“As State Senate President, I’m proud that we improved funding for our schools, expanded Coloradans access to health care, and made Colorado a national leader in renewable energy. I’m looking forward to talking with voters across the district about bringing the same kind of change to Washington.”
Twenty-First Century Democrats is excited to endorse Joan Fitz-Gerald for Congress in Colorado’s 2nd District.
Joan Fitz-Gerald is a leader; it’s as simple as that. As a freshman State Senator in 2001, she was appointed Chair of a major committee, two years later she was elected Minority Leader and two years after that she was elected Senate President and Chairwoman of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
She has used her positions of leadership to make Colorado a better state. She brokered a bi-partisan compromise to fix a budget crisis that threatened to shut down public parks, colleges and other state programs. She also pushed through a proposal to equalize state support between school districts, and passed a bill to resuscitate the University of Colorado Medical School.
She is a respected leader among her peers for a variety of reasons. As Fred Brown, the former Political Editor of the Denver Post said, “She works well with the other party, without abandoning her principles. She is very articulate. She is very tough.” ColoradoConfidential.com named her the most successful senator in the State Senate based on her ability to pass sponsored legislation. The Rocky Mountain News’ 2007 Legislative Wrap-Up firmly put her in the “winner” column. In short, she gets the job done.
Joan’s dynamic qualities extend beyond her leadership, her natural talents and her ability to get things done. She is also a progressive whose vision of America is inspired by Robert F. Kennedy, the first candidate she worked for.
Joan’s vision for America is not a complex one, it’s actually quite simple – an America where everyone has access to health care and education, so is her idea that America needs to be seen as a problem-solver on the world stage, not as a nation that puts up road-blocks to treaties like the Kyoto Protocol. Her vision is a simple idea to have a nation guided by what is right and fair and best for its citizens instead of far-right extremist dogma.
Race Facts
Race Type: Open Seat (currently Democratic)
Primary Opponent: Larry Johnson, Jared Polis, Will Shafroth & others
Primary Date: August 12, 2008
Primary Election Results: Lost Primary
