Martha McElveen Ezzard (born November 8, 1938) was a member of the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the ''Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.). The ses ...

serving in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1979 to 1981 and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1981 to 1987.

Early life and career

Ezzard was born November 8, 1938 in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. She earned a bachelors degree from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and a masters from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

. Prior to her time in the General Assembly, she worked as a press assistant for Governor

John Arthur Love John Arthur Love (November 29, 1916 – January 21, 2002) was an American attorney and Republican politician who served as the 36th Governor of the State of Colorado from 1963 to 1973. Early life and education John Arthur Love was born on a fa ...

Colorado General Assembly

In the 1978 election, incumbent Betty Ann Dittemore opted to run for

Lieutenant Governor of Colorado The lieutenant governor of Colorado is the second-highest-ranking member of the executive department of the Government of Colorado, United States, below the governor of Colorado. The lieutenant governor of Colorado, who acts as governor of Colorad ...

rather than run for reelection to the House. Ezzard 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 1978 to succeed her in the 37th district. Ezzard served a single term before being 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 1980. In 1987, Ezzard switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party. After her party switch, she resigned from the Senate and was succeeded by her 1986 primary opponent

Terry Considine Terry M. Considine (born 1947) is the founder of Aimco, the chairman and chief executive officer of Apartment Income REIT, and is a former Republican politician. Biography Early life and education Considine was born in San Diego as the 4th of ...

. While a member of the General Assembly, she earned her law degree from the

University of Denver College of Law The Sturm College of Law ("Denver Law") is the professional graduate law school of the University of Denver. It is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law was one of the first in America's Mounta ...

Runs for higher office

In the 1986 election, Ezzard ran in the Republican primary for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat being vacated by

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

. She and

were defeated in the primary by Congressman

Ken Kramer Kenneth Bentley Kramer (born February 19, 1942) is an American lawyer, politician, and jurist from Colorado. He is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. Born in 1942, in Chicago, Kramer grew up in the city's ...

. In 1988, Ezzard challenged Congressman

Daniel Schaefer Daniel "Dan" Schaefer (January 25, 1936 – April 16, 2006) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 6th congressional district from 1983 to 1999. Early life and education Born in Guttenberg, Iowa, he att ...

Colorado's 6th congressional district Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the eastern part of the Denver metropolitan area, including all of Aurora, as well as ...

. Schaefer defeated Ezzard by a two-to-one margin in the heavily Republican district.

Post-political career

In 1989, Governor

Roy Romer Roy Rudolf Romer (born October 31, 1928) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Colorado, 39th Governor of Colorado from 1987 to 1999, and subsequently as the Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, su ...

appointed Ezzard to the Small Business Council, a thirty-two member advisory council to the Governor and Office of Economic Development. After her time in the legislature, she moved to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and operated a winery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezzard, Martha 1938 births Living people Colorado Republicans Colorado Democrats Colorado state senators Date of birth missing (living people) Women state legislators in Colorado Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats University of Missouri alumni