L. Duane Woodard (born January 12, 1938) is an American politician who served as the

Attorney General of Colorado The Attorney General of the State of Colorado is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Colorado and the head of the Colorado Department of Law, a principal department of the Colorado state government. It is an elected position with a four- ...

from 1983 to 1991. He previously served in the

Colorado Senate The Colorado Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about 123, ...

from the 29th district from 1977 to 1980.

Early life and career

L. Duane Woodard was born in Kansas City, Missouri on January 12, 1938. A

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

, he was raised in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 2010 ...

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistical ...

, and

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

. Woodard joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

serving in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He was honorably discharged in 1959. He then attended the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

and the

University of Oklahoma College of Law The University of Oklahoma College of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Oklahoma. It is located on the University's campus in Norman, Oklahoma. The College of Law was founded in 1909 by a resolution of the OU Boar ...

. After his studies, he took a position at the

Sinclair Oil Corporation Sinclair Oil Corporation was an American petroleum corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916, the Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation combined, amalgamated, the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York cor ...

. Two years later, he moved to

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

to become a Deputy District Attorney for the Eighth Judicial District. In 1974, he became a municipal judge in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

Political career

He was elected to the Colorado Senate in the 1976 general election. In March 1980, Governor

Richard Lamm Richard Douglas Lamm (August 3, 1935 – July 29, 2021) was an American politician, writer, and attorney. He served three terms as 38th Governor of Colorado as a Democrat (1975–1987) and ran for the Reform Party's nomination for Presiden ...

appointed Woodard to the

Colorado Public Utilities Commission The Public Utilities Commission of the State of Colorado (PUC) provides regulatory oversight of public utilities in the State of Colorado of the United States. The Colorado PUC consists of a director and three commissioners appointed by the Gover ...

. Fellow Republican Roy Henry Shore succeeded Woodard in the Senate for a brief time before his own appointment to the

University of Colorado Board of Regents The Regents of the University of Colorado is the governing board of the University of Colorado system, the system of public universities in the U.S. state of Colorado. Established under Article IX, Section 9 of the Constitution of Colorado, it has ...

. In 1982, Woodard defeated Democratic candidate Gail Klapper. In 1987, Woodard switched from the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

citing the party's advocacy for

austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

and personal conflicts with its members. In the 1988 general election, Woodard headed Colorado Unity, one of two groups organized to oppose an English-only amendment to the

Colorado Constitution The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The current, and only, Colorado State Constitution was drafted on March 14, 1876; approved by Colorado voters on July 1, 1876 ...

. Republican candidate

Gale Norton Gale Ann Norton (born March 11, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. A member of the Republican Party, she previously serve ...

defeated Woodard in the 1990 general election. While Attorney General, he chaired the National Association of Attorneys General's Environmental Control Committee.

Post-political career

Woodard later served as General Counsel to his predecessor in the State Senate, Republican U.S. Senator

Hank Brown George Hanks "Hank" Brown (born February 12, 1940) is an American politician and lawyer from Colorado. He is a former Republican politician and U.S. Senator. He served as the 21st president of the University of Colorado system from April 2005 to ...

References

1938 births Living people Colorado state senators Colorado Attorneys General Colorado Republicans Colorado Democrats University of Oklahoma College of Law alumni University of Wyoming alumni {{Colorado-politician-stub