- Michael Garcia (politician)
-
Michael Garcia 
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 42nd districtIn office
January 10, 2001 – February 1, 2008Preceded by Bob Hagedorn Succeeded by Karen Middleton Personal details Born January 11, 1974 [1]
Fort Bragg, North CarolinaPolitical party Democratic Spouse(s) none Religion Catholic[2] Michael Garcia (born January 11, 1974) is a former Colorado legislator. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2000, Garcia was re-elected three times to represent House District 42, which includes central Aurora, Colorado.[3]
Contents
Early career
Born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina[1] to a U.S. Army veteran, Garcia's family settled in Aurora, Colorado, where he attended Aurora Public Schools and graduated from Aurora Central High School in 1992. He then earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado in 1996 and a master's degree from the University of Arizona in 1998. After graduation, Garcia received a fellowship from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to serve as a legislative assistant to Texas U.S. Representative Solomon P. Ortiz;[4] he worked in Washington, DC until 1999 before returning to Colorado.[1]
From May 2003 to December 2007, he was as Coordinator for the Youth Council for Public Policy at the University of Colorado at Boulder. While working at CU, he taught college courses on American government, including a course titled "Civic Engagement: Using the Electoral Process as a Tool for Social Change. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Spirit of Aurora, the Aurora Education Foundation, and the Aurora Museum Foundation.[1] In 2006, Garcia was named one of the Denver Business Journal's "40 under 40" list of young achievers.
Garcia is unmarried and has no children, but is close to his nieces, Alex and Sophia, and nephew, Christopher.[2]
Legislative career
Garcia returned to Colorado and launched his first legislative campaign in 2000, winning a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives[4] after defeating three other opponents in a contested Democratic party primary. His election at the age of 26 made him the youngest legislator in the state of Colorado. He was subsequently re-elected three times to the state house, winning handily each time in the solidly Democratic district.[3]
In 2004, after Democrats gained control of the state house, Garcia was elected Assistant Majority Leader, a post he held through 2008.[2]
In 2006, Garcia sponsored legislation to create a Denver Broncos specialty license plate.[5]
2007 legislative session
Legislation sponsored in 2007 by Rep. GarciaBills Introduced in 2007 by Rep. Garcia
(for which Rep. Garcia is the primary originating sponsor)BILL TITLE OUTCOME HB07-1072 Concerning the elimination of requirements for a vote ratifying an all-union agreement. Vetoed by Gov. Ritter HB07-1147 Concerning the confidentiality of witness protection materials. Signed by Gov. Ritter HB07-1157 Concerning real estate foreclosures. Signed by Gov. Ritter HB07-1230 Concerning claims practices for bodily injury to a third-party claimant arising out of the use of a motor vehicle. Postponed indefinitely in House committee HB07-1376 Concerning the date on which precinct caucuses are held. Signed by Gov. Ritter In the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions, Garcia sat on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Finance Committee.[6][7]
During the 2007 legislative session, Garcia sponsored a measure[8] to lower the age of legislative candidacy in Colorado, currently set at 25.[9] The referendum, an amendment to the Colorado Constitution to lower the age limit to 21, (Garcia's original proposal would have set the age at 18[10]) passed the General Assembly and will be on the statewide general election ballot in 2008.[11]
Garcia also sponsored contentious legislation during the 2007 session to amend Colorado's labor laws to ease restrictions on the formation of closed shop unions.[12] Although it passed the legislature, the bill was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter.[13] Following the veto, Garcia stated that he would not seek to overturn the veto or re-introduce the legislation.[14]
Garcia was the House sponsor of a measure introduced in the Colorado State Senate to require that passage of an English competency test be required for high school graduation. The measure died in a Senate committee.[15] Garcia introduced legislation which revised rules surrounding real estate foreclosures, including forbidding consensual liens on foreclosed properties.[16] Garcia also sponsored revisions to House rules to limit the number and type of introductions that could be given by members on the House floor.[17]
Between the 2007 and 2008 legislative sessions, Garcia chaired the Interim Committee on Long-term Care Services and Supports for Persons with Developmental Disabilities.[18][19] As a result of his work with this committee, he proposed a half-cent sales tax increase to fund services for several thousand Colorado residents with developmental disabilities currently on waiting lists,[20][21] but withdrew the proposal amid criticism.[22]
Resignation
Garcia resigned from office on February 1, 2008 amid a scandal in which he was accused of sexual misconduct with a female lobbyist at a bar. Garcia responded, "The other party and I engaged in consensual conduct that was inappropriate given my position in the legislature and the fact that the other party is a lobbyist," though the other party contradicts this.[23]
References
- ^ a b c d "Representative Garcia". Project Vote Smart. http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=30017. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ a b c "Michael Garcia - Colorado - State House District 42 candidate". RockyMountainNews.com. http://cfapp2.rockymountainnews.com/election/profiles/c_profiles.cfm?oper=cand_profile&id=12926&qa=1. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ a b "State House District 42". COMaps. http://comaps.org/district42h.html. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
- ^ a b "Meet Michael Garcia". Michael Garcia: Colorado House Representative, District 42. http://www.michaelgarcia.info/michael-garcia/meet.php. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ Staff Reports (18 February 2006). "Extra!, February 18". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4477843,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-02.[dead link]
- ^ "House Committees of Reference". Colorado General Assembly. http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2007a/directory.nsf/HouCommWp?OpenView. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
- ^ "House Committees of Reference". Colorado General Assembly. http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2008a/directory.nsf/HouCommWp?OpenView. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
- ^ O'Connell, J.C. (9 May 2007). "Aurora legislators give session high marks for local bills". Aurora Sentinel. http://www.aurorasentinel.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=16001. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ Anas, Brittany (19 February 2007). "18 and ready to run for state office?". Boulder Daily Camera. http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/feb/19/18-and-ready-to-run-for-state-office/SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=16001. Retrieved 2007-11-18.[dead link]
- ^ Martinez, Julia C. (7 January 2007). "Newcomers flooding the legislature". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_4968110. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ "At the Capitol". Michael Garcia: Colorado House Representative, District 42. http://www.michaelgarcia.info/michael-garcia/capitol.php. Retrieved 2007-11-18.[dead link]
- ^ Milstead, David (19 January 2007). "Pro-union bill has businesses worried". Rocky Mountain News. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:tIHdkMQoo_oJ:www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5289933,00.html+%22michael+garcia%22+%22house+bill+1072%22+%22closed+shop%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ "Ritter vetoes union bill". Denver Post. 10 February 2007. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5194935. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ Couch, Mark P.; Jennifer Brown (11 February 2007). "Fence-mending after fractious union-bill fight". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5203372. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Brown, Jennifer (13 April 2007). "English effort is written off". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_5655617. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ LaRocque, Tom (12 January 2008). "Consensual lien laws change". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/economy/ci_7950497. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Haley, Dan (14 January 2007). "Searching the Western Slope". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5013726. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Garcia, Michael (24 July 2007). "Michael Garcia reports on Interim Committee on Long-term Care Services & Supports for Persons with Developmental Disabilities". Colorado House Dems. http://cohousedems.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/07/michael-garcia-.html. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ^ Gathright, Alan (30 June 2007). "Panel to target backlog of disabled adults in need". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2008-02-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20080213131052/http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5609651,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Barge, Chris (30 August 2007). "Voters may be asked to OK half-penny sales tax increase". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/aug/30/voters-may-be-asked-to-ok-half-penny-sales-tax/. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Brown, Jennifer (8 September 2007). "Surge of tax plans leading to overload". Denver Post. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6841400. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ Washington, April (25 October 2007). "Bill to raise state sales tax pulled by sponsor". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/government/article/0,2777,DRMN_23906_5730718,00.html. Retrieved 2007-11-18.[dead link]
- ^ Bartels, Lynn (2 February 2008). "Lawmaker quits after sex misconduct alleged". Rocky Mountain News. http://m.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/02/top-house-leader-resigns/. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
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Categories:- Living people
- 1974 births
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