Julie McCluskie elected state house speaker
Julie McCluskie/Courtesy Photo
The Colorado House Democrats held a leadership election Friday at the state capitol and elected Rep. Julie McCluskie as speaker of the house. McCluskie defeated Grand County resident David Buckley in the 2022 race for the District 13 seat, which includes Grand, Jackson, Summit, Park and Lake counties.
McCluskie served as chair of the Joint Budget Committee during her last term. She will replace House Speaker Alec Garnett of Denver, who was term-limited. McCluskie will be the first speaker from the Western Slope since Russell L. George, a Republican from Rifle, in 1999-2000.
Democrats will hold 46 of 65 seats in the state house for this session, according to a news release from House Democrats. Close to 75% of the incoming Democrats are women, about 40% are people of color and 13% are members of the LGBTQ community.
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