DENVER — The 74th Colorado General Assembly is now underway a the state capitol. This session will include a lot of new members of the General Assembly, especially in the case of representatives for El Paso county and southern Colorado.
Of the 13 house districts that make up our area, only four will be represented by incumbents. That’s because many incumbent lawmakers were either drawn out of districts, term-limited or just decided not to run.
See the new Colorado House Districts in this interactive map
All of the new members were sworn in this morning. Outgoing Rep. Deneya Esgar (D-Pueblo) served as House Speaker for the opening of the General Assembly before the election of Julie McCluskie (D-Dillon)as the new House Speaker.
Whether you know who your state representative or state senator is, chances are that person probably changed for you after the November election.
But some of the new legislators see the change in representation as a good thing. Republican Don Wilson will now represent House District 20, serving Monument and the Black Forest area. “I think the legislators we have coming in from El Paso County do have El Paso County in mind," Wilson tells News5.
That’s not to say the new lawmakers don’t have any experience in government. Wilson is the former Mayor of Monument. "As mayor, I saw how much state policy affects the local communities and how it can be harmful or helpful and I’d like to continue working on that on behalf of our smaller communities," said Wilson.
Democrat Regina English represents District 17, covering southeast Colorado Springs. She also serves on the Harrison District 2 school board. "Being on the board of education and listening to policies and concerns, you can only do so much on the local level," said English.
She’s looking to take some of the skills she’s learned on the school board to the capitol and more. "Being a state legislator is definitely multi-faceted I want to do some work around affordable housing, criminal justice," she said.
News5's Alasyn Zimmerman will join us for News5 this afternoon to break down day 1 of the General Assembly and a look at lawmakers' priorities this session.
For the first time in state history, women will make up the majority in the legislature. Colorado is the second state in the country behind Nevada for this to happen.
But the state is no stranger to being ahead of the curve when it comes to women at the state capitol. In 1894, Colorado became the first state to elect women to the state legislature. And Colorado was also the second state to allow women to vote in national elections.
Local districts:
- District 14 (northeast Colorado Springs)
- District 15 (northeast and eastern Colorado Springs)
- District 16 (central Colorado Springs)
- District 17 Regina Wilson (D) (southeastern Colorado Springs
- District 18 (southwestern El Paso)
- District 20 Don Wilson (R) (northern El Paso County)
- District 21 (Fountain, Fort Carson, Security-Widefield)
- District 22 (north central Colorado Springs)
- District 46 (southwest Pueblo)
- District 47 (Baca, Bent, Crowley, eastern Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers, eastern Pueblo)
- District 56 (Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert, eastern El Paso, Lincoln, Kit Carson, Cheyenne)
- District 60 (Custer, Fremont, northwest Pueblo, Teller)
- District 62 (Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, northeastern Huerfano, Pueblo (city), Mineral, Saguache)
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