Joan Fitz-Gerald is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the Colorado Senate, representing the 16th district from 2001 until 2007. She also served as President of the Senate, the first woman to hold that office. Fitz-Gerald is a former chair of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) with state-house Democrats picking up seats across the nation under her chairmanship.

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Joan graduated from

Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a private college on the Upper East Side of New York City. As of 2020, enrollment consists of 1,571 undergraduates with women making up 80.1% and men 19.9% of student enrollment. The college was founded in 1936. Hi ...

with a B.A. in History and later attended

Fordham Law School Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test tak ...

, where she met her husband. The Fitz-Geralds moved to Colorado in 1977.

Career

Until November 2007, Fitz-Gerald represented the 16th Legislative District in the Colorado State Senate. She represented 7 counties in the Legislature: Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson and Summit. She was the chair of, and served on, the Executive Committee of Legislative Council, Legislative Council, and Senate Services. She also served on the Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee. Before serving in the State Senate, Fitz-Gerald was a county clerk. She was the first woman ever elected as Jefferson County clerk and recorder, where she pioneered the use of mail ballots. She is married to John Fitz-Gerald. The couple has two adult sons. Fitz-Gerald was considered to be one of several possible Democratic candidates for Governor of Colorado in 2006, but chose not to run. On April 18, 2007 she announced that she would run for U.S. Congress, representing the 2nd Congressional District seat being vacated by

Mark Udall Mark Emery Udall ( ; born July 18, 1950) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, repres ...

, who ran for, and eventually was elected to, the U.S. Senate. On August 2, 2007

Emily's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

endorsed her. In November 2007, Fitz-Gerald announced her retirement from the Colorado Senate to campaign full-time for the U.S. House. Peter Groff was elected to succeed her as Senate President, and

Dan Gibbs Dan Gibbs (born c. 1976) is a politician in the U.S. state of Colorado. He currently serves as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Gibbs worked as an outdoor guide and as a staffer for U.S. Representative Mark ...

was appointed to fill the senate vacancy left by her resignation. In August 2008, Fitz-Gerald lost the Democratic primary to

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis (; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician, entrepreneur, businessman, and philanthropist, serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since January 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 20 ...

. In November 2008, Fitz-Gerald was mentioned as a possible successor to

Mike Coffman Michael Harold Coffman (born March 19, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and veteran of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps serving as Mayor of Aurora, Colorado since 2019. A Republican, Coffman served as the U.S. representative for ...

in the Secretary of State of Colorado's office. In December 2008, Fitz-Gerald was mentioned as a possible successor to Ken Salazar in the U.S. Senate after Salazar was chosen by President-Elect

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

for Secretary of the Interior. After Salazar's confirmation, Michael Bennet was ultimately selected as the replacement for his Senate seat by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter.

References

External links

Joan Fitz-Gerald's official campaign website (archived)

Project Vote Smart – Senator Joan Fitz-Gerald (CO)
profile
''Follow the Money'' – Joan Fitz-Gerald campaign contributions
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitz-Gerald, Joan Colorado state senators 1948 births Living people Marymount Manhattan College alumni Fordham University School of Law alumni Women state legislators in Colorado Presidents of the Colorado State Senate 21st-century American women