Randy Baumgardner
Randy L. Baumgardner is a former Republican member of the Colorado State Senate, representing District 8 from 2013 to 2019. He served as the state Senate majority whip from 2015 to 2019. Baumgardner resigned January 21, 2019.[1]
Baumgardner served in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 57th District from 2009 to 2013.
Baumgardner sought election to the U.S. Senate in 2014. He was defeated by Rep. Cory Gardner at the Republican state assembly on April 12.[2][3]
Biography
When he served in the state government, Baumgardner's professional experience included working as a rancher and for the Colorado Department of Transportation.[4][5]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Colorado committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy, Vice chair |
| • Transportation, Chair |
| • Capital Development, Vice chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Baumgardner served on the following committees:
| Colorado committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy |
| • Business, Labor and Technology |
| • Transportation, Chair |
| • Capital Development, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Baumgardner served on the following committees:
| Colorado committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Business, Labor and Technology |
| • Capital Development |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Baumgardner served on these committees:
| Colorado committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources, Vice Chair |
| • State, Veterans, & Military Affairs |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Baumgardner served on these committees:
| Colorado committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources |
| • Joint Transportation |
| • Transportation & Energy |
Campaign themes
2016
Baumgardner's campaign website highlighted the following issues:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Randy Baumgardner[7] | ||
Colorado Senate Bill 57
As a member of the Colorado House Education Committee, Baumgardner voted in support of Colorado Senate Bill 57, also known as the Public School Financial Transparency Act, a bill to create transparency in state education expenditures.
Arizona Senate Bill 1070
Baumgardner was one of seven members of the Republican Study Committee of Colorado to travel to Arizona to study the drafting and implementation of Arizona Senate Bill 1070, a controversial law regarding the enforcement of illegal immigration.[8]
Amendment R
In 2010, Baumgardner sponsored Amendment R, or House Concurrent Resolution 1005, which raised the issue that the administrative costs for collecting taxes on sub-$6000/year grazing fees were often more than the taxes that would be collected.
"We went for the smaller end ($6,000 or less)," said Baumgardner, noting that the counties would still receive revenue from leases that are above the $6,000 threshold.
Baumgardner said that the issue of the tax was initially brought up by constituents who felt they were being unfairly taxed.
"The folks that were leasing the federal lands were saying they didn’t feel they should be paying tax on land they didn’t own," said Baumgardner.[9]
Tardy vehicle registration fees
In 2010, Baumgardner wanted to reduce an increase in late fees for tardy vehicle registration. Gov. John Hickenlooper said if the bill passed, the lost revenue would have to be offset elsewhere in the budget.
In 2008, the Democratically controlled legislature passed a bill (Senate Bill 09-108 or FASTER), which Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law. FASTER tacked on a $41 fee on average onto vehicle registrations and imposed an additional $25 late fee per month up to $100 for those people who failed to renew their tags before the expiration date.
Baumgardner said he would introduce a bill to roll back the increased late fee. Baumgardner’s proposed legislation would have reset the state’s late fee to a flat, $10 penalty applied at the discretion of each county, as was the case statewide prior to FASTER.[10]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Colorado State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 4, 2016.[11]
Incumbent Randy Baumgardner defeated Emily Tracy in the Colorado State Senate District 8 general election.[12][13]
| Colorado State Senate, District 8 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Randy Baumgardner Incumbent |
54.85% | 39,526 | |
| Democratic | Emily Tracy | 45.15% | 32,530 | |
| Total Votes | 72,056 | |||
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State | ||||
Emily Tracy ran unopposed in the Colorado State Senate District 8 Democratic primary.[14][15]
| Colorado State Senate, District 8 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Emily Tracy (unopposed) | |
Incumbent Randy Baumgardner ran unopposed in the Colorado State Senate District 8 Republican primary.[14][15]
| Colorado State Senate, District 8 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Randy Baumgardner Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Baumgardner ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Colorado. Baumgardner was defeated by Cory Gardner at the GOP state assembly on April 12, 2014.[16][2]
2012
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2012
Baumgardner won election in the 2012 election for Colorado State Senate District 8. He defeated Jean White in the Republican primary on June 26, 2012. He defeated Emily Tracy (D) and Sacha Weis (L) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[17]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Randy L. Baumgardner |
51.1% | 34,187 | |
| Democratic | Emily Tracy | 44.3% | 29,688 | |
| Libertarian | Sacha L. Weis | 4.6% | 3,079 | |
| Total Votes | 66,954 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Randy Baumgardner |
58.2% | 6,809 |
| Jean White Incumbent | 41.8% | 4,887 |
| Total Votes | 11,696 | |
2010
Baumgardner ran for re-election to the 57th District seat in 2010. He had no opposition in the August 10 primary. He defeated Steve Ivanice (D) and Mike Kien (L) in the November 2 general election.
| Colorado House of Representatives, District 57 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Randy Baumgardner (R)
|
15,951 | |||
| Steve Ivanice (D) | 6,426 | |||
| Mike Kien (L) | 1,006 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Baumgardner won election to the 57th District seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, defeating opponent R. Todd Hagenbuch (R).[18]
Baumgardner raised $34,230 for his campaign, while Hagenbuch raised $31,913.[19]
| Colorado State House, District 57 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Randy Baumgardner (D)
|
19,929 | |||
| R. Todd Hagenbuch (R) | 15,346 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Colorado scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the 72nd Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 10 through May 9.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills the ACLU of Colorado "felt were the best representations of the civil liberties issues facing Colorado today."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that are supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes related to senior issues.
- Legislation is scored on its "reduction of taxes, regulation, and spending accountability."
- Legislators are scored on their stances on animal issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental conservation.
- Legislators are scored on their votes related to mental health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored based on their votes on LGBT issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to "core principles of liberty," which the organization defines as "Free People," "Free Markets," and "Good Government."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 71st Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 10. There was also a special session from October 2-3.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the second session of the 70th Colorado General Assembly was in session from January 13 through May 11.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the first session of the 70th Colorado General Assembly was in session from January 7 through May 6.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 69th Colorado General Assembly was in session from January 8 to May 7.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 69th Colorado General Assembly was in session from January 9 to May 9.
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Noteworthy events
Resignation following misconduct investigation (2018)
On December 17, 2018, Baumgardner announced his resignation, effective January 21, 2019. In his resignation letter, Baumgardner said, he "learned many lessons, none as important as to always put your family first. My family’s resilience and love have given me the grace to continue forward under the most difficult of circumstances.”[20]
On November 28, 2017, an anonymous former legislative staffer filed a formal sexual harassment complaint against Baumgardner. According to the complaint, Baumgardner inappropriately touched the staffer during the 2017 legislative session. Baumgardner initially declined to comment on the allegations.[21]
On February 13, 2018, Baumgardner announced his resignation as transportation committee chair in response to the allegations.[22]
On April 2, the state Senate held a vote on whether to expel Baumgardner over the misconduct allegations against him. It failed 17-17, with Baumgardner abstaining. Twenty-four of the Senate's 35 members would have had to vote "yes" for Baumgardner to be expelled. Sixteen Republicans and one independent voted against the resolution, while 16 Democrats and one Republican voted for the resolution.[23]
On May 3, Baumgardner was stripped of his committee posts after an independent investigator concluded that claims that Baumgardner had created a hostile work environment in 2016 were credible. Senate President Kevin Grantham (R) said, "It's never pleasant meting out punishments of this sort to colleagues, but the three of us who were tasked with making this decision are comfortable that it was justified in this case." According to the Hastings Tribune, Grantham was referring to Senate Majority Leader Chris Holbert and Democratic Minority Leader Leroy Garcia. However, the Associated Press reported that Garcia said he was not consulted on the sanctions.[24][25]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for Randy + Baumgardner + Colorado + Legislature
See also
- Colorado State Senate
- Colorado Senate Committees
- Colorado State Senate District 8
- Colorado State Legislature
- United States Senate
- United States Senate elections in Colorado, 2014
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008
Footnotes
- ↑ Colorado State Senate, "Letter of resignation," December 17, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Journal-Advocate, "Gardner campaign turns to November race," April 14, 2014
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Randy Baumgardner to kick off U.S. Senate campaign Friday against Mark Udall," July 7, 2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Senate Republicans, "Senator Randy Baumgardner," accessed June 26, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Randy Baumgardner, "Issues," accessed June 17, 2016
- ↑ Colorado News Agency, "GOP Group Meets with Arizona Legislators to Discuss Immigration Law," August 18, 2010
- ↑ Colorado News Agency, "Even the legislature wants to end this tax," October 11, 2010
- ↑ Colorado News Agency, "Lawmaker aims to roll back controversial hike in vehicle late fees," December 17, 2010
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Elections & Voting," accessed October 6, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "General election candidates," accessed August 16, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 14, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed May 3, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "June 28, 2016 Primary Election," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election Unofficial Candidate List," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary election results," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2008 General election results," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Funds raised by 2008 House candidates," accessed April 14, 2014
- ↑ The Gazette, "Colorado Sen. Randy Baumgardner, accused of sex harassment, resigning 2 years early," December 17, 2018
- ↑ The Daily Sentinel, "Senator faces formal sex-assault complaint," November 28, 2017
- ↑ KDVR, "State Sen. Baumgardner stepping down from transportation committee amid harassment allegations," February 13, 2018
- ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "Colorado Senate Votes Against Expelling Lawmaker," April 2, 2018
- ↑ Hastings Tribune, "Colorado state senator accused of misconduct is sanctioned," May 3, 2018
- ↑ Associated Press, "The Latest: Colorado Dems protest senator misconduct penalty," May 3, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jean White (R) |
Colorado State Senate District 8 2013–2019 |
Succeeded by Robert E. Rankin (R) |
| Preceded by ' |
Colorado House District 57 2009–2013 |
Succeeded by Robert E. Rankin (R) |
