Colorado gay lawmaker elected leader of House Democrats

For the second time in ten years a member of the Colorado LGBT community will lead the Democrats in the state House of Representatives.

Denverite Rep. Mark Ferrandino was elected as minority leader by his peers.

Ferrandino said he has three goals: to be an advocate for his caucus, be a vocal supporter for Democratic and Colorado values and to win back the House in 2012.

“I will not shy away from a fight,” Ferrandino said.

The lawmaker said Capitol gossip is already painting the 2012 session into a partisan corner.

“I will be there to put him (Speaker of the House Frank McNulty) in his place if he puts partisan politics over what’s best for Colorado,” Ferrandino said.

McNulty told reporter’s after the caucus meeting he’s looking forward to working with Ferrandino.

“Mark and I have a great relationship,” McNulty said.

McNulty went on to call him an honest and decent man.

Ferrandino ran unopposed. He succeeds Pueblo’s Sal Pace who is running for Congress.

“Our entire caucus is behind Mark,” Pace said prior to the vote.

Ferrandino was first appointed to his seat in October 2007. A  vacancy committee selected Ferrandino, then a state budget analyst, to replace Rep. Michael Cerbo. Ferrandino represents House District 2.

In 2009, Ferrandino was appointed to the powerful Joint Budget Committee. As minority leader he’ll have to resign from that post.

Moreover, he’ll now be in charge of appointing his colleagues to committees, help run the floor debates and votes for bills.

Republicans control the House by one vote, 33-32.

If Democrats take back the House in 2012 and Ferrandino is re-elected, he’ll be poised to become the first out gay speaker of the House in Colorado.

Ferrandino carried the Colorado Civil Union Act in the House in 2011. He co-sponsored the bill with gay Denver Democrat Sen. Pat Steadman. The legislation passed with bipartisan support in the Senate but was stopped dead in it tracks in House at it’s first committee hearing on a party line vote.

Steadman and Ferrandino have vowed to reintroduce the bill in 2012. What impact his new leadership position will have on the bill remains to be seen.

Prior to Ferrandino being elected minority leader, then-Rep. Jennifer Veiga was elected minority leader in 2003. She was the first out member of the LGBT community to hold the position.

“I wish Mark all the best,” Veiga told OFC via Facebook. She relocated to Australia permanently in 2009. “I am sure he will make a great minority leader.”

Brad Clark, executive director of the statewide LGBT advocacy group One Colorado, echoed Veiga.

“Rep. Ferrandino has been a tremendous voice at the Capitol for the LGBT community,” Clark said in a press releases. “He successfully sponsored a bill to grant domestic partner benefits to state employees, and he garnered significant support for a civil unions bill that was blocked from a floor vote.

“During the civil unions debate, Rep. Ferrandino spoke openly about his partner and about his family’s hopes of starting a family. Because of his courage and willingness to publicly share his life, countless Coloradans feel connected to gay and lesbian families in their own neighborhoods.”