Don Marostica
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Don Marostica (born March 7, 1948) is a real estate developer and former legislator in the U.S. state of
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, currently serving as director of the state's Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Raised in Colorado, Marostica is an
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
veteran, former high school teacher, and most recently a prominent real estate developer in northern Colorado. After several years serving on the
Loveland, Colorado The City of Loveland is the home rule municipality that is the second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver and is the 14th most populous city ...
city council, Marostica was elected to the
Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...
in 2006, represented House District 51, which encompasses the city of Loveland. Marostica, regarded as a moderate Republican, focused heavily on fiscal issues as a legislator, including transparency and loosening budgetary restrictions, and sat on the legislature's Joint Budget Committee during the 2009 session. In July 2009, Marostica resigned from the legislature to accept the post of economic development director in the cabinet of Democratic Gov.
Bill Ritter August William Ritter Jr. (born September 6, 1956) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the district attorney for Denver before his ele ...
, where he has focused on attracting and growing business in the state of Colorado during the ongoing recession.


Early career

Marostica was born in
Sterling, Colorado Sterling is a home rule municipality and the county seat and most populous municipality of Logan County, Colorado, United States. Sterling is the principal city of the Sterling, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city population was 13,753 a ...
and graduated from Roosevelt High School in Johnstown. He attended
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...
on football and wrestling scholarships, graduating in 1970 with a degree in
physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Physi ...
and
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
. In 1975, he earned a master's degree in secondary school administration from the
University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...
Have been commissioned through the
ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...
program at Colorado State, Marostica served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
and the
Colorado Army National Guard The Colorado Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army, United States National Guard, and Colorado National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces ...
, leaving the service at the rank of captain in 1979. After leaving the army, Marostica taught and coached wrestling at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins. Marostica currently resides in
Loveland, Colorado The City of Loveland is the home rule municipality that is the second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver and is the 14th most populous city ...
with his wife, Carol. Marostica entered the real estate industry in 1977 and is currently a partner in Loveland Commercial, LLC. In 1982, during a downturn in the real estate market, Marostica declared
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
and had judgements from creditors filed against him. He also had tax liens filed against him both in the early 1980s and in the mid-1990s, and has since paid all back taxes. Marostica became financially successful in real estate, and, together with other partners in Loveland Commercial, has donated extensively to local causes, including endowing a chair in the business department of
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...
. As a developer, Marostica specialized in commercial real estate, spearheading five Planned Unit Developments in Loveland and
Milliken, Colorado Milliken is a statutory town in Weld County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,610 at the 2010 United States Census. History The town was named for John D. Milliken, a Judge. The first community located near the Milliken towns ...
. Marostica was elected to the Loveland City Council in 2001, serving for three years, including a span as mayor ''
pro tem ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...
'', before resigning in 2004 because of professional conflicts of interest. During his 2006 legislative campaign, he was criticized for, as a city council member, voting to award city money to his company for a development contract; the city council had to authorize a special exception to its conflict of interest rules to approve the contract. Marostica has served on over 60 boards and commissions in the Loveland area, with an emphasis on transportation-related issues (Loveland Transportation Finance Committee, Loveland East-West Mobility Study Committee, Loveland Eisenhower Boulevard Alignment Analysis Committee, Fort Collins-Loveland Airport Master Plan Update Committee). He has also served as the chair of the board of directors of the
Poudre Valley Health System UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH), located in Fort Collins, Colorado, is part of UCHealth (University of Colorado Health) and serves northern Colorado, southern Wyoming, and western Nebraska. The hospital has 270 beds, and is a level III tra ...
Foundation and the
Medical Center of the Rockies UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies, located in Loveland, Colorado, is the sister hospital of Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. Both are operated by UCHealth. The hospital is home to a regional heart center where open heart s ...
Foundation, and on the bond oversight committee for the
Thompson School District The Thompson R2-J School District is located in Loveland, Colorado and covers territory in Loveland, Berthoud, a southern section of Fort Collins and portions of Windsor, Johnstown and unincorporated parts of Larimer, Weld and Boulder counties. It ...
. He is also an avid motorcyclist and regularly participates in the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Ride to the Wall, a cross-county ride ending at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.


Legislative career


2006 election

In seeking the 51st House district state house seat, representing Loveland, Marostica first faced a challenge from Kevan McNaught in the Republican primary. McNaught was endorsed by the Colorado Club for Growth, who criticized Marostica for his support of higher taxes and his use of
eminent domain Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
when he was a member the Loveland city council. Marostica edged out McNaught in the Republican primary by about 250 votes, or 5% of voters. In contrast with McNaught's conservative credentials, Marostica was considered by observers on both the left and the right to be a moderate Republican; he supported Colorado's 2005 Referendum C, a loosening of state spending restrictions under the state's Taxpayer Bill of Rights. In the general election, Marostica defeated Democrat Jodi Radke in the general election with 56% of the vote. Marostica raised and spent roughly $350,000, of which $220,000 — almost least two-thirds of the money his campaign spent — was donated by Marostica himself, to win the contested primary and general elections.


2007 legislative session

For the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Marostica was assigned to seats on the House Finance Committee and the House Transportation and Energy Committee, while expressing an interest in eventually serving on the powerful Joint Budget Committee. Following the legislative session, Marostica sat on the interim Transportation Legislation Review Committee. Although a Republican serving in a legislature controlled by Democrats, Marostica was relatively successful at passing legislation. During his first session, Marostica sponsored bills to streamline the issuance of search warrants, to give volunteer reserve peace officers the same status as regular peace officers, and to require that
powersports Powersports are a subset category of motorsports which generally include vehicles such as motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, personal water craft, and scooters. One of the defining features of any powersport is the use of an en ...
vehicles be sold only by licensed motor vehicle dealers. Marostica, an avid motorcyclist, was among the prominent opponents of a bill that would have required minors to wear motorcycle helmets while riding, even wearing his own motorcycle helmet to a committee hearing at which the bill was debated. Marostica failed to win legislative approval what he described as his "most important" proposal — the "Taxpayer Transparency Act," which would have required that government expenditures larger than $300 be reported on a searchable government website. Although supported by Republican House leadership, the bill died in committee; however, Marostica saw his transparency proposal implemented in 2009 by an executive order of Gov.
Bill Ritter August William Ritter Jr. (born September 6, 1956) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the district attorney for Denver before his ele ...
.


2008 legislative session

In the 2008 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Marostica sat on the House Health and Human Services Committee, the House Transportation and Energy Committee, and the Joint Capital Development Committee. Marostica declared his "favorite bill" among those he sponsored during the session to be a measure to exempt owners from
property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...
on buildings leased to public universities, an idea Marostica attributed to a local developer. Marostica also sponsored legislation signed into law to allow statutory counties, cities, and towns to spend money on marketing in addition to advertising, in response to a lawsuit challenging the town of
Estes Park Estes Park is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corr ...
's ability to engage in marketing.


2008 election

Marostica announced his bid for re-election to the legislature in January 2008; Marostica's campaign raised about five times as much money as that of Democratic opponent Kenneth Bennett, bringing in over $80,000 by mid-October, of which $10,000 was contributed by Marostica personally; His re-election bid was endorsed by the ''
Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'', Marostica ultimately won with 58 percent of the vote. In the contested 2008 Republican presidential primaries, Marostica supported former New York City mayor
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
, helping to organize a November 2007 fundraiser for Giuliani's campaign that was reported to net over $60,000. After
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
secured the Republican nomination, Marostica supported the McCain-Palin ticket, including kicking off a
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...
rally in Loveland in October.


2009 legislative session

For the 2009 legislative session, Marostica was named to a seat on the legislature's Joint Budget Committee, and a seat on the House Appropriations Committee as the ranking Republican member. During hearings before the beginning of the legislative session, Marostica supported withdrawing all state funding from public research universities, a move opposed by university leaders, but which was discussed more seriously after poor economic forecasts. Marostica also helped to lead an effort to allow the state to tap the financial reserves of Pinnacol Assurance, a quasi-governmental worker's compensation insurer, in order to balance the state budget. Following the legislative session, Marostica served on Colorado's Long-Term Fiscal Stability Commission, a panel created by legislation during the 2009 General Assembly to consider changes to constitutional constraints on the state budget. In February, Marostica was the only Republican who announced plans to support legislation to repeal Colorado's Arveschoug-Bird limit, which capped the growth of general fund expenditures at 6 percent per year. Marostica faced pressure from prominent Republicans, including Independence Institute President
Jon Caldara Jon Caldara is an American libertarian activist who serves as the president of the Independence Institute. He is a radio host and has a current events show, ''Devil's Advocate with Jon Caldara'', that airs on KBDI-TV PBS 12 in Denver, Colorado. ...
and former state treasurer
Mark Hillman Mark Hillman was elected to the Colorado State Senate in 1998. He served as Majority Leader from 2003 to 2004 and Minority Leader in 2005 before serving as State Treasurer from 2005 to 2006. He is a member of the Republican Party and was ele ...
, to drop his support; in response, he referred to Hillman and Caldera as "has-beens" and "losers," earning him additional criticism from House Republicans; Marostica later promised to apologize to Hillman and Caldera. Marostica was the prime sponsor of the bill in the House, where, after surviving an attempted Republican filibuster in the Senate, it was ratified, and later signed into law. Marostica also broke with other Republicans as the only member of his party to vote in support of a failed effort to repeal Colorado's death penalty; the proposal passed the Colorado House by one vote, but was defeated in the Senate. Marostica also sponsored bills to allow golf carts, scooters, and small electric vehicles to travel on some public roads, to allow state veterans organizations to provide burial for unclaimed remains of Colorado military personnel, and to allow building inspectors from other municipalities to assess structural damage to properties, a proposal stemming from a May 2008 tornado in
Windsor, Colorado Windsor is a home rule municipality in Larimer and Weld counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 32,716. Windsor is located in the Northern Colorado region. History In 1873, a settl ...
. to enable increased state funding for online education, and to keep Colorado's tobacco litigation settlement cash fund open for one additional year. Marostica announced plans to introduce legislation to expand the definition of cigar bars to increase the number of establishments exempt from Colorado's indoor
smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor work ...
, but withdrew the legislation after facing opposition from Democrats; that same week, he denounced as "inappropriate and offensive" a British
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
flyer distributed by a lobbyist linking smoking to
erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...
, calling for an ethics investigation into the flyer.


Director of Economic Development

In July 2009, Democratic governor Bill Ritter named Marostica, a Republican, to the post of executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, replacing Don Elliman, who Ritter had tapped as Colorado's
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. Marostica resigned his House seat to take the position, and handed control of his development company to his partner and son in order to avoid conflicts of interest, Marostica named opening Asian markets to Colorado exports as a priority for his time in the new position, in addition to encouraging new
venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
investment and retaining existing major employers despite the
late-2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
. Marostica was replaced in the House by small business owner
Brian DelGrosso Brian DelGrosso (born c. 1973) is a former state representative in the U.S. state of Colorado. Del Grosso, a small business owner, was originally appointed to office by a Republican Party vacancy committee in August 2009 to fill the vacancy cre ...
, and on the legislature's Joint Budget Committee by the more conservative Rep. Kent Lambert. During Marostica's first months in the position, he helped lead Colorado's effort to keep
Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...
jobs in Denver following its merger with
Republic Airways Republic Airways Inc. is a regional airline subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings that operates service as American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express using a fleet of Embraer 170 and Embraer 175 regional jets. It is headquartered ...
; ultimately, Frontier moved several hundred jobs, and Frontier's headquarters, to Wisconsin and Indiana, which offered greater tax and economic incentives. When legislators proposed eliminating business tax credits in late 2009 to help balance the states budget, Marostica publicly defended many of those credits, but he did support limited cuts to tax credits in Governor Ritter's proposed 2010–2011 budget. In late 2009, Marostica was also involved in attracting a
wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
parts supplier to Colorado, announcing a renewed emphasis on natural gas development on Colorado's Western Slope, and pushing to speed the permitting process for oil and gas operations. In 2010, Marostica pushed for additional incentives for the "creative industry," including arts, media, and film, in Colorado.


References


External links


Colorado General Assembly profile

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marostica, Don Members of the Colorado House of Representatives Colorado city council members University of Northern Colorado alumni Colorado State University alumni Living people 1948 births People from Sterling, Colorado People from Loveland, Colorado