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Lois Court

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Lois Court
Image of Lois Court

Democratic Party

Prior offices
Colorado State Senate District 31
Successor: Chris Hansen

Education

Bachelor's

University of Colorado, Denver, 1975

Graduate

University of Colorado, Denver, 1996

Lois Court is a former Democratic member of the Colorado State Senate. She represented District 31 from November 8, 2016 to January 16, 2020. Court officially resigned from the Colorado State Senate on January 16, 2020, due to health issues.[1]

Court served as state Senate president pro tempore from 2019 to 2020.[2]

Court previously served in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing District 6. Court did not seek re-election in 2016 because she was term-limited.

Biography

Court earned her B.A. in English from the University of Colorado, Denver in 1975 and her M.P.A. in public affairs from the University of Colorado, Denver in 1996. Her professional experience includes working as director of administration for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, working as the director for the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Response and the Mayor's Office of Volunteerism, working as a public issues consultant, and serving as an American government and political science adjunct instructor for ITT Technical Institute and Red Rocks Community College.[3][4][3]

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Court was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

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

Colorado committee assignments, 2017
• Finance
• State, Veterans and Military Affairs

2015 legislative session

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

2013-2014

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

2011-2012

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

2009-2010

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

Campaign themes

2016

Court's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“
  • Resolving Colorado's Constitutional Mess: In order for your elected representatives at every level of government in Colorado to do the job you elect us to do, our state constitution needs substantial reform. As your State Representative, I am determined to provide the leadership needed to reconcile the conflicting requirements that the Gallagher Amendment, the TABOR Amendment, and Amendment 23 create in our constitution. We took the first step in dealing with the gridlock in Colorado’s Constitution with the passage of SB 09-228. It was introduced by Senator John Morse in the Senate and Rep. Don Marostica and I were the Prime Co-sponsors in the House. By removing the artificial formula that restricted the growth of the General Fund to 6% over the previous year, we are in a better position to recover from the recession. We were also able to establish a “rainy day fund” as part of our bill so that in the future we will have a healthier savings account to draw from when we have the inevitable economic downturns. It was the right thing to do and I will absolutely continue to work on this mess until our state’s fiscal house is better designed to meet the needs of Colorado’s citizens.
  • Improving the Citizen Petition Process: This is an issue I campaigned on. I said I would pursue strategies to protect the citizen’s right to petition, while simultaneously encouraging statutory rather than constitutional ballot proposals. We must insure that citizens understand the ballot and the consequences of their votes. Speaker Terrance Carroll and I were the Prime Co-sponsors of HB 09-1326 that will improve the initiative process. My major contribution to our bill was to change the language on future ballots. As a result, we will now clearly label issues as “amendments” or as statutory changes called “propositions.” Our democracy only works when our citizens understand what they are voting on and what the consequences of those votes will be. I have and will also continue to work on improvements to the Blue Book (The pamphlet you receive from the state prior to each election.) and the design of our ballots.
  • The Budget & Taxes: The state does not have the revenue to cover all its obligations. Many of you know I originally campaigned on fixing this mess, and I have and will continue to do so. I have sponsored legislation to increase the General Assembly’s flexibility to allocate revenues to close budget shortfalls, as well as legislation that is intended to help you understand the issues and the ballot more clearly.
  • Jobs & the Economy: I will be working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address the most important concern Coloradans have: jobs and the economy. The Democratic members of the House are drafting a dozen significant bills designed to address these pressing issues. We will also continue to make good use of the state’s existing business-development apparatus and Gov. John Hickenlooper’s role as envoy and advocate. You have my commitment to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, with stakeholders in business and labor, and with you, my constituents to whom I owe my primary allegiance, to do whatever the legislature can to speed up Colorado’s economic recovery.[5]
 ”
—Lois Court[6]

Initiative legislation

See also: Changes in 2009 to laws governing the initiative process

Court co-sponsored legislation introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives on March 24, 2009, that would:

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.[8] Incumbent Pat Steadman (D) did not seek re-election.

Lois Court defeated Bob Lane in the Colorado State Senate District 31 general election.[9][10]

Colorado State Senate, District 31 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Lois Court 69.58% 57,793
     Republican Bob Lane 30.42% 25,268
Total Votes 83,061
Source: Colorado Secretary of State

Lois Court defeated Erin Bennett and Steve Sherick in the Colorado State Senate District 31 Democratic primary.[11][12]

Colorado State Senate, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Lois Court 44.07% 7,632
     Democratic Erin Bennett 22.37% 3,874
     Democratic Steve Sherick 33.55% 5,810
Total Votes 17,316


Bob Lane defeated Jeffery Washington in the Colorado State Senate District 31 Republican primary.[11][12]

Colorado State Senate, District 31 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Bob Lane 67.85% 3,189
     Republican Jeffery Washington 32.15% 1,511
Total Votes 4,700

2014

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Colorado House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 31, 2014. Incumbent Lois Court was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Jeff Krump was unopposed in the Republican primary. Court was unchallenged in the general election. Krump was removed from the official list of candidates before the general election.[13][14][15][16]

2012

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2012

Court won re-election in the 2012 election for Colorado House of Representatives District 6. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 26, 2012. She defeated Robert Hardaway (R) and Morton Brooks (L) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[17]

Colorado House of Representatives, District 6, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngLois Court Incumbent 66.5% 27,542
     Republican Robert Hardaway 30.3% 12,559
     Libertarian Morton Brooks 3.1% 1,288
Total Votes 41,389

2010

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2010

Court ran for re-election to the 6th District seat in 2010. She had no opposition in the August 10 primary. Court defeated Joshua Sharf (R) in the November 2 general election.

Colorado House of Representatives, District 6 General election (2010)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Lois Court (D) 19,153
Joshua Sharf (R) 10,724

2008

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Court won election to the 6th District seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, defeating opponent Joshua Sharf (R).[18]

Court raised $73,034 for her campaign, while Sharf raised $22,939.[19]

Colorado State House, District 6 (2008)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Lois Court (D) 25,403
Joshua Sharf (R) 12,057

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.

Lois Court campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2016Colorado State Senate, District 31Won $130,422 N/A**
2014Colorado State House, District 6Won $27,262 N/A**
2012Colorado State House, District 6Won $11,347 N/A**
2010Colorado State House, District 6Won $28,307 N/A**
2008Colorado State House, District 6Won $73,034 N/A**
Grand total$270,372 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** 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.






2020

In 2020, the Colorado State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 15.

Legislators are usually scored on their votes on bills that the organizations supports or opposes. However, in 2020 the organization released this more detailed overview of the legislative session.
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 related to public health issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes related to mental health issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Legislators are scored on their stances on women's issues.


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Court and her husband, Patrick, have two children.[3]

Recent news

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

Lois Court News Feed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ CPR News "State Sen. Lois Court Steps Down, Defending The Democrats’ Majority In The Colorado Senate" January 6, 2020
  2. ↑ Colorado Politics, "Sen. Nancy Todd elected president pro tempore for state Senate," January 17, 2020
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Project Vote Smart, "Lois Court's Biography," accessed September 24, 2015
  4. ↑ Lois Court, State Representative, "Home Page," accessed September 24, 2015
  5. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  6. ↑ Lois Court, "Issues," accessed June 20, 2016
  7. ↑ SpeakerCarroll.com, "Ballot Fraud," March 24, 2009
  8. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Elections & Voting," accessed October 6, 2015
  9. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "General election candidates," accessed August 16, 2016
  10. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 14, 2016
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Candidate List," accessed May 3, 2016
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "June 28, 2016 Primary Election," accessed August 22, 2016
  13. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed May 1, 2014
  14. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 25, 2014
  15. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official general election candidate list," accessed July 23, 2014
  16. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 5, 2014
  17. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary election results," accessed April 14, 2014
  18. ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2008 General election results," accessed April 14, 2014
  19. ↑ Follow the Money, "Funds raised by 2008 House candidates," accessed April 14, 2014
Political offices
Preceded by
M. Patrick Steadman (D) 		Colorado State Senate District 31
2017–2020 		Succeeded by
Chris Hansen (D)


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