John Hickenlooper

	John Hickenlooper
	Governor of Colorado
	Incumbent
	In office
	January 11, 2011 - Present
	Term ends
	January 13, 2015
Years in position	2
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Bill Ritter (D)
	Compensation
Base salary	$90,000 per year
	Elections and appointments
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	2 terms
	Prior offices
	Mayor of Denver
	2004 - 2010
	Education
Bachelor's	Wesleyan University
Master's	Wesleyan University
	Personal
Birthday	February 7, 1952
Websites
	Office website

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John Wright Hickenlooper (b. February 7, 1952) is the current Democratic Governor of Colorado and the former Mayor of Denver. Before entering politics, Hickenlooper was a prominent and successful entrepreneur, considered to be part of the revitalization of Denver historic “LoDo” (Lower Downtown) area.

Biography

Hickenlooper was born in Narbergh, Pennsylvania. After losing his father, he was raised by his mother; he credits his approach to managing Denver's budget to her exceptionally frugal housekeeping, something she learned after living through the Depression.

He earned both a BA and MA from Wesleyan University and moved to Denver in 1981 to take a job as a geologist with Buckhorn Petroleum at the height of the city's oil boom. He lost his when Denver's economy faltered in the 1980s and ultimately became a key player in revitalizing downtown Denver LoDo district. He bought a neglected warehouse in the district's heart and, in 1988, founded what is now the The Wynkoop Brewing Co. at 16th and Wynkoop. In the late 1980s, the area of Denver between Union Station and the Capitol Hill was dangerous and rundown; a key aspect of his business's success was in drawing people to visit at all.

Redeveloping the Denver Bronco's home stadium and bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to the city were huge boosts to redeveloping the city and Hickenlooper was heavily involved in both. Today, the Colorado Rockies' play at Coors Field; the decision to situate the stadium at 20th and Blake in the northern part of the LoDo neighborhood was a coup for the businessmen working to improve the area's reputation.

LoDo is today filled with high end shopping and restaurants; its residential areas feature lofts that sell for close to seven figures and Hickenlooper's restaurant, often simply referred to as "the Wynkoop", is seen as anchor of downtown Denver.

Education

Wesleyan University (M.A.), 1980
Wesleyan University (B.A.), 1974

Political career

Governor of Colorado (2011-Present)

Hickenlooper first won election in 2010 and assumed office in January 2011.

Issues

Medicaid Expansion

Hickenlooper called for a further expansion of Colorado Medicaid to cover 160,000 more people, including the 86,000 college students in Colorado with incomes below the federal poverty line and other college students with annual incomes above the federal poverty line up to $15,414. Even if the federal government paid all costs of this expansion for the first few years, the governor's administration estimated that this change would cost the state $1.4 billion over 10 years. Linda Gorman of the Independence Institute's Health Care Policy Center criticized Hickenlooper's proposal in a January 24 opinion piece because of its expense to taxpayers. Gorman asserted that many college students would likely drop their private insurance and enroll in the much cheaper Medicaid program if Hickenlooper's expansion is approved. She also pointed out that out-of-state students would also become eligible to enroll in Colorado Medicaid.^[1]

Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")

In December, 2012, Hickenlooper declined to enter Colorado into the federal health-exchange system established under the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as "Obamacare," in favor of setting up a state-based system.^[2] Colorado is one of eighteen states - including New Mexico, New York, Maryland, and Washington - that decided to create and run individual health-exchange systems by the December 14, 2012 deadline. The exchange is an online marketplace for citizens to purchase health insurance.^[3]^[4]

Gun control

Hickenlooper supports background checks for gun purchases and said help needs to be available for people with mental health issues before they turn to violence.^[5]

On March 20, 2013, Hickenlooper signed new gun laws into effect. The bills expanded background checks on gun purchases and limited the size of ammunition magazines.^[6]

Judicial appointments

As governor, Hickenlooper is responsible for appointing judges to Colorado state courts. In Colorado, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. After the governor appoints a judge, she or he must serve at least two years in office before running for election. For an up-to-date list of all of Hickenlooper's appointees, see Judgepedia's page on his appointments.

Controversies

Labor Department appointee

Hickenlooper appointed Ellen Golombek the Executive Director of the Department of Labor and Employment. The announcement stirred up passions among Republicans, who said the development was bad for business. They cited Golombek’s ties to organized labor, including her onetime leadership of the Colorado AFL-CIO. At the time of her appointment, Golombek was the state director for America Votes, an organization whose stated purpose is to “advance progressive policies, expand access to the ballot, coordinate issue advocacy and election campaigns, and protect every American’s right to vote.”

Colorado State Senate Minority leader Mike Kopp said Hickenlooper’s appointment would trigger fears among the state’s employers. “His selection of a noted progressive activist and union boss in Ms. Golombek certainly will raise plenty of eyebrows in Colorado’s business community,” said Kopp.^[7]

Mayor of Denver (2004-2010)

Hickenlooper's 2003 race for Mayor of Denver was his first foray into politics; he won an easy re-election in 2007 and is well-liked in Colorado's capitol. Denver, a city and a county in Colorado, technically has non-artisan municipal elections. However, Hickenlooper's Democratic affiliation likely helped him in both his campaigns. Since taking public office, Hickenlooper's business interests have been in a blind trust.

Elections

2010

See also: Colorado gubernatorial election, 2010 and Gubernatorial elections, 2010

Hickenlooper did not have any opposition in the August 10 primary. He defeated Dan Maes (R), Jaimes Brown (L), and Tom Tancredo (C) in the general election on November 2, 2010.^[8]

2010 Colorado gubernatorial general election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a John Hickenlooper	51.01%
	Republican Party	Dan Maes	11.13%
	Constitution Party	Tom Tancredo	36.43%
	Libertarian Party	Jaimes Brown	0.74%
	Independent	Jason R. Clark	0.48%
	Independent	Paul Noel Fiorino	0.19%
	write-in	Willie Travis Chambers	>0.01%
	write-in	Michael R. Moore	>0.01%
	write-in	Peter J. Carr	>0.01%
	write-in	Holly Cremeens	>0.01%
Total Votes			1,787,730

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of John Hickenlooper & Joseph Garcia's donors each year.^[9] Click [show] for more information.

John Hickenlooper & Joseph Garcia's Campaign Contributions
	2010 Colorado Governor/Lieutenant Governor
Total Raised	$4,027,201
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$1,222,522 (Amer. Constitution) $331,643 (Rep.) $108,090 (Unaffiliated) $4,475 (Lib.)
Top 5 contributors	Colorado Democratic Party	$164,824
	Colorado Education Association	$10,600
	Colorado Association of Realtors Small Donor Committee	$10,600
	Colorado Wins SDC	$10,300
	Colorado Federation of Teachers	$10,000
Individuals	$3,677,828
Institutions	$145,503
In-state donations	$3,551,095
Out-of-state donations	$476,010

Awards

In 2005, Governing magazine named Hickenlooper as one of eight "Public Officials of the Year" for building unity in the Denver metropolitan area, especially in the successful campaign to pass a sales tax referendum to fund a new mass transit system.^[10] Other honorees included Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Florida Senator Paula Dockery. Each year since 1994, Governing has selected a handful of state and local officials to honor for standout job performance. The Public Officials of the Year program "recognizes leaders from state, city and county government who exemplify the ideals of public service."^[11]

Personal

Hickenlooper and his wife, writer Helen Thorpe, have one son, Teddy. The family lives in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver.

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