The Replacements: 28 lawmakers appointed to 29 seats by small groups of party insiders

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics

With close to a third of lawmakers being appointed to office instead of elected by voters, the Colorado General Assembly likely holds a record that few state legislatures would want. 

A Colorado Politics analysis showed that of 24 out of the 28 current state lawmakers appointed by vacancy committees, fewer than 40 party insiders on average picked the individuals who would represent the people at the state Capitol, instead of the 89,000 residents of a House district or the 165,000 people who live in a Senate’s political boundary. 

The 28 lawmakers who gained their positions — one legislator was picked twice to two different seats for a total of 29 appointments — through a vacancy go back all the way to 2010, when now-Sen. Rhonda Fields of Aurora was chosen by a committee to run in the general election after her predecessor announced she would not vie for the seat again. A vacancy committee selected Fields because the primary had already passed.

House Speaker Julie McCluskie of Dillon said sometimes the job is simply not a good fit.

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