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Wesley McKinley
Wesley McKinley is a former Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives, representing District 64 from 2005 to 2013.
Biography
McKinley's professional experience includes working as an author and rancher.[1]
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, McKinley served on these committees:
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, McKinley served on these committees:
- Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Agriculture, Livestock, & Natural Resources Committee
- Local Government
- Local Government Committee
Issues
McKinley did not provide 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.[2]
Land easements
Kevin J. Grantham and McKinley said Colorado backed out of deals it made with some landowners on much-debated conservation easements. In December 2010, McKinley started taking steps that he said would make the state keep its end of the bargain.
“If they make the deal, they should honor the deal they made,” said Rep. McKinley.
The deals were conservation easements granted on property by a landowner to limit or prevent future commercial or residential development on the land. In exchange, the Colorado government granted the landowner, typically a farmer or rancher, a tax credit based on the land’s value.
Recently, the state called into question the value of some conservation easements and was not honoring the tax credits, McKinley argued.
“They’ve been demanding interest, fees and penalties on easements that they now say they won’t be honoring,” he sad. “The state is saying that the lands were overvalued.”[3]
Sponsored legislation
McKinley's sponsored legislation includes:
- HB 09-1253 - Defendants With Mental Illnes
- HB 09-1288 - Colorado Taxpayer Transparency Act
- HB 09-1317 - No State Lands To Expand Pinon Canyon
- HB 10-1160 - Perpetual Conservation Easement for which Tax Credit is Claimed [4]
For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.
Elections
2012
McKinley was unable to seek re-election in 2012 due to term limits.
2010
McKinley ran for re-election to the 64th District seat in 2010. He had no opposition in the August 10 primary. He defeated Lisa Grace Kellogg (R) in the November 2 general election.
| Colorado House of Representatives, District 64 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Wesley McKinley (D)
|
11,144 | |||
| Lisa Grace Kellogg (R) | 10,542 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, McKinley won re-election to the 64th District seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, defeating opponent Ken Torres (R).[5]
McKinley raised $39,105 for his campaign, while Torres raised $11,319.[6]
| Colorado State House, District 64 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Wesley McKinley (D)
|
15,514 | |||
| Ken Torres (R) | 10,863 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
Legislative scorecard
In 2010 McKinley was the top ranking Democrat with the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, a conservative tax watchdog organization.[7]
Noteworthy events
Sexual-harassment allegation
In May 2010, a Colorado news website reported that a lobbyist had filed a sexual-harassment complaint against McKinley with House leadership over a 2007 incident in Denver.[8] The website reported in September 2010 that the complaint had been resolved, with House Speaker Terrance Carroll, D-Denver sending McKinley a confidential letter ordering him to complete private sexual-harassment classes after an independent investigator found the lobbyist's allegations "credible."[9] Citing confidentiality rules governing sexual-harassment complaints in the General Assembly, Carroll declined to confirm or deny the letter of admonition.[10]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for Wesley + McKinley + Colorado + Legislature
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Colorado State Legislature
- Colorado House of Representatives
- Colorado House Committees
- Colorado state legislative districts
External links
- Wesley McKinley's personal website
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2010, 2008, 2002
- Wesley McKinley on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed December 11, 2014
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Issue positions," accessed December 11, 2014
- ↑ Colorado News Agency, "State should ‘honor the deal’ on land easements, lawmaker says," Dec 30th, 2010
- ↑ Colorado News Agency, "Conservation Easements Create Buyer's Remorse for the State," March 16, 2010
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Colorado News Agency, "GOP lawmakers top groups annual taxpayer-friendly score-card again" August 3, 2010
- ↑ Face the State, "House's McKinley hit with sexual harassment complaint at Capitol," accessed September 30, 2023
- ↑ Face the Nation, "Lawmaker to face penalty - confidentially - for sexual harassment," accessed September 30, 2023
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Women who alleged harassment by legislator seeks more open process," accessed September 30, 2023
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Colorado House District 64 2005–2013 |
Succeeded by Timothy Dore (R) |
