Governor of Colorado

Colorado Governor
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Name:	John Hickenlooper
Officeholder Party:	Democratic
Assumed office:	January 11, 2011
Compensation:	$90,000
Elections
Next election:	November 4, 2014
Last election:	November 2, 2010
Other Colorado Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Controller • Commissioner of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Exec. Director • Labor Executive Director • Public Utilities Commission

The Governor of Colorado is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch, and the highest state office in Colorado. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms.

Until 1967, the governor and the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado were elected on separate tickets for two-year terms. Term length for both offices was increased to four years in 1967, and in 1986 the constitution was amended to elect both on the same ticket. The two-term limit was added to the constitution in 1991.

As of May 2013, Colorado is one of 12 Democratic state government trifectas.

Current officeholder

See also: Current governors by party affiliation

The 42nd and current governor is John Hickenlooper, a Democrat elected in 2010. He took office on January 11, 2011, and his first term will end on January 13, 2015.

Before becoming governor, Hickenlooper served as mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011, during which time the city hosted the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Prior to entering public service, he operated Wynkoop Brewing Co., a Denver brewpub, which he opened in 1988. He was a geologist for Buckhorn Petroleum, a now defunct oil company, from 1981 to 1988.

Authority

The state constitution establishes the office of the governor in Article IV, the Executive Department.

Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 2

The supreme executive power of the state shall be vested in the governor, who shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

Colorado Constitution, Article II, Section 2

All political power is vested in and derived from the people; all government, of right, originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.

Qualifications

Governors
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 Lists of candidates
Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010
Breaking news

Article IV, Section 4 of the state constitution requires all candidates for the governorship to be:

• at least 30 years old
• a U.S. citizen
• a resident of Colorado for at least two years on the day of the election. The standard for residency is not affected by time out of the state due to civil or military service (Article VII, Section 4)

Article III forbids any officer of the executive department from holding any legislative or judicial office.

A candidate is disqualified from holding the office of governor if he has been convicted of "embezzlement of public moneys, bribery, perjury, solicitation of bribery, or subornation of perjury"(Article XII, § 4). Additionally, any civil officer who "solicits, demands, or receives" a bribe forfeits his office and his right to hold any other office in the future, and is liable to criminal penalties (Article XII, § 6).

Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 4

No person shall be eligible to the office of governor or lieutenant governor unless he shall have attained the age of thirty years, nor to the office of secretary of state or state treasurer unless he shall have attained the age of twenty­five years, nor to the office of attorney general unless he shall have attained the age of twenty­five years and be a licensed attorney of the supreme court of the state in good standing, and no person shall be eligible to any one of said offices unless, in addition to the qualifications above prescribed therefore, he shall be a citizen of the United States, and have resided within the limits of the state two years next preceding his election.

Elections

See also: Gubernatorial election cycles by state

See also: Election of governors

Colorado elects governors in federal midterm election years (e.g. 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018). Per Article IV, Section 1 of the state constitution, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the second Tuesday in the January following an election. Thus, January 11, 2011 and January 13, 2015 are inaugural days.

If two candidates are tied, a joint session of the legislature casts ballots to choose the winner from among the top two voter getters. If the election is contested, the legislature shall jointly resolve the manner as prescribed by law. In early 1905, the previous year's gubernatorial election was formally contested and the legislature did in fact vote to remove the candidate who had been initially declared the winner.

Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 1

(1) The executive department shall include the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, and attorney general, each of whom shall hold his office for the term of four years, commencing on the second Tuesday of January in the year 1967, and each fourth year thereafter. They shall perform such duties as are prescribed by this constitution or by law.

2010

See also: Colorado gubernatorial election, 2010

2010 Gubernatorial Results
Candidates		Percentage
John Hickenlooper (D)		51.01%
Dan Maes (R)		11.13%
Tom Tancredo (C)		36.43%
Jaimes Brown (L)		0.74%
Jason R. Clark (I)		0.48%
Paul Noel Fiorino (I)		0.19%
(write-ins)		>0.01%
Total votes		1,787,730

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Colorado governors are restricted to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait one term before being eligible to run again. Term limits were added to the constitution in 1990 through the Colorado Term Limits Act.

Colorado Constitution, Article IV, Section 1

(2) In order to broaden the opportunities for public service and to guard against excessive concentrations of power, no governor ... shall serve more than two consecutive terms in such office. This limitation on the number of terms shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1991. Any person who succeeds to the office of governor or is appointed or elected to fill a vacancy in one of the other offices named in this section, and who serves at least one-half of a term of office, shall be considered to have served a term in that office for purposes of this subsection (2). Terms are considered consecutive unless they are at least four years apart.

Removal from office

Colorado is among the 19 states that provides citizens an avenue to recall their governor. One territorial governor, Edward M. McCook, was removed by petition. No governors have been recalled since Colorado became a state in 1876. Additionally, the legislature may impeach the governor, a privilege they have never exercised.

Recall

See also: States with gubernatorial recall provisions

Recalls are governed under Article XXI, Sections 1 through 3

State officials, including the governor, are subject to recall after the first six months of their term. Recall proponents must file a petition with the same officer who accepts the nominating petition for the office in question; for statewide officers, this is the Colorado Secretary of State.

The petition must have valid signatures equal to 25% of the votes cast for the incumbent in his last election. Based on the number of votes received by the governor in the 2010 election, a recall petition would require 446,933 signatures, or 25% of the 1,787,730 votes cast for the incumbent, John Hickenlooper. Additionally, the petition must contain a statement, not exceeding 200 words, stating the grounds for the recall.

Normally, the governor is the officer charged with calling a recall election after validating signatures. However, if the governor is the officer being recalled, the lieutenant governor oversees the election. The incumbent subject to recall has five days to resign before the presiding officer calls the recall election.

If the petition, once submitted, is insufficient, it may be withdrawn and, within 15 days, amended and refiled. Once determined to be sufficient, a recall petition is submitted to the lieutenant governor, who calls a recall election not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days from the date of the petition's filing. If a general election is set within 90 days, the recall election may be combined with the general election.

If the recall fails, the incumbent may not be recalled again for the remainder of his or her term. Additionally, an incumbent who survives a recall is legally entitled to reimbursement of certain expenses from the state treasury.

Impeachment

See also: Gubernatorial impeachment procedures

Impeachments of civil officers are governed under Article XIII, Sections 1 and 2.

The Colorado House of Representatives has the "sole power of impeachment" and a majority of the House's members must concur to impeach.

If the House does impeach, the Colorado Senate tries all impeachments, with all Senators required to take an oath or affirmation to be impartial before the trial begins. Article XIII, Section 1 of the state constitution requires the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court be the presiding officer when the governor or lieutenant governor is on trial.

The governor and lieutenant governor are liable to impeachment for "high crimes or misdemeanors or malfeasance in office" but, if impeached, the Senate's judgment only extend to removal from office and disqualification to hold further offices. An impeached officer may still be liable for indictment, trial, and punishment by state law enforcement.

Oath of office

Civil officers, including the governor, are required to take an oath under Article XII, Section 8 before they may carry out any functions of their office. Under Article XII, Section 9, officers of the Executive Department file their oath with the Colorado Secretary of State.

Specifics of oaths and affirmations are described in the Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 24, Article 12, Sections 101-108.

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Colorado State Governors from 1992-2013.

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article IV, Section 13 of the state constitution.

If the office of the governor is vacant, temporarily or permanently, for any reason, the lieutenant governor takes over all the duties and responsibilities of the office. Once the lieutenant governor assumes the governorship, he appoints a replacement for the now-empty lieutenant governorship.

If the lieutenant governor is unable to discharge the office or if both the governor's and lieutenant governor's offices are vacant, the position(s) shall be filled by the highest ranking member(s) of the General Assembly who belongs to the same party as the elected officer in question.

If the governor is unfit for office due to physical or mental illness, the office holder may deliver a written statement to the legislature declaring himself no longer able to serve, or the Colorado Supreme Court may hold a hearing to deem the office holder not physically or mentally fit for office.

Additionally, if an appointed governor serves more than half of a four year term, for purposes of applying term limits, he shall be considered to have served a full term.

Duties

The Governor is responsible for upholding the Colorado Constitution and for faithfully executing all laws (§ 2). The governor also acts as commander in chief of the state's militia/National Guard at all times, unless it has been federalized (§ 5).

Under Article II, Sections 21 and 22, the governor may only suspend habeas corpus in times of rebellion or invasion and the state's militia is always subject to civil authority.

The governor has a veto over all bills, including appropriations, passed by the General Assembly. The legislature may override vetoes with a supermajority (66% or more) of both houses (§ 11, 12).

In addition to appointing, with Senate confirmation, all state executive offices not appointed by some other means, the Governor may remove officers for malfeasance, neglect, or incompetence (§ 6). Whenever any elected office becomes vacant when the Senate is in recess, the Governor may make a recess appointment, provided he presents his nominee to the Senate when they next convene.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

• Granting pardons for all crimes, save treason. In all pardons and reprieves, he must communicate to the legislature the details of and reasons for the action (§ 7).

• Requiring written information, given under oath, from all officers and managers of state institutions on the conditions of the offices they oversee (§ 8)

• Providing details of the expenditures of the governor's office to the legislature (§ 8)

• Convening extraordinary sessions of the House or the Senate (§ 9), and adjourning the Assembly when its members cannot agree to do so themselves (§ 10)

• Making vacancy appointments to the any court of records from a list of nominees supplied by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission (Article VI, § 20(1)) and making vacancy appointments to vacant District Attorney offices (Article VI, § 20(4))

• Declaring a state of emergency and issuing an executive order to move the seat of government, after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the Attorney General (Article VIII, § 3)

• Appointing all field, staff, and general military officers and commissioning the officers each company selects (Article XVII, § 3)

Additionally, statutory duties and privileges of the office are described in the Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 24, Article 20, Part 1, Section 101-110.

Divisions

The structure of the governor's office is partly described in the Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 24, Article 37-38.9.

The governor's office currently has 12 political and policy offices within it, in addition to the Governor's Press Office:

Boards and Commissions Office Citizens' Advocate Office Office of Workforce Development Office of State Planning and Budgeting

Governor's Energy Office Office of Cyber Security Office of Economic Development and International Trade Office of Homeland Security

Office of Information Technology Office of Policy and Initiatives Office of Legislative Relations Office of Legal Counsel

Governor's Cabinet

The cabinet of the Governor of Colorado has 28 officers. It consists of five elected officers, one member of the gubernatorial staff, and 22 gubernatorial appointees:

Office	Current Occupant	Party
Governor	John Hickenlooper	Democrat
Lieutenant Governor	Joseph A. Garcia	Democrat
Secretary of State	Scott Gessler	Republican
Attorney General	John Suthers	Republican
Treasurer	Walker Stapleton	Republican
Chief of Staff to the Governor	Roxanne White
Commissioner of Agriculture	John A. Salazar
Executive Director of Corrections	Tom Clements
Commissioner of Education	Robert Hammond
Executive Director of Health Care Policy and Financing	Sue Birch
Executive Director of Higher Education	Joseph A. Garcia
Executive Director of Human Services	Reggie Bicha
Executive Director of Labor and Employment	Ellen Golombek
Executive Director of Local Affairs	Reeves Brown
Executive Director of Military and Veterans Affairs	Major General H. Michael Edwards
Executive Director of Natural Resources	Mile King
Executive Director of Personnel and Administration	Kathy Nesbitt
Executive Director of Public Health and Environment	Dr. Chris Urbina
Executive Director of Public Safety	James Davis
Executive Director of Regulatory Agencies	Barbara Kelley
Executive Director of Revenue	Roxy Huber
Executive Director of Transportation	Don Hunt
Chief Information Officer	Kristin Russell
Director of the Governor's Energy Office	T.J. Deora
Director of State Planning and Budgeting	Henry Sobanet
Chief Policy and Political Director	Alan Salazar
Director of Homeland Security	Larry D. Trujillo

• Partisan affiliations are provided only for elected officers
• Cabinet members are listed in descending rank

Compensation

See also: Comparison of gubernatorial salaries

Per Article IV, Section 19 of the state constitution, the governor's salary is legally fixed and may not be raised or decreased effective during the current term.

In 2011, the Governor of Colorado was paid $90,000, the 48th highest gubernatorial salary in America.

Gubernatorial residence

See also: Residences of the American governors

The western exposure of the Boettcher Mansion, residence of the Governor and First Family of Colorado.

Properly known as the Boettcher Mansion, the official gubernatorial residence is an early 20th century white marble home, built in the Roman Ionic style and located at East 8th Avenue and Logan Street on Capitol Hill in Denver.

The mansion passed through the ownership of many of Colorado's founding families, having been built by the Cheesemans between 1907-1908, upgraded by the Evans throughout the early 1920s, and finally coming to be owned by the Boettchers. It was offered to the state of Colorado as a gubernatorial residence in 1957, in accordance with the will of Edna Boettcher, and accepted on behalf of the state by Governor Stephen McNichols in 1959.

Many of the furnishings are original to the era when the mansion was a private residence. Of particular note is the Waterford chandelier in the main drawing room, which originally hung in the White House ballroom and was given to Colorado on the occasion of her statehood, in 1876, by President Chester A. Arthur.

The second floor is the private residence of the First Family of Colorado, if they so choose. The lack of both space and privacy has led to several recent governors maintaining their private homes instead. Governor Hickenlooper and Governor Owens both kept their own homes, through Governor Ritter moved into the mansion.

The main floor of the mansion is used for state occasions, is open to the public for tours, and may be rented for private events.

Former officeholders

Colorado has had eight territorial governors and 42 state governors, for a total of 50 chief executives.

State governors

Governor	Inaugurated	Left Office	Method	Party
John Hickenlooper	January 11, 2011		Elected	Democrat
Bill Ritter	January 9, 2007	January 11, 2011	Elected	Democrat
Bill Owens	January 12, 1999	January 9, 2007	Elected	Republican
Roy Romer	January 13, 1987	January 12, 1999	Elected	Democrat
Dick Lamm	January 14, 1975	January 13, 1987	Elected	Democrat
John David Vanderhoof	July 16, 1973	January 14, 1975	Lt. Governor filling unexpired term†	Republican
John Arthur Love	January 8, 1963	July 16, 1973	Elected†	Republican
Stephen L.R. McNichols	January 18, 1957	January 8, 1963	Elected	Democrat
Edwin C. Johnson	January 11, 1955	January 18, 1957	Elected	Democrat
Daniel I.J. Thornton	January 9, 1951	January 11, 1955	Elected	Republican
Walter Walford Johnson	April 15, 1950	January 9, 1951	Lt. Governor filling unexpired termΔ	Democrat
William Lee Knous	January 14, 1947	April 15, 1950	ElectedΔ	Democrat
John Charles Vivian	January 12, 1943	January 14, 1947	Elected	Republican
Ralph Lawrence Carr	January 10, 1939	January 12, 1943	Elected	Republican
Teller Ammons	January 12, 1937	January 10, 1939	Elected	Democrat
Ray Herbert Talbot	January 1, 1937	January 12, 1937	Lt. Governor filling unexpired term∫	Democrat
Edwin C. Johnson	January 10, 1933	January 1, 1937	Elected∫	Democrat
Billy Adams	January 11, 1927	January 10, 1933	Elected	Democrat
Clarence Morley	January 13, 1925	January 11, 1927	Elected	Republican
William Ellery Sweet	January 9, 1923	January 13, 1925	Elected	Democrat
Oliver Henry Shoup	January 14, 1919	January 9, 1923	Elected	Republican
Julius Caldeen Gunter	January 9, 1917	January 14, 1919	Elected	Democrat
George Alfred Carlson	January 12, 1915	January 9, 1917	Elected	Republican
Elias M. Ammons	January 14, 1913	January 12, 1915	Elected	Democrat
John F. Shafroth	January 12, 1909	January 14, 1913	Elected	Democrat
Henry Augustus Buchtel	January 8, 1907	January 12, 1909	Elected	Republican
Jesse Fuller McDonald	March 17, 1905	January 8, 1907	Lt. Governor filling unexpired term‡	Republican
James Hamilton Peabody	March 17, 1905	March 17, 1905	Legislative appointee‡	Republican
Alva Adams	January 10, 1905	March 17, 1905	Elected‡	Democrat
James Hamilton Peabody	January 13, 1903	January 10, 1905	Elected	Republican
James Bradley Orman	January 8, 1901	January 13, 1903	Elected	Democrat
Charles Spalding Thomas	January 10, 1899	January 8, 1901	Elected	Democrat
Alva Adams	January 12, 1897	January 10, 1899	Elected	Democrat
Albert Washington McIntire	January 8, 1895	January 12, 1897	Elected	Republican
Davis Hanson Waite	January 10, 1893	January 8, 1895	Elected	Populist
John Long Routt	January 13, 1891	January 10, 1893	Elected	Republican
Job Adams Cooper	January 8, 1889	January 13, 1891	Elected	Republican
Alva Adams	January 11, 1887	January 8, 1889	Elected	Democrat
Benjamin Harrison Eaton	January 13, 1885	January 11, 1887	Elected	Republican
James Benton Grant	January 9, 1883	January 13, 1885	Elected	Democrat
Frederick Walker Pitkin	January 14, 1879	January 9, 1883	Elected	Republican
John Long Routt	August 1, 1876	January 14, 1879	Incumbent at statehood	Republican

‡ : The 1904 election was rife with fraud. Democrat Alva Adams, who served as the 5th and 10th Governor, was initially declared the winner, sworn in, and took office as the 14th Governor in January of 1905.

On the morning on March 17, 1905, the Republican controlled legislature declared that the election had in fact been "won" by James Hamilton Peabody, the incumbent Adams had "defeated", and declared Peabody the winner, provided he immediately resign the office.

Peabody thus served as the 13th and 15th Governor of Colorado.

Peabody assumed the office, named Jesse Fuller McDonald as his Lieutenant Governor, and promptly communicated his resignation to the Secretary of State, at which point McDonald became the 16th Governor of Colorado.

Colorado is the only state to have had three Governors serve in a single day.

∫ : Edwin C. Johnson won a U.S. Senate seat in the 1932 elections and resigned his lame duck gubernatorial office 12 days before his successor was inaugurated due to differences between the state and federal inauguration schedules. Johnson's lieutenant, Ray Herbert Talbot, served for 12 days until the scheduled inaugural day, when Governor-elect Teller Ammons was sworn in.

Δ : William Lee Knous resigned to take a judgeship on the U.S. District Court for Colorado.

† : John Arthur Love resigned to become the Director of the Office of Energy Policy.

Territorial governors

Governor	Assumed office	Left office	Appointed by	Party
John Long Routt	March 29, 1875	August 1, 1876	Ulysses S. Grant	Republican
Edward M. McCook	June 19, 1874	March 29, 1875	Ulysses S. Grant	Republican
Samuel Hitt Elbert	April 4, 1873	June 19, 1874	Ulysses S. Grant	Republican
Edward M. McCook	June 14, 1869	April 4, 1873	Ulysses S. Grant	Republican
Alexander Cameron Hunt	April 24, 1867	June 14, 1869	Andrew Johnson	Republican
Alexander Cummings	October 17, 1865	April 24, 1867	Andrew Johnson	Republican
John Evans	March 26, 1862	October 17, 1865	Abraham Lincoln	Republican
William Gilpin	March 25, 1861	March 26, 1862	Abraham Lincoln	Republican

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

See also: Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States and Ballotpedia:Who Runs the States, Colorado

Partisan breakdown of the Colorado governorship from 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, there were Democratic governors in office for 14 years while there were Republican governors in office for eight years. During the final year (2013), Colorado was under a Democratic trifecta.

Across the country, there were 493 years of Democratic governors (44.82%) and 586 years of Republican governors (53.27%) from 1992-2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Colorado, the Colorado State Senate and the Colorado House of Representatives from 1992-2013.

Contact information

Physical address:
John Hickenlooper, Governor
136 State Capitol
Denver, CO 80203-1792

Phone: (303) 866-2471
Fax: (303) 866-2003

See also

• Governor
• John Hickenlooper

External links

• Office of the Governor website
• Colorado.gov: The Official State Web Portal