Kathy Gebhardt

Kathy Gebhardt

Democratic Party

Colorado State Board of Education District 2

Tenure

2025 - Present

Term ends

2031

Years in position

0

Predecessor

Angelika Schroeder

Prior offices

Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District C

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Lewis and Clark College, 1979

Law

University of Denver, 1983

Personal

Birthplace

Boulder, Colo.

Religion

Christian: Episcopalian

Profession

Attorney at law

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Kathy Gebhardt (Democratic Party) is a member of the Colorado State Board of Education, representing Colorado's 2nd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 8, 2025. Her current term ends on January 14, 2031.

Gebhardt (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Colorado State Board of Education to represent Colorado's 2nd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Gebhardt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Kathy Gebhardt's career experience includes working as the executive director of Children’s Voices, as an adjunct professor of education law at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver, and as a fellow with the National Education Policy Center.

Elections

2024

See also: Colorado State Board of Education election, 2024

General election

General election for Colorado State Board of Education District 2

Kathy Gebhardt defeated Ethan Augreen in the general election for Colorado State Board of Education District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kathy Gebhardt (D)	99.3	299,267
		Ethan Augreen (L) (Write-in)	0.7	2,004

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 301,271
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Colorado State Board of Education District 2

Kathy Gebhardt defeated Marisol Rodriguez in the Democratic primary for Colorado State Board of Education District 2 on June 25, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kathy Gebhardt	56.7	52,263
		Marisol Rodriguez	43.3	39,885

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 92,148
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Gebhardt's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gebhardt in this election.

2015

See also: Boulder Valley School District elections (2015)

Four of the seven seats on the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education were up for election on November 3, 2015. Seats in Districts A, C, D, and G were on the general election ballot.

District A incumbent Shelly Benford faced challenger Denny McCloskey. District C incumbent Albright was term-limited heading into 2015, which left an open seat on the ballot. Chris Barge and Kathy Gebhardt ran to fill that seat. Sam Fuqua ran unopposed for re-election in District D, and Richard L. Garcia was unopposed in his bid to replace the term-limited Jim Reed in District G. Benford won election to District A, and Gebhardt was elected to District C. The unopposed Fuqua and Garcia were successful in securing the seats of Districts D and G, respectively.

Results

Boulder Valley School District, District C, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kathy Gebhardt	50.4%	18,124
Chris Barge	49.6%	17,801
Total Votes		35,925
Source: Boulder County, "2015 Coordinated Election Official Results," December 21, 2015

Funding

Gebhardt reported $12,014.21 in contributions and $8,997.79 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $3,016.42 on hand as of October 29, 2015.

Campaign themes

2024

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released May 8, 2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kathy Gebhardt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gebhardt's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a mom of 5 kids, an attorney, an education law professor, a fierce advocate for public education for all students, and a former school board member. I have spent the majority of my personal and professional career in public schools, as a mom of 5 very different children, and as an advocate for improving education for all students in Colorado. As a result, I have a deep understanding of public education, as a parent, as an advocate, and as a former school board member. I also served for 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Association of School Boards, one year as President. This job provided me with the opportunities to travel around the state, visit with communities and educators to learn about the positive things going on in our schools as well as some of the challenges. I also served on the Board of Directors for the National School Board Association which gives me a national perspective on public education.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I will work to secure adequate and equitable opportunities for all Colorado students and will lift up the needs of children with learning differences.
• I will fight to ensure there are qualified and well compensated educators in every school.
• I will continue to support welcoming, well resourced, safe schools so that each and every child feels engaged and supported.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about public policy for public education.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The State Board is charged with overseeing public education for Colorado.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have an extensive understanding of several of the key issues that impact public education. These issues include school finance and accountability. I have worked state wide to bring about improvements to both the school finance system and the accountability/accreditation systems. I also can bring together groups with different opinions to help reach consensus and work towards common goals. I have also advocated across the state for better opportunities for all students.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like my legacy to be that I was a good mom, grandmom, spouse, and friend, and that I had a positive impact on the children of Colorado.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of Bobby Kennedy. I was 11. My father was one of the state organizers for Bobby and I remember well how his death impacted not only my father but the country.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

The State Board, on occasion, sits as a quasi-judicial body.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Yes, I believe that it is beneficial for holders of this office to have had prior experience in government and politics. Increasingly these days, education is becoming polarized and so understanding how to navigate through and communicate about how politics is influencing public education is important.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

I have been endorsed by Congressman Joe Neguse, State Treasurer Dave Young, Speaker Julie McCluskie, Senate President Steve Fenberg, and many other state leaders, local elected leaders, county commissioners, mayors, school board leaders, community leaders, and organizations supporting public education. The list is extensive. Please see the link below for a complete list.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Financial transparency and government accountability are key responsibilities for elected officials.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Gebhardt’s campaign website stated the following:

“	In fulfilling the State Board's mission, my priorities will be: Securing opportunities for all Colorado students to lead their most successful lives. Lifting up the needs of children with learning differences. Supporting welcoming, well-resourced, and safe schools. Ensuring qualified and well-compensated educators in every school.	”
—Kathy Gebhardt’s campaign website (2024)

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Kathy Gebhardt campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Colorado State Board of Education District 2	Won general	$90,404	$86,133
Grand total			$90,404	$86,133
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

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Colorado State Board of Education District 2

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Officeholder

Colorado State Board of Education District 2

Website

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Angelika Schroeder (D)	Colorado State Board of Education District 2 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Boulder Valley School District Board of Education District C 2015	Succeeded by -