Robert Ramirez is a 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 ...

. 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 ...

as a Republican, he represented House District 29, which centers around the communities of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

and Arvada, from 2010 to 2012.

Biography

Ramirez was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

to a Mexican father and an American mother. His parents divorced when he was eight years old; he and his two siblings were raised by their mother, who worked as a survey engineer among other jobs. As a young person he was active in

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

, and he went on to earn the

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

rank.

Education and career

After graduating from high school Ramirez enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and was honorably discharged in 1988. He worked for several years in management positions in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

then, moved to Arvada, Colorado. In 2002 he moved to Westminster, Colorado. He has been a part of several entrepreneur ventures. Before beginning his legislative career, he managed a

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 ...

-based uniform supply company. Ramirez earned an associate degree in business. His wife, Suzanne, is an elementary school teacher and has worked in Jefferson County schools since 2001. Ramirez attributes his political aspirations to his daughter prodding him to serve.

Legislative career

2010 election

In the 2010 legislative session, Ramirez served on the Transportation and Education committees.

2011 legislative session

2012 legislative session

2012 election

In the 2012 general election, Representative Ramirez faced Democratic challenger

Tracy Kraft-Tharp Tracy Kraft-Tharp is an American teacher and politician who serves on the county commission in Jefferson County, Colorado. Prior to her tenure on the county commission she served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 29th district fr ...

. Kraft-Tharp was elected by a margin of 51% to 43%.

References

External links

Ramirez for Colorado
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Robert American politicians of Mexican descent Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American legislators People from New Jersey People from Colorado