Andrew Steven Kerr (born October 21, 1968) is an American teacher and politician who serves on the county commission in

Jefferson County, Colorado Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 582,910, making it the fourth-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Golden, and the most populous city is Lakewood. ...

. Prior to his tenure on the county commission he served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 26th district from 2006 to 2013, and in the Colorado Senate from the 22nd district from 2013 to 2019, 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 ...

. Kerr moved to

Lakewood, Colorado The City of Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Col ...

, when he was eight and was educated at Green Mountain High School and the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado creat ...

. He was appointed to the state house to replace

Betty Boyd Elizabeth Boyd (May 11, 1908 – September 16, 1971) was an American film actress in the early days of Hollywood, mostly in the silent film era of the late 1920s and into the early 1930s in B-movies. Career Born Elizabeth Boyd Smith in Kan ...

and was reelected in the 2006, 2008, and 2010 elections. During his tenure in the state house he served as the Majority Whip and Assistant Majority Leader. He chose to run for a seat in the state senate after redistricting put him and another Democratic representative in the same district. He was elected to the state senate in the 2012 and 2014 elections. He ran for the Democratic nomination in the

Colorado's 7th congressional district Colorado's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Formerly located only in the northeast part of the state, the district now encompasses the western parts of the Denver metropolitan area, including ...

during the 2018 election, but dropped out after Representative

Ed Perlmutter Edwin George Perlmutter (born May 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, his district is located in the northern and western suburbs of the Denver metropolitan are ...

announced that he would seek reelection. Kerr was elected to the Jefferson County Commission in the 2020 election.

Early life and education

Andrew Steven Kerr was born on October 21, 1968. His family moved to

when he was eight and he attended Foothills Elementary School, Dunstan Middle School, and Green Mountain High School. He graduated from the

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in geography and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in information and learning technologies. He worked as a geography teacher for middle and high school and is a member of the Colorado Education Association. He married Tammy, with whom he had three children.

Colorado state legislature

Elections

In 2006,

, a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, was selected by a vacancy committee to replace Deanna Hanna in the Colorado Senate following Hanna's resignation. Kerr was selected by a vacancy committee to replace Boyd in the state house. He defeated

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 Glenn Rhoades in the 2006 election. He defeated Republican nominee Ray Warren in the 2008 election. He defeated Republican nominee Mark A. Barrington in the 2010 election. Lois Court, who later served as the President pro tempore of the state senate, worked as his campaign manager and legislative aid. Kerr, Max Tyler, and Ken Summers were reapportioned into the same district following the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

. Kerr announced on December 19, 2011, that he would run for a seat in the state senate from the 22nd district rather than run against Tyler in the state house primary. He defeated Republican nominee Summers in the 2012 election. He defeated Republican nominee Tony Sanchez in the 2014 election.

Tenure

During Kerr's tenure in the state house he served on the Education, Finance, and Judiciary committees. He and Representative

Rhonda Fields Rhonda Marshall Fields is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Colorado. She represents Colorado's 28th Senate district, District 28 in the Colorado Senate. During the 2020 reapportionment process, Buckner's residence m ...

received death threats in 2013 due to their support of gun control legislation. He was selected to replace Representative Dorothy Butcher as Majority Whip after her resignation in 2007. He was later selected to serve as the Assistant Majority Leader. In 2014, he nominated Senator Matt Jones to serve as the Minority Whip.

, a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the 7th congressional district, announced on April 9, 2017, that he would run in the

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Kerr announced on April 12, that he would seek the Democratic nomination in the congressional district for the 2018 election and later selected Shad Murib, who previously served as the chief of staff of the Colorado Senate Democrats and managed Kerry Donovan's 2014 campaign, as his campaign manager. However, Perlmutter announced that he would run for reelection on August 21, after having dropped out of the gubernatorial election, causing Senator Dominick Moreno and Representative

Brittany Pettersen Brittany Louise Pettersen (born December 6, 1981) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Colorado's 7th congressional district since 2023. She previously served as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 22nd distric ...

to end their campaigns. Kerr ended his campaign on August 22, and endorsed Perlmutter. During the campaign he raised and spent $124,888.98.

Later life

Casey Tighe, a member of the Jefferson county commission, was term-limited during the 2020 election. Kerr won the Democratic nomination to succeed her and defeated Republican nominee Joni Inman in the general election. During the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: **C ...

Kerr endorsed Senator

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 ...

for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Political positions

Kerr 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 ...

. He was among thirty-seven legislators who endorsed a letter in 2018, calling for Planned Parenthood to allow for their workers to form an union. Kerr organized a letter signed by over four hundred state legislators opposing the nomination of

Betsy DeVos Elisabeth Dee DeVos ( ; ' Prince; born January 8, 1958) is an American politician, philanthropist, and former government official who served as the 11th United States secretary of education from 2017 to 2021. DeVos is known for her support for ...

United States Secretary of Education The United States secretary of education is the head of the U.S. Department of Education. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States, and the federal government, on policies, programs, and activities re ...

and sent it to

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from ...

and

Patty Murray Patricia Lynn Murray (; born October 11, 1950) is an American politician and educator who is the senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray was in the Washington State Senate from 1988 to ...

. He sponsored legislation that would have entered Colorado into the

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact MD, NJ, IL, HI, WA, MA, DC, VT, CA, RI, NY, CT, CO, DE, NM, OR MI, PA, TX The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposed interstate compact among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award a ...

. Kerr voted in favor of repealing

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in 2009. He voted in favor of legislation to prohibit

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cl ...

on minors.

Early life and education

Colorado state legislature

Elections

Tenure

Later life

Political positions

Electoral history

References

External links