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 Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Lontine was born in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal ci ...

, and educated at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. She served as a

precinct captain A precinct captain, also known as a precinct chairman, precinct delegate, precinct committee officer or precinct committeeman, is an elected official in the American political party system. The office establishes a direct link between a political ...

for four years, worked in Representative Jeanne Labuda's office, and as the chief of staff for Senator Irene Aguilar. She was elected to the state house in the 2014 election. During her tenure in the state house she served as the chair of the Health and Insurance Committee and accused Senator

Larry Crowder Larry Crowder is a former Republican legislator in the American State of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado Senate in 2012, he represented Senate District 35 which encompasses parts of Pueblo County, and all of Alamosa County, Baca County, Ben ...

of sexual harassment.

Early life and education

Lontine was born in

, and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in journalism at the

. She moved to Pennsylvania and married Chuck Lontine, with whom she had two children, and later moved to

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 ...

in 1996. She was a

in the 1st district of the Colorado House of Representatives for four years, worked in Representative Jeanne Labuda's office, and as the chief of staff for Senator Irene Aguilar.

Colorado House of Representatives

Lontine ran for the Democratic nomination for a seat in the state house from the 1st district and won in the 2014 election against

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 ...

nominee Raymond Garcia, Libertarian nominee David Hein, and

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate Jon Biggerstaff. She defeated Garcia in the 2016 election. She defeated Republican nominee Alysia Padilla and Libertarian nominee Darrell Dinges in the 2018 election. She won reelection in the 2020 election against Republican nominee Samantha Koch. During her tenure in the state house she served on the Veterans and Military Affairs committee and as chair of the Health and Insurance Committee. She accused Senator

of sexual harassment and filed a formal complaint against him in November 2017, stating that he had pinched her butt in 2015, and made an inappropriate sexual comment. She supported

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

during the

2016 Democratic presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 4,051 delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention held July 25–28 and determine the nominee for president in the 2016 United States presidential ...

and

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

in the 2020 primaries.

Political positions

Lontine voted against anti-BDS legislation stating that it was a violation of the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...

. She supported removing the phrase "illegal aliens" from existing laws. She received an A rating from

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

. Lontine was among thirty-seven legislators who endorsed a letter in 2018, calling for Planned Parenthood to allow for their workers to form an union.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lontine, Susan 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Living people Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives University of Central Florida alumni Politicians from Denver Women state legislators in Colorado Year of birth missing (living people)