John Kefalas

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John Kefalas
Image of John Kefalas

Democratic Party

Prior offices
Colorado House of Representatives District 52
Colorado State Senate District 14

Education

Bachelor's

Colorado State University, 1978

Graduate

Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1982

Personal
Religion
Christian - Mennonite
Profession
Public policy advocate

John Kefalas is a former Democratic member of the Colorado State Senate, representing District 14 from 2013 to 2019. He resigned on January 2, 2019, to become the Larimer County commissioner.[1]

Kefalas served in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing District 52 from 2007 to 2013.

Biography

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Kefalas worked as a public policy advocate with Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Denver from 1997 to 2004, as an adviser to Project Self-Sufficiency, Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado from 1994 to 1997, as an employment counselor at Larimer County Employment and Training Services from 1987 to 1994, and as the director of the Tax Fairness Project of the Colorado Progressive Coalition.[2]

Committee assignments

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Colorado committee assignments, 2017
• Health and Human Services
• Local Government
• Capital Development

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kefalas served on the following committees:

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Kefalas served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kefalas served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kefalas served on these committees:

Campaign themes

2016

Kefalas' campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“
  • Economy: Our Fort Collins community, our state of Colorado and America all prosper when we have a strong middle class earning a decent wage – enough to raise a family and have financial security. As a long time advocate for working families and people on low and fixed-incomes, I am committed to building a resilient and sustainable economy that works for all of us.
  • Education: Education is the key to expanding economic opportunity and development. Investing in our children today will prepare them for the future. I favor aligning curriculum standards to meet the needs of a changing work force. We must provide teachers with the resources and training to empower them in preparing students to meet the demands of a high-tech global economy.
  • Healthcare: There’s no more basic human need than the need for good health. Quality, affordable health care that is accessible to everyone is common sense, and I will continue to work hard for a universal health care system that is high-performing. Doctors and other medical providers, through patient-centered health homes and coordinated care, are the ones to guide our health care decisions with us at the helm making informed decisions and with a focus on primary care, prevention and healthy living.
  • Environment and energy: While meeting the increasing energy demands of our nation, we must ensure our water and air quality are not adversely impacted, whether from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas or coal-burning power plants. Colorado is blessed with abundant wind, solar and other renewable energy resources and can lead the nation with a sustainable energy economy. We can build a better energy future and create thousands of good-paying jobs through increased efficiency, conservation and development of clean and sustainable energy alternatives.
  • Effective representative government: Our government works much better when we the people get involved. Civic engagement makes our government and public sector more effective. We all want our tax dollars spent wisely in ways that are efficient, competent, accountable and responsive. Public policy is a reflection of the values of those who participate, and we need to open up the system so more people can are informed and engaged.[3]
 ”
—John Kefalas[4]

Political courage tests

Kefalas provided answers to the Colorado State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test. The test informs voters how a candidate would vote on the issues if elected. When asked his legislative priorities he responded:

"If re-elected, my top priority will continue to be to find the necessary common ground and bring key stakeholders to the table in order to transition Colorado to a fair and sustainable energy economy that creates family-supporting jobs, promotes smart economic development, protects the environment and makes our state energy independent."[5]

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.[6]

Incumbent John Kefalas defeated Hans Hochheimer in the Colorado State Senate District 14 general election.[7][8]

Colorado State Senate, District 14 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png John Kefalas Incumbent 61.67% 52,902
     Republican Hans Hochheimer 38.33% 32,886
Total Votes 85,788
Source: Colorado Secretary of State

Incumbent John Kefalas ran unopposed in the Colorado State Senate District 14 Democratic primary.[9][10]

Colorado State Senate, District 14 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png John Kefalas Incumbent (unopposed)


Hans Hochheimer ran unopposed in the Colorado State Senate District 14 Republican primary.[9][10]

Colorado State Senate, District 14 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Hans Hochheimer  (unopposed)

2012

See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2012

Kefalas won election in the 2012 election for Colorado State Senate District 14. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 26, 2012. He defeated Syndi Anderson (R), Jeff Johnston (L) and Barrett Rothe (Unaffiliated) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11]

Colorado State Senate, District 14, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Kefalas 57.9% 46,673
     Republican Syndi Anderson 35.9% 28,874
     Libertarian Jeff Johnston 3.9% 3,166
     Independent Barrett Rothe 2.3% 1,828
Total Votes 80,541

2010

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2010

Kefalas ran for re-election to the 52nd District seat in 2010. He had no opposition in the August 10 primary. He defeated Bob Morain (R) in the November 2 general election.

Colorado House of Representatives, District 52 General election (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png John Kefalas (D) 18,433
Bob Morain (R) 13,721

2008

On November 4, 2008, Kefalas won re-election to the 52nd District seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, defeating opponent Bob McCluskey (R).[12]

Kefalas raised $118,443 for his campaign, while McCluskey raised $172,416.[13]

Colorado State House, District 52 (2008)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png John Kefalas (D) 24,812
Bob McCluskey (R) 17,159

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.

John Kefalas campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2016Colorado State Senate, District 14Won $92,446 N/A**
2012Colorado State Senate, District 14Won $130,134 N/A**
2010Colorado State House, District 52Won $76,712 N/A**
2008Colorado State House, District 52Won $118,040 N/A**
2006Colorado State House, District 52Won $83,211 N/A**
2004Colorado State House, District 52Lost $48,174 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Colorado

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


2016


2015


2014


2013

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for John + Kefalas + Colorado + Legislature

John Kefalas News Feed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Fort Collins Coloradoan, "Kefalas to vacate Colorado Senate seat Jan. 2; Ginal, Arndt, others hope to replace him," December 5, 2018
  2. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed April 14, 2014
  3. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. ↑ John Kefalas, "Issues," accessed June 20, 2016
  5. ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Issue Positions," accessed April 14, 2014
  6. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Elections & Voting," accessed October 6, 2015
  7. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "General election candidates," accessed August 16, 2016
  8. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 14, 2016
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed May 3, 2016
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "June 28, 2016 Primary Election," accessed August 22, 2016
  11. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary election results," accessed April 14, 2014
  12. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2008 General election results," accessed April 14, 2014
  13. ↑ Follow the Money, "Funds raised by 2008 House candidates," accessed April 14, 2014
Political offices
Preceded by
Bob Bacon (D) 		Colorado State Senate District 14
2013–2019 		Succeeded by
Joann Ginal (D)
Preceded by
' 		Colorado House District 52
2007–2013 		Succeeded by
Joann Ginal (D)


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