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John Hickenlooper

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John Hickenlooper
42nd Governor of Colorado
Assumed office
January 11, 2011
LieutenantJoseph García
Preceded byBill Ritter
Chairman of the National Governors Association
Assumed office
July 13, 2014
Preceded byMary Fallin
43rd Mayor of Denver
In office
July 21, 2003 – January 11, 2011
Preceded byWellington Webb
Succeeded byBill Vidal
Personal details
Born
John Wright Hickenlooper, Jr.

(1952-02-07) February 7, 1952 (age 72)
Narberth, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseHelen Thorpe (2000–2012; Separated)
ChildrenTed
ResidenceGovernor's Mansion
Alma materWesleyan University
WebsiteOfficial website

John Wright Hickenlooper, Jr.[1] (born February 7, 1952) is an American Democratic Party politician and the 42nd and current Governor of Colorado. Hickenlooper has served as Governor since 2011. He serves as a member of the Western Governors' Association,[2] and is the Chairman of the National Governors' Association.[3]

Born in Narberth, Pennsylvania, Hickenlooper is a graduate of Wesleyan University. After his career as a geologist, Hickenlooper entered a career in business and cofounded the Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver. Hickenlooper was elected the 43rd Mayor of Denver in 2003, serving two terms until 2011.

After incumbent Governor Bill Ritter announced that he would not seek reelection, Hickenlooper announced his intentions to run for the Democratic nomination in January 2010. He won in an uncontested primary and faced Constitution Party candidate, former Representative Tom Tancredo, and Republican businessman Dan Maes in the general election, which he won with 51% of the vote. He was re-elected to a second term in 2014, defeating Republican former U.S. Representative Bob Beauprez by 49% to 46%.

Early life, education and career

Hickenlooper was born in Narberth, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia, a middle-class[4] area of the suburban Main Line. He is the son of Anne (née Morris) and John Wright Hickenlooper.[5][6][7] He was raised by his mother after his father died when he was young. He graduated from Haverford School for boys in 1970,[8] going on to attend Wesleyan University where he received a B.A. in English in 1974 and a Master’s degree in geology in 1980.

Hickenlooper worked as a geologist in Colorado for Buckhorn Petroleum in the early 1980s. With the decline of the local oil industry, Hickenlooper was laid off. Instead of moving away, he decided to start the Wynkoop Brewing Company brewpub in 1988.[9] Wynkoop and a few other businesses contributed to the redevelopment of the LoDo area following the arrival of major league baseball to the neighborhood. Previously, the area was known to be dangerous; Hickenlooper is quoted as saying, "I must've had rocks in my head [when I chose that location]." When it first opened, the rent for Wynkoop's real estate was $1 per square foot per year.[10]

Mayor of Denver

Hickenlooper's first tasks included handling the city's budget crisis and changing its career personnel system. His cabinet appointees were relatively young. Municipal elections in Denver are nonpartisan. Hickenlooper won re-election for the office of Mayor in May 2007 with 88% of the vote.[11] In 2005, he was named by Time as one of the top five big-city mayors in the US.[12]

Hickenlooper resigned as mayor at 8 am on January 11, 2011, hours before being inaugurated as Colorado's Governor.

Governor of Colorado

Governor John Hickenlooper

On January 11, 2011, John Hickenlooper was sworn in as the 42nd Governor Of Colorado. On December 4, 2012, Governor Hickenlooper was elected to serve as the vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association in 2013.[13] He currently serves on the Western Governors' Association, and is the Chairman of the National Governors' Association.

Political positions

Campaign for the Homeless

Hickenlooper has campaigned for increasing homeless services since 2003.[14] He announced a "10 Year Plan to End Homelessness" at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.[15]

Cannabis legalization

In 2000, Colorado voters passed Initiative 20, which legalized marijuana for medical use. In 2006, Denver became one of the first major U.S. cities to legalize the medical use of and decriminalize possession (of less than one ounce) of cannabis by those over age 18. Hickenlooper opposed the cannabis rescheduling initiative, which voters approved 53.49%–46.51%, but he did say that the vote "reflect[s] a genuine shift in people's attitudes". Under the current Denver Police interpretation of the law, supported by Hickenlooper, the initiative doesn't usurp the state law, the Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS). In 2012, Amendment 64 was added to the Colorado constitution allowing possession of up to one ounce of cannabis for those over 21 for recreational use. Though Hickenlooper has been publicly against this policy as well, he does say he will enforce the will of the people.[16]

On January 23, 2015, he said that "This was a bad idea",[17] that other governors should wait and see what the consequences will be.

Gun control

On March 20, 2013, Hickenlooper signed bills HB1224, HB1228 and HB1229. HB1224 created a limit of 15 rounds in magazines that could be bought, sold or transferred within the state. HB1229 requires background checks for any firearm transfer within the state, and HB1228 taxes firearm transfers to recover costs of the background checks from HB1229.[18] Opponents of these bills gathered enough signatures to trigger special recall elections that resulted in the recall of Democratic Senate President John Morse, and Democratic Senator Angela Giron. Democratic Senator Evie Hudak later resigned rather than face her own recall election on this issue.[19]

Mayor Hickenlooper is a member of the gun control group Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino.

Capital punishment

On May 22, 2013, Governor Hickenlooper granted an indefinite stay of execution to Nathan Dunlap, who was facing execution for the 1993 murder of four persons at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. The decision came after victims' families asked Hickenlooper to allow the execution of Dunlap to proceed as scheduled.[20] Hickenlooper stated: "It is a legitimate question whether we as a state should be taking lives.”[21]

Disaster recovery

In May 2014, Governor Hickenlooper signed legislation to provide better disaster relief to Coloradans after record setting floods and wildfires had ravaged the state and destroyed homes, schools, roads, and watersheds. The bills distributed $5 million in grants to remove flood debris from watersheds, earmarked construction funding for flood-damaged schools and budgeted $17 million in grants for repairs to damaged wastewater and drinking water systems.[22] One of the bills called for the state to pay the property taxes of people who lost homes in Colorado floods or wildfires, which accounted for about 2500 destroyed or damaged homes.

Economic growth

In March 2014, the Governor signed House Bill 1241 which funds the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI). "The program has a total grant budget of $2.7 million, of which $530,000 has been awarded. Right now, seven projects are under consideration, representing $20 million in capital investment and more than 150 new jobs in rural areas." [23]

Political campaigns

2006 Colorado gubernatorial race

Hickenlooper was viewed as a possible contender for Governor of Colorado in the November 2006 election to replace term-limited Republican Governor Bill Owens. Despite a "Draft Hick" campaign, he officially announced on February 6, 2006 that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for governor. Later, he threw his support behind Democratic candidate Bill Ritter, Denver's former District Attorney, who was subsequently elected.[24]

2008 Democratic National Convention

Hickenlooper speaks on the first day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Hickenlooper was an executive member of the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee and helped lead the successful campaign for Denver to host the landmark 2008 Democratic National Convention, which was also the centennial anniversary of the city's hosting of the 1908 Democratic National Convention.

In a controversial move decried by critics as breaching partisan ethics, the Hickenlooper administration arranged for the DNC host committee members, a private non-profit organization, to get untaxed fuel from Denver city-owned pumps, saving them $0.404 per gallon of fuel.[25] Once the arrangement came to light, the host committee agreed to pay taxes on the fuel already consumed, and to pay taxes on all future fuel purchases.[26] Also, Coors brewing company based in Golden, Colorado used "waste beer" to provide the ethanol to power a fleet of FlexFuel vehicles used during the convention.[27]

2008 Senate seat appointment

According to The Denver Post, he was considered to be the frontrunner to fill the United States Senate seat to be vacated by Ken Salazar upon his expected confirmation to be Secretary of the Interior in the Obama Administration.[28] Hickenlooper had confirmed his interest in the seat.[29] However, on January 3, 2009, Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to the position.[30] Bennet previously served as Chief of Staff to Mayor Hickenlooper.

2010 Colorado gubernatorial race

Main article: Colorado gubernatorial election, 2010

After Governor Ritter announced on January 6, 2010 that he would step down at the end of his term, Hickenlooper was cited as a potential candidate for state governor.[31] Hickenlooper stated that if Secretary Salazar mounted a bid for governor, he would likely not challenge him in a Democratic primary.[32] On January 7, 2010, Salazar confirmed that he would not be running for governor in 2010 and endorsed Hickenlooper for the position.[33] On January 12, 2010, media outlets reported that Hickenlooper would begin a campaign for Colorado governor.[34] On August 5, 2010, Hickenlooper selected CSU-Pueblo president Joseph A. Garcia as his running mate.[35] In the general election, Hickenlooper was elected with 51% of the vote, ahead of former congressman Tom Tancredo, running on the American Constitution Party ticket, who finished with 36.4% of the vote.[36]

2014 Colorado gubernatorial race

Governor Hickenlooper won a tightly contested gubernatorial election by winning a plurality of 49.0% of the vote, against Republican businessman Bob Beauprez.[37]

Personal life

Hickenlooper's wife (from whom he is currently separated), Helen Thorpe, is a writer whose work has been published in The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, George, and Texas Monthly. Prior to the separation, they lived in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood with their son, Teddy.[38] Upon taking office as Governor, Hickenlooper and his family decided to maintain their private residence instead of moving to the Colorado Governor's Mansion.[39] On July 31, 2012, Gov. Hickenlooper announced that he and his wife were separating after 10 years of marriage.[40]

In 2010, Hickenlooper told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he and Thorpe attend Quaker meetings and try to live by Quaker values.[41]

A cousin, George Hickenlooper, was an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker before his death in late 2010.[42] John made a cameo appearance in George's 2010 film Casino Jack.[43]

Other relatives include Olga Hickenlooper (a.k.a. Olga Samaroff), a concert pianist who was the first wife of conductor Leopold Stokowski, and Bourke Hickenlooper, who served as Governor of Iowa and as U.S. Senator from Iowa.[44]

Hickenlooper appears in Kurt Vonnegut's novel Timequake.[45] In November 2012, Esquire interviewed Hickenlooper as one of the "Americans of the Year 2012".[46]

References

  1. ^ . April 6, 2003 http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=102901449B91B9D3&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ http://westgov.org/governors
  3. ^ http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/COMMITTEELIST.PDF
  4. ^ Lizza, Ryan (May 13, 2013). "The Middleman". The New Yorker: 26–31. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ http://www.5280.com/magazine/2012/08/happy-shrewdness-john-w-hickenlooper?page=0,6
  6. ^ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FA500415EC604C5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ "Mrs. Anne Kennedy Engaged". The New York Times. May 9, 1948.
  8. ^ Bedingfield, Steve (October 13, 2010). "How Old is John Hickenlooper? He is a graduate of [http://www.haverford.org/ The Haverford School] an independent boys school in Haverford PA. He is a 1970 graduate". Politics Daily. Retrieved September 30, 2011. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  9. ^ Politico (2011). "Arena Profile: Gov. John Hickenlooper". politico.com.
  10. ^ "Mile-High Madness", by Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated, October 2007
  11. ^ http://www.denverpost.com/ci_5796195
  12. ^ Gibbs, Nancy (April 17, 2005). "The 5 Best Big City Mayors". Time.
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ Mary Ellen Hombs (2011). Modern Homelessness: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 156.
  15. ^ "Denver v10 year plan to end homelessness" (PDF).
  16. ^ O'Driscoll, Patrick (November 3, 2005). "Denver OKs pot". USA Today. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
  17. ^ Cirilli, Kevin (January 23, 2015). "Governor: Legalizing pot was bad idea". The Hill.
  18. ^ Bartells, Lynn; Lee, Kurtis (March 21, 2013). "3 new gun bills on the books in Colorado despite its Wild West image". Denver Post. pp. 1a, 10a.
  19. ^ Staff (Nov 17, 2013) DenverPost.com
  20. ^ Wayne Harrison, "Letters urge governor to deny clemency for Nathan Dunlap", 7 News Denver, 10 May 2013.
  21. ^ http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/GovHickenlooper/CBON/1251642762288
  22. ^ http://denver.cbslocal.com/2014/05/19/colorado-residents-welcome-disaster-relief-legislation/
  23. ^ http://kdvr.com/2014/03/11/hickenlooper-signs-rural-economic-development-bill/
  24. ^ "Hickenlooper endorses Ritter for Gov : The Rocky Mountain News".
  25. ^ DNC host's tax-free gas evaporates : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News
  26. ^ http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10035191
  27. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/05/19/daily30.html
  28. ^ "Next senator? Hickenlooper". Denver Post. December 21, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  29. ^ Osher, Christopher (December 24, 2008). "Denver mayor confirms interest in Senate job". Denver Post. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
  30. ^ Parnes, Amie (January 3, 2009). "Bennet pick shocks some in Colorado". Denver Post. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  31. ^ Knox, Don (January 6, 2010). "Can You Say Gov. Hickenlooper?". State Bill Colorado.
  32. ^ "Colorado Governor Bill Ritter not running for re-election". 9 News. January 6, 2010.
  33. ^ Salazar will not enter governor's race. The Denver Post. Jan 7, 2010.
  34. ^ "John Hickenlooper to run for governor, multiple reports say". Westword. January 12, 2010.
  35. ^ Bartels, Lynn; Crummy, Karen E. (August 6, 2010). "CSU-Pueblo chief tapped as Hickenlooper's running mate". Denver Post.
  36. ^ 2010 Election Results, New York Times, November 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  37. ^ "Hickenlooper declares victory", Denver Post, 5 November 2014.
  38. ^ Gathright, Alan (August 4, 2006). "Hickenloopers out to forsake their LoDo loft". Rocky Mountain News. Denver Publishing Company. pp. 6A. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  39. ^ "Governors-including Hickenlooper-forgoing living in executive mansions" (Denverpost.com)
  40. ^ Bartels, Lynn (July 31, 2012). "Colorado governor and wife to separate, political future still looks bright". Denver Post. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  41. ^ Timpane, John (October 27, 2010). "On campaign trail with John Hickenlooper, Pennsylvania native running for Colorado governor". Inquirer. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  42. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (November 22, 2010). "George Hickenlooper's Death Caused by Accidental Overdose". The Hollywood Reporter.
  43. ^ Sneak peek at Abramoff flick starring Spacey – KIKI RYAN, Politico
  44. ^ Ealy, Charles. "George Hickenlooper: The life and times of a director". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  45. ^ Farrell, Susan (2008). Critical companion to Kurt Vonnegut: a literary reference to his life and work. Infobase. p. 284. ISBN 0-8160-6598-5.
  46. ^ John Hickenlooper Interview 1212, Esquire Magazine. By Robert Sanchez. November 16, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2012.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Denver
2003–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Colorado
2011–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chairperson of the National Governors Association
2014–present
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Colorado
2010, 2014 		Most recent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Vice President Order of Precedence of the United States
Within Colorado 		Succeeded by
Mayor of city
in which event is held
Succeeded by
Preceded byas Governor of Nebraska Order of Precedence of the United States
Outside Colorado 		Succeeded byas Governor of North Dakota

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