Larry Crowder is a former Republican legislator in the American
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 the ...
. Elected to 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, ...
in 2012, he represented
Senate District 35 which encompasses parts of
Pueblo County
Pueblo County ( or ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,162. The county seat is Pueblo. The county was named for the historic city of Pueblo which took its name from the Spanish lan ...
, and all of
Alamosa County
Alamosa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,376. The county seat is Alamosa. The county name is the Spanish language word for a " grove of cottonwood trees."
History
Alamosa ...
,
Baca County
Baca County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,506. The county seat is Springfield.
Located at the southeast corner of Colorado, the county shares state borders with Kansas, New Mexic ...
,
Bent County,
Conejos County
Conejos County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,461. The county seat is the unincorporated community of Conejos.
Being 50.7% Hispanic in 2020, Conejos was Colorado's largest Hispa ...
,
Costilla County
Costilla County (Spanish for "rib") is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,499. The county seat is San Luis, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado.
History
On July 8, 1694, ...
,
Crowley County,
Custer County,
Huerfano County,
Kiowa County,
Las Animas County
Las Animas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,555. The county seat is Trinidad. The county takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, originally c ...
,
Mineral County,
Otero County,
Prowers County,
Rio Grande County, and
Saguache County
Saguache County (suh-WATCH ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,368. The county seat is Saguache.
History
Saguache County was formed December 29, 1866 in the Territory of Colorado wh ...
.
Biography and early career
Crowder was raised in
Manzanola near
La Junta, Colorado
La Junta is a home rule municipality in , the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States Census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas Ri ...
. When he was 15 years old, his father was killed in an auto accident. His mother Fern, a housewife, was left to raise seven children on her own.
Crowder graduated from Manzanola High School in 1966. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1968. He served his country in Vietnam and was honorably discharged in 1971 as a disabled American veteran.
After discharge from the Army, Crowder married Cheri and the couple lived in Denver. The couple had two children: Patrick in 1974 and Dave in 1976.
In 1976, the family moved to
Alamosa, Colorado
Alamosa is a home rule municipality and the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,806 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is the commercial center of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colora ...
where Crowder bought a small farm and started a trenching and excavating company. The business contracted with the phone company to bury telephone lines in Southern Colorado. The advent of fiber optic technology in the late 1990s made the excavating company's services obsolete.
In need of income, Crowder began working for the postal service. In 2008, he retired from the postal service and began working as the Veterans Service Officer for
Rio Grande County in Colorado.
In 2000 Crowder was elected as the Chairman of the South Central Workforce Board, a position that he held through 2010. Beginning in 2004, he was also elected to serve as the Alamosa County Land Use Board Chair, a position that he continues to serve. Crowder also serves on the Alamosa County Draft Board (2008–present) and acted as the Alamosa County GOP Chair from 2004 to 2010. He is active with the Military Color Guard
Colorado Cattlemen's Associationand with various other community initiatives in Southern Colorado.
Crowder continues to farm and live in Alamosa, Colorado with his wife.
Colorado State Senate
2012 Election
Due to reapportionment and population shifts,
Senate District 35, which used to be located in the urban
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
area, was relocated to the rural eastern plains. District 35 was drawn into the middle of former
Senate Districts 1 and
2, which includes Walsenburg, Saguache, Lamar and the surrounding areas.
Crowder faced no opposition in the primary elections, but faced
Democratic opponent Crestina Martinez in the general election. Crowder won the election with a 1,672 vote margin.
2013 Legislative Session
For the 2013 legislative session, Senator Crowder was appointed to serve on the Health and Human Services Committee, as well as the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee. In April 2013, Crowder became the only
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
in the State Senate to vote to expand
Medicaid
Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
under the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...
.
2014 Legislative Session
In the 2014 legislative session, Crowder sponsore
legislationto provide grants to public utilities that pay for broadband development in rural communities through the Connect Colorado Broadband Act. He also worked to create jobs and preserve historic structures by sponsoring the Job Creation & Main Street Revitalization Act that brought $15 million in economic development to Southern Colorado.
2015 Legislative Session
During the 2015 legislative session, Crowder sponsored legislation to expedite the licensing process to become an
advanced practice nurse, to offe
tax incentivesto providers who bring broadband services to rural areas and to protect Colorado'
drinking waterwatershedsand ecologically sensitive areas. He was also named th
by the Colorado Rural Health Center.
2016 Legislative Session
In 2016, Crowder sponsored SB 74 aimed at expanding voting options for rural voters.
2018 Legislative Session
During the 2018 Legislative Session Senator Crowder focused attention of health care matters and veterans’ issues. He ran Senate Bill 112 which would have created a grant program to help support non-profits that provide mental health care for veterans. He also ran Senate Bill 54 to put a cap on fee increases for assisted living facilities and Senate Bill 71 that allowed a task force to continue studying substance abuse issues. Senator Crowder also ran a bill that would have exempted used vehicles from the state sales and use tax.
Sexual assault allegations
Between November 2017 and April 2018, six Colorado state legislators were accused of sexual harassment covering a range of allegations and circumstances.
Senator Crowder was accused by
Susan Lontine
Susan Lontine is an American politician who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 1st district as a member of the Democratic Party.
Lontine was born in Lakeland, Florida, and educated at the University of Central Florida. Sh ...
, a Democratic State Representative from Denver, of pinching her buttocks and making sexually inappropriate comments while on the House floor. He apologized, though he did not take steps to acknowledge or change his behavior.
Colorado State Senate President Republican
Kevin Grantham
Kevin Grantham (born June 29, 1970) is an American politician who serves on the county commission of Fremont County, Colorado. He served in the Colorado Senate from the 2nd district as a member of the Republican Party from 2011 to 2019. He ser ...
issued a statement when the story was published, saying, "We take every allegation of harassment or misconduct seriously. We ask those who feel they have been victims of harassment or inappropriate behavior at the General Assembly to file an official complaint, in confidence that their anonymity and rights will be protected. Going forward, Senate Republican leaders cannot and will not be responding to unsubstantiated or anonymous allegations against members appearing in the press, which the existing complaint process is designed to handle. This process exists to protect confidentiality, respect the rights of both accuser and accused, rigorously review the facts, give a fair hearing to all sides, and impose penalties proportionate to any confirmed offense."
Colorado Senators Baumgardner And Tate Named In Allegations Of Sexual Harassment
''KUNC
KUNC (91.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk public radio format. Licensed to Greeley, Colorado, United States, it serves Northern Colorado, including Fort Collins and Greeley. The station is owned and operated by Community Radio f ...
'', Bente Birkeland, November 16, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
References
External links
Colorado General Assembly Website
Colorado Senate News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, Larry
Living people
Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives
Republican Party Colorado state senators
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American politicians
People from Alamosa, Colorado
People from Otero County, Colorado