Joe Salazar | |
|---|---|
| Member of theColorado House of Representatives from the 31st district | |
| In office January 2013 – January 4, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Judith Anne Solano |
| Succeeded by | Yadira Caraveo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Anthony Salazar 1971 or 1972 (age 53–54) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jessica Salazar |
| Education | University of Colorado, Boulder(BA) University of Denver(JD) |
Joseph Anthony Salazar (born 1971/72) is an American attorney and politician. ADemocrat, Salazar served as a member of theColorado House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. In2018, Salazar ran forColorado Attorney General, but lost the primary to eventual victorPhil Weiser by a margin of less than one percent of the vote.[1]
Currently, he is the director of Colorado Rising, an anti-frackingpressure group.[2] A supporter ofBernie Sanders, Salazar is considered a member of theprogressive wing of the Democratic Party.[3]
Salazar was raised inThornton, Colorado. Salazar states that theSpanish side of his family first came to the region in the 16th or early 17th century.[4] Salazar stated that both of his grandmothers were ofApache origin, and that both of his grandparents were of Spanish descent.[5] He received his bachelor's degree from theUniversity of Colorado Boulder and hisJuris Doctor degree from theUniversity of Denver.
Salazar previously worked as an attorney with Smith, Shelton, Ragona and Salazar, LLC. He focused on employment law, civil rights, and constitutional law.[6]
Salazar was elected to theColorado House of Representatives in the 2012 election, and served in the chamber until 2019. During his time in the legislature, Salazar’s pushed to end the practice of high schools usingmascots offensive to Native Americans.[7] Salazar introduced legislation to repealColumbus Day's status as a state holiday, stating that "Columbus’ legacy of abuse and disrespect is still readily apparent today."[8]
During his tenure, Salazar supportedfreedom of information legislation that caps charges for filingColorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests to four times the state'sminimum wage.[9] Salazar was noted for being among a small number of lawmakers in Colorado who supportedBernie Sanders'spresidential campaign in the2016 Democratic primary.[10]
Following speculation of a potentialgubernatorial candidacy,[11] Salazar instead ran forColorado Attorney General in the2018 election. In the Democratic primary, Salazar facedPhil Weiser, the former dean of theUniversity of Colorado Law School. Salazar's campaign received the support of Bernie Sanders and affiliated organizationOur Revolution.[12][13] He ultimately lost by a margin of 50.43% to 49.57%.[14][1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Phil Weiser | 298,048 | 50.43 | |
| Democratic | Joe Salazar | 292,912 | 49.57 | |
| Total votes | 590,960 | 100.0 | ||
After losing the 2018 election, Salazar became director of Colorado Rising, an anti-frackingadvocacy group.[2]
In January 2021, Salazar expressed interest in challenging incumbent SenatorMichael Bennet in the Democratic primary in the2022 U.S. Senate election.[3] However, he announced in 2021 that he would not run for U.S. Senate, nor contest the newly createdColorado's 8th congressional district.[15]
In November 2021, Salazar filed papers to run forColorado's 24th Senate district. At the time of Salazar's announcement, the district was represented by DemocratFaith Winter. However, due to redistricting, Winter's residence would be in the25th District, leaving the new district open. The newly created district includesThornton andFederal Heights and parts of unincorporatedAdams County to the northeast of these two municipalities.[2] However, Salazar chose to drop out of the contest in February 2022.[16]