Steve Ward | |
---|---|
Member of the Colorado Senate from the 26th district | |
In office December 28, 2006 [1] –January 7, 2009 [2] | |
Preceded by | Jim Dyer |
Succeeded by | Linda Newell |
Member of the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners from the 1st district | |
In office January 14,1997 [3] –January 8,2001 [4] | |
Preceded by | John Nicholl [3] |
Succeeded by | Susan Beckman [4] |
Personal details | |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Susan |
Steven P. Ward [1] (born c. 1960 [5] ) is an American former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Appointed to the Colorado State Senate as a Republican in 2006,Ward represented Senate District 26,which encompassed southern suburbs of Denver,Colorado,centered on Littleton. [6]
Currently a resident of Littleton,Colorado,Ward has served as mayor of Glendale,Colorado and as a member of the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners. [7]
A colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserves,Ward has served tours of active duty at Special Operations Command,in Afghanistan,at Northern Command,at the Pentagon,in Thailand assisting with recovery from the 2004 Asian tsunami and,in 2007,on an assignment in the western Pacific. [8] In August 2007,Ward was called up to active duty in Iraq as part of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, [8] where he served as a military inspector general based at Camp Fallujah. He returned from his Iraq deployment in early February 2008, [5] several weeks into the 2008 legislative session;he was greeted with applause from fellow Senators during the morning roll call. [9] In recognition of Sen. Ward's deployment,Senators had continuously left a lamp on in the Senate chambers during his absence. [10]
During his time in Iraq,Ward met with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and Congressman Ed Perlmutter during their trips to the country, [11] [12] and also met with U.S. Army officer and Colorado state representative Joe Rice,who was stationed in Iraq at the same time. [13]
Ward is married;he and his wife,Susan,have two children:Justin and Jessica. [7] While not serving on active military duty,Ward operates a real-estate business. [14]
In November 2006,Senator Jim Dyer was elected to a post on the Arapahoe County Commission and resigned from the state legislature. A Republican Party vacancy commission chose Ward over former Centennial councilwoman Betty Ann Habig for the post. [15] Ward was sworn in as a state senator on December 28,2006. [1]
In the 2007 session of the General Assembly,Ward served on the Senate Health and Human Services Committee,the Senate Judiciary Committee,and the Senate Local Government Committee. [16]
During the session,Ward introduced,with Democratic Rep. Rosemary Marshall,a measure to clarify uncertainties surrounding a gift ban in Amendment 41,an ethics reform ballot measure enacted by Colorado voters in 2006. [17] [18] After several months of legislative negotiations,the measure was killed in favor of a compromise implementing the ethics law as approved by voters; [19] the ethics commission and gift ban later faced a string of legal challenges. [20]
In the 2008 session of the General Assembly,Ward serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Local Government Committee. [21] He sponsored legislation,modeled on Louisiana law,to allow the death penalty as a punishment for rape of children. [22] The bill died in a Senate committee only a few months before the Louisiana statute was ruled unconstitutional in Kennedy v. Louisiana . [23] Ward was also a prime sponsor of a bill passed into law to restrict picketing in residential areas. [24]
During the legislative session,Ward denounced as the "nanny state bill of the year" a measure which would require single-family homes to install carbon monoxide detectors. [25]
Ward entered the race to succeed retiring Rep. Tom Tancredo in Colorado's 6th Congressional district in November 2007;he made the decision to enter the race while on duty in Iraq,citing a need for more Iraq War veterans in Congress. [5] [26] Ward was one of four contenders for the Republican nomination in the conservative district,including Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman. [27] The contest saw few policy differences between Ward and his Republican opponents,with the exception of Ward's push for a "Manhattan Project"-type effort to develop alternatives to fossil fuels, [28] including flex fuel standards for automobiles. [29]
Although Ward trailed his opponents in fundraising, [30] his campaign emphasized his web presence and his detailed policy proposals. [31] As an Iraq veteran,particular attention was paid to Ward's position on the U.S. presence in Iraq. Although Ward opposed a timetable for withdrawal of troops,he was critical of mistakes made early in the conflict,called for the increased involvement of non-military U.S. agencies and the establishment of "benchmarks" leading towards eventual troop withdrawal. [32] Ward was critical of Republican leadership for straying from traditional conservative principles of limited government [33] and for failures on energy and economic policy,going to so far as to eschew endorsements from prominent Republicans. [34] He pledged to work towards a balanced budget and stated that he would place high priority in Congress on delivering transportation funding for Colorado. [29] [35]
Ultimately,Ward raised a total of about $100,000 for his campaign [36] and placed fourth among the contenders for the Republican nomination [37] with roughly 12 percent of the vote; [38] he conceded the race to Coffman early on the night of the primary and expressed support for the fellow Iraq veteran. [27] [39]
Following his defeat,Ward planned to return to his real estate and development business. [36] His retirement from the legislature created an open seat sought by Republican Lauri Clapp and Democrat Linda Newell,a race that became one of Colorado's closest races in 2008,with less than one percent of votes separating the two. [40]
Arapahoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census,its population was 655,070,making it the third-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Littleton,and the most populous city is Aurora. The county was named for the Arapaho Native American tribe,who once lived in the region.
Thomas Gerard Tancredo is an American politician from Colorado,who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009 as a Republican. He ran for President of the United States during the 2008 election,and was the Constitution Party's unsuccessful nominee for Governor of Colorado in 2010.
Ted Harvey is an American politician. In 2001,Harvey was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican,representing the 43rd House District. Elected in 2006 to the Colorado Senate,he represented Senate District 30,which encompasses Northern Douglas County—Highlands Ranch,Lone Tree,Parker,and Roxborough Park. He was also one of Colorado's delegates to the 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte,North Carolina,in addition to Republican National Conventions in 2012,2016,and prior election cycles.
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.
The 2008 congressional elections in Colorado were held on November 4,2008,to determine who will represent the state of Colorado in the United States House of Representatives,coinciding with the presidential and senatorial elections. Representatives are elected for two-year terms;those elected served in the 111th Congress from January 3,2009,until January 3,2011.
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.
John P. Morse is an American former politician who was a state senator in the Colorado Senate from 2007 to 2013,serving as president of the senate in 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Morse represented Senate District 11,which encompassed at the time Manitou Springs,Colorado,and eastern Colorado Springs. On April 17,2009,he was selected to become Colorado's next Senate Majority Leader,following the resignation of Senate President Peter Groff and the promotion of previous Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer. On September 10,2013,Morse was recalled from office as a reaction to his involvement in passing gun control laws. He was the first legislator to be successfully recalled in the state's history.
Michael Harold Coffman is an American politician,businessman,and veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps serving as Mayor of Aurora,Colorado since 2019. A Republican,Coffman served as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 6th congressional district for five terms,as well as Secretary of State of Colorado and Colorado State Treasurer.
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.
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 the most of the city of Centennial,Colorado. Term limited,he did not run for re-election in 2014,so his term ended in January 2015.
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.
Chris Romer is a former American politician from the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Democrat in 2006,he represented Senate District 32,which encompasses south Denver. As of 2022,Romer is the CEO of Project Canary,an independent certification organization that measures,tracks,and delivers ESG data across the energy value chain.
Steve King is an American politician who served in the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2006 and served until January 2011. King was elected to the Colorado Senate in 2010,and was sworn in January 2011. He represented Senate District 7 which includes Mesa County and part of Garfield County. He did not run for reelection to the State Senate in 2014,so his term ended in January,2015.
Mark Scheffel is an American politician and a former Majority Leader of the Colorado Senate. First elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Republican in 2008,Scheffel represented Senate District 4 in Douglas County,which encompasses Castle Rock,Larkspur,Parker,Franktown,and Castle Pines. Term limited,he did not run for re-election in the 2016 elections,so his term ended in January,2017.
The 2014 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 4,2014,to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Colorado,concurrently with the election to Colorado's Class II U.S. Senate seat,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Colorado on November 4,2014. All of Colorado's executive officers were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat and all of Colorado's seven seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on June 24,2014.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Colorado was held November 8,2016,to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Colorado,concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.