By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
John Carson, an attorney and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who previously served as a Colorado regent, was selected Saturday through a vacancy committee to serve in the 75th Colorado Legislature in Senate District 30, representing Douglas County.
The seat was previously held by Kevin Van Winkle, who was appointed in December as a Douglas County commissioner.
Carson was selected in the first round of balloting by 52.2% of delegates present, defeating Kim Ransom and Priscilla Rahn. The Senate District 30 vacancy committee includes 168 people, with the 135 voting members Saturday qualifying as a quorum.
Carson was elected to the Douglas County School Board in 2005 and from 2009-13 served as the president of that board. He was also selected in 2016 to serve as a Colorado regent for District 6. He was additionally a delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Kim Ransom formerly was a state representative for the 44th District, including portions of Douglas County. Rahn was previously vice president of the Colorado GOP.
Carson attended the University of Colorado, where he earned a bachelor’s of political science and a juris doctorate. Carson also attended Georgetown University’s Law Center. He served as legal counsel for U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, among others in Congress. Carson also served in the George W. Bush Administration as regional director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also served in a business law firm and as vice president and general counsel for a mortgage company in Greenwood Village.
Democrats will additionally have to hold two vacancy committee votes to select someone to succeed Aurora Sen. Janet Buckner and Denver Sen. Chris Hansen. Those meetings are slated this coming week.