party assembly, [8] but defeating her in the party primary. [9] He then defeated Democrat Angela Engel with just over 51 percent of the vote. [2]
In the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly,Swalm sat on the House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Transportation and Energy Committee. [10] Swalm's father,Paul Swalm,had served on the Denver,Colorado city council and in the Colorado House of Representatives [4] in the 1970s,and Swalm was assigned the same seat in the house chamber as his father. [11]
That year,Swalm sponsored legislation that would require sex offenders to register their email addresses and other online identities with the state. [12] After being defeated in committee,the bill was resubmitted to apply only to sex offenders whose victims are children, [13] and was signed into law. He plans on submitting legislation to extend the program to all sex offenders in future sessions. [14]
Swalm also sponsored successful legislation designed to encourage Coloradans to purchase long term care insurance rather than relying on Medicaid,allowing Coloradans to participate in a federal long term care partnership program. [15]
Between legislative sessions,Swalm served on the interim Health Care Task Force [16] and on the Transportation Legislation Review Committee. [17]
For the 2008 legislative session,Swalm plans to sponsor a measure that would create a special pass to offset state park maintenance costs. [18] [19] As part of a set of Republican health care proposals,Swalm will sponsor legislation to create a low-cost state health insurance plan and to encourage tax breaks for individual health insurance. [20] He has also,working with Democratic Rep. Morgan Carroll,introduced legislation to extend a fund to provide financial assistance to military families. [21] [22] The bill was passed by the legislature and signed into the law by Gov. Bill Ritter. [23]
Swalm also introduced legislation to create the "Colorado Health Plan," a low-cost health insurance program to be run by the state, [24] but the proposal was killed in committee. [25] Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff has expressed interest in reviving the bill. [26] Swalm also reintroduced his bill to require sex offenders to register their email addresses,which was again killed in committee. [27]
Because of the closeness of Swalm's 2006 election in a traditionally Republican district,Democrats targeted Swalm's re-election bid in 2008. Swalm faces Diana Holland,a Democrat and Littleton School Board member, [28] and Constitution Party candidate Brian Olds in the November general election. Swalm's re-election bid was endorsed by the Denver Post . [29] He ultimately won with 51 percent of the popular vote,nearly 2000 votes ahead of Holland. [30]
For the 2009 legislative session,Swalm was named to seats on the House Finance Committee and the House Health and Human Services Committee. [31] Representative Swalm worked with centrist Democratic Representative Sara Gagliardi to promote a bipartisan measure lowering the age limit for blood donations to 16. [32]
Representative Swalm returned to the House Committee on Finance. He was also appointed as vice-chair of the newly renamed Economic &Business Development Committee.
In the 2012 General Election,Representative Swalm faced Democratic challenger Jan Spooner. Swalm was elected by a margin of 53% to 44% with third party candidates garnering the remainder of the vote. [33] [34]
John Michael Kefalas is a politician in the U.S. state of Colorado. An educator and lobbyist before first running for the legislature in 2004,Kefalas defeated a Republican incumbent to win election to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006. Kefalas won election to the State Senate in 2012 and represented Senate District 14 until early 2019. In 2018,Kefalas ran for and won a seat on the Larimer County Board of County Commissioners. He resigned his Senate seat,and a vacancy committee nominated Joann Ginal to replace him.
Mark Steven Ferrandino is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado and former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. Appointed to the legislature in 2007,Ferrandino represented House District 2,encompassing south central Denver from 2012 to 2014. He is the first openly gay male legislator in Colorado history. He did not seek re-election in 2014,and was the chief financial officer of Denver Public Schools. On November 19,2020,Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed Ferrandino to serve as executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue. He served in the position until July 2023,when the governor named him director of the Office of State Planning and Budgeting.
Frank McNulty is an attorney and former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. McNulty was first elected in 2006 to represent Colorado House District 43. He was re-elected in 2008,2010,and 2012.
Amy Stephens is a Principal in Public Policy and Regulation Practice at Dentons,a multinational law firm;previously,she served as Colorado House Majority Leader and House Minority Caucus Chairman in the Colorado House of Representatives.
Jeanne Labuda was a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006,Labuda represented House District 1.
Claire Levy is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006,Levy represented House District 13,which encompasses Clear Creek,Gilpin,and western Boulder counties. Levy was named the Executive Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy on November 1,2013. The Colorado Center on Law and Policy is a Denver-based nonprofit organization working to advance the health,economic security and well-being of low-income Coloradans through research,education,advocacy and litigation.
Glenn Vaad is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. First elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006,Vaad represented House District 48,which encompasses western Greeley and southwestern Weld County,Colorado.
K. Jerry Frangas was a legislator from the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2002,Frangas represented House District 4,which encompasses northwest Denver,Colorado.
Kent Douglas Lambert is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A United States Air Force veteran,Lambert was elected to the Colorado General Assembly as a Republican in 2006. Most recently,he represented Senate District 9,which encompasses northwest Colorado Springs,the United States Air Force Academy,Monument and Black Forest.
Ellen Stuart Roberts is an attorney and former Republican legislator in the U.S. State of Colorado. From 2006 to 2010,Roberts served as the State Representative for House District 59. In 2010,she was elected to Senate District 6 and served until her resignation,saying that she wanted to spend more time in her home region,at the end of 2016. In 2015,she was elected to serve as the President Pro-Tem for the Colorado State Senate,a position she held until her resignation.
Cherylin Naylor Peniston is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A career public school teacher,Peniston was first elected as a Democrat in 2006 to the Colorado House of Representatives. She represented House District 35,which encompasses most of Westminster,Colorado and portions of Arvada. Term limited,she did not seek re-election in 2014.
Sara Elizabeth Gagliardi was a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A career nurse,Gagliardi was first elected as a Democrat in 2006 to the Colorado House of Representatives. She represented House District 27,which encompasses most of Arvada,Colorado,until her defeat in the 2010 election by Republican Libby Szabo. During her time with the House of Representatives,Gagliardi served as vice-chair for two legislative committees and successfully carried 22 bills into law,predominantly on health care,state services and education,and state fiscal issues. Following the recall attempt and subsequent resignation of Senator Evie Hudak in November 2013,Gagliardi announced her intention to be appointed to the office by the Democratic vacancy committee. The committee ultimately appointed Rachel Zenzinger.
Joe Rice is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado,an Iraq War veteran,and a former mayor of Glendale,Colorado.
Kenneth Guy Summers is a retired Colorado legislator. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006,Summers represented House District 22,including southern Lakewood,Colorado and portions of Jefferson County from 2006 to 2012.
Mike Kopp is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a member of the Colorado Senate,representing Senate District 22,which encompassed southern Jefferson County. He served from 2007 and as Senate Minority Leader from 2009 until his resignation in October 2011 after his wife died from cancer. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Colorado in 2014.
Karen Middleton is an American politician who served as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2004 to 2008 and 2008 to 2011.
Dianne I. Primavera is an American politician who has been the 50th lieutenant governor of Colorado since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously served as the Colorado State Representative for the 33rd district from 2007 to 2011,and again from 2013 to 2017. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jared Polis selected Primavera as his running mate,in the 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election.
Robert S. Gardner is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A United States Air Force veteran and attorney,Gardner was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006. From 2006 to 2012,he represented House District 21,which encompasses western El Paso County and northeastern Fremont County.
Edward Casso is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006,Casso represented House District 32,which encompasses suburbs of Denver,Colorado in northwestern Adams County,from 2006 to 2012.
Cindy Acree was a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2008,Acree represented House District 40,which encompasses Elbert County and eastern Arapahoe County from 2008 to 2012.