Stanley Toshi Matsunaka (born November 12, 1953) is a former Democratic member of the Colorado State Senate, serving from 1995 to 2003. He served as President of the Senate for two years. In both the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

congressional elections, Matsunaka lost to Republican

Marilyn Musgrave Marilyn Neoma Musgrave (née Shuler; born January 27, 1949), American politician, is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives who served from 2003 to 2009, representing the 4th District of Colorado. Musgrave ser ...

for Colorado's 4th congressional district.

Early life and education

Matsunaka was born in

Akron, Colorado Akron is the Statutory Town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Washington County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,757 at the 2020 United States Census. History Akron was platted in 1882. The com ...

, on November 12, 1953, to Mary and Harry Matsunaka. He graduated from Fort Morgan High School in 1971 then received a

Bachelors of Science Bachelors of Science is the stage name of Phil "Rene" Collis, Chris Doe and Lukeino Argilla. They met in California and formed a successful act, quickly becoming one of the top drum and bass producers in the electronic music scene. Focusing prim ...

in biological sciences from

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...

in 1975 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Sch ...

in 1979.

Political career

, Matsunaka ran against fellow state senator Musgrave for the open seat in the 4th District, which includes the cities of Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, and Fort Collins, as well much of the

Colorado Eastern Plains The Eastern Plains of Colorado refers to a region of the U.S. state of Colorado east of the Rocky Mountains and east of the population centers of the Front Range. Geography The Eastern Plains are part of the High Plains, which are the wester ...

; he lost to Musgrave 42%-55%. In

, he again challenged Musgrave, now the incumbent, who had attracted controversy in the district for her sponsorship of the

Federal Marriage Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA ...

. In addition to his accusation that Musgrave is a "one trick pony," Matsunaka also claimed that Musgrave had poor constituent services and did not give enough attention to the district's needs. This time, the election was far closer and was not decided until the last returns came in. Musgrave won by six points (51-45%) — the closest margin in the district since 1974. Matsunaka won two of the three biggest counties in the district — Larimer County (including Loveland and Fort Collins) and the district's share of

Boulder County Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises t ...

(including Longmont). However, Musgrave soundly defeated him in

Weld County Weld County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 328,981. The county seat is Greeley. Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Denv ...

(including Greeley); he would have unseated Musgrave had he won there. Despite the surprisingly close 2004 results, Matsunaka ruled out another run. Now an attorney in private practice in Loveland, Matsunaka was an advisor to Ed Perlmutter's successful

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

campaign for Colorado's 7th congressional district. He is married with three grown children, Melissa, Brian, and Kristi.

References

External links

Stan Matsunaka for Congress 2004 website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsunaka, Stan 1953 births Colorado lawyers Democratic Party Colorado state senators Colorado State University alumni American politicians of Japanese descent Asian-American people in Colorado politics Living people People from Loveland, Colorado People from Weld County, Colorado Presidents of the Colorado Senate People from Washington County, Colorado People from Morgan County, Colorado