Christine Scanlan

Christine Scanlan
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 56th district
Assumed office
January 2, 2008[1]
Preceded by Dan Gibbs
Succeeded by Millie Hamner
Personal details
Born Littleton, Colorado
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Tim
Residence Dillon, Colorado[2]
Profession nonprofit executive

Christine Scanlan (born c. 1964[2]) was a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A Democrat appointed to a vacancy in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2007, Scanlan represented House District 56, encompassing Eagle, Lake and Summit Counties, including the skiing communities of Vail and Breckenridge from 2007 to 2012.[3]

Early career

Scanlan was born in Littleton, Colorado,[4] and graduated from Columbine High School.[5] Currently a resident of Dillon, Colorado,[2] and a resident of Summit County since 1995,[6] she holds a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in nonprofit organization management from Regis University. While in school, Scanlan worked as a ski lift operator and children's ski instructor in Keystone, Colorado to help pay college expenses.[5]

Since 1994, she has worked for the Keystone Center,[7] a nonprofit focusing on science education and dispute resolution,[8] by 2007 becoming their Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In that capacity, Scanlan oversaw both Keystone's administrative offices and Keystone Science School's campus-based programs.[7]

Scanlan, who had served with the Summit School District Accountability Committee,[2] was appointed from among ten applicants to fill a vacancy on the Summit School District Board of Education in April 2004[9] and was elected to a full term in November 2005, taking the highest vote total among the seven candidates for three school board seats.[10] She was named the board's vice-president in November 2005[11] and then named its president in November 2007.[12] During her tenure on the board of education, Scanlan was critical of standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act,[13] and was a proponent of greater engagement with the local Spanish-speaking community.[2][14] In 2007, Scanlan served on a state commission on education that provided recommendations to Gov. Bill Ritter on improving Colorado public schools.[5] She also served (as of 2008) as president of the Mountain Boards of Cooperative Educational Services.[6]

Scanlan is married; she and her husband, Tim, have three daughters, Catherine, Julia, and Elise,[4] who attend Summit County public schools.[2]

Colorado House of Representatives

2007 legislative appointment

In December 2007, Rep. Dan Gibbs was appointed by a vacancy committee to the Colorado State Senate seat vacated by Joan Fitz-Gerald, leaving his seat vacant.[15] Scanlan was selected over five other applicants to fill the remainder of Gibbs' two-year term; a majority of the thirteen members of the vacancy committee present chose her on the first ballot.[16] Her appointment made her the 21st woman in a 40-member Democratic House caucus that thus became majority-female.[17] After being appointed to the legislature, Scanlan reduced her work load at the Keystone Center to a part-time position, but remained president of the Summit School Board[5] through 2008.[18]

2008 legislative session

For the 2008 legislative session, Scanlan stated that her legislative priorities include "the bark beetle, Interstate 70, economic and education issues." She intends to run for a full term in the 2008 general elections,[16] and to continue serving on the Summit School District board, although stepping down from her role as president.[4] Scanlan was also appointed by House Speaker Andrew Romanoff to replace Dan Gibbs on the Colorado Tourism Office Board of Directors.[19]

For her first legislative session, in 2008, Scanlan was appointed to the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee and the House Transportation and Energy Committee.[20] Scanlan has pressed for extension of the Colorado Forest Restoration Act, a program providing funding to local groups to mitigate forest damage and wildfire danger brought about by expanding bark beetle infestations in Colorado,[21] and is sponsoring, with Sen. Gibbs, a measure to expand the program.[22] In September 2008 Scanlan led a delegation of Summit County officials to Washington, D.C. to lobby for additional resources to combat bark beetle infestations.[23][24][25]

Scanlan sponsored a total of 11 bills during the 2008 session,[26] all of which were signed into law,[27] including measures to create an income tax donation checkoff for the Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund,[28] to extend the Colorado Passenger Tramway Board,[29] to restrict motor vehicle travel on public lands,[30] and to bring safety standards for school busses in line with federal requirements.[31] She has also sponsored legislation to create incentives for businesses that harvest and make products from trees killed by bark beetles,[32] and education reform legislation,[5] and including proposals to replace Colorado's CSAP exams with national EXPLORE, PLAN and ACT tests in upper grades,[33] and to align educational standards across grade levels.[26] With Sen. Gibbs, Scanlan was a prominent opponent of several proposals to charge tolls along the I-70 mountain corridor within her district.[26][34][35]

Following the legislative session, Scanlan was named the vice-chair of an interim legislative committee to study wildfire issues.[36]

Later in the year, Scanlan was a prominent critic of Denver Water's decision to close the Lake Dillon Dam Road for security reasons, calling the sudden closure and lack of prior notification "inexcusable,"[37][38] and praising the dam's partial re-opening several weeks later.[39] Shortly after the road was reopened, Scanlan and Sen. Dan Gibbs announced plans for legislation to prevent future unilateral closures and to encourage cooperation between agencies to share vulnerability assessments and emergency plans.[40][41]

2008 election

Early in 2008, Scanlan announced her intention to run for a full term in the state house in the November 2008 general election. She faced Republican Muhammad Ali Hasan,[5] and, as of the end of the 2008 legislation session, trailed the largely self-financing Republican in campaign funds,[42] running a lower-budget, "grassroots" campaign.[43] In April 2008, House Speaker Andrew Romanoff accompanied Scanlan on a "midterm progress report" tour of her house district.[44]

Scanlan criticized Hasan's spending as "shameful" after he loaned over $40,000 to his campaign.[45] By September, Hasan had outspent Scanlan by roughly 20-to-1, after donating nearly $200,000 to his own campaign,[46] a move Scanlan characterized as "buying name recognition."[47] Ultimately, Scanlan raised nearly $80,000 for her re-election bid,[6] as compared to Hasan's $350,000.[48] Colorado 527 group Accountability for Colorado also distributed mailers in support of Scanlan,[46] however, she expressed disapproval at their negative tone and over election laws that allow such groups to operate.[49]

During a September debate on children's issues, Scanlan touted her legislative work on standards for educational assessment and her support for charter schools, but was criticized by Hasan for promoting "too many regulations" on education and for not supporting school vouchers.[50][51] Scanlan was also critical of Hasan's plans to press for construction of a monorail along the I-70 corridor, instead supporting a thorough and coordinated study of the impacts and costs of mass transit.[52][53][54] In contrast with Hasan's advocacy of reduced regulation of national forests, Scanlan called for increased federal funding for local projects to mitigate pine beetle damage.[55]

Although Hasan was endorsed by the Vail Daily,[56] for which he was a former columnist,[57] Scanlan was endorsed by the Summit Daily News.[58] and the Denver Post.[59] Scanlan prevailed over Hasan in the general election, defeating the challenger with 53 percent of the popular vote.[6][60]

2009 legislative session

For the 2009 legislative session, Scanlan was named to seats on the House Business Affairs Committee and the House Education Committee.[61] She plans to propose an omnibus forest health bill during the 2009 session.[62]

Scanlan, with Sen. Gibbs, again led a delegation to Washington D.C. in February 2009 to lobby for funding to address fire dangers arising from the bark beetle epidemic.[63][64]

2011 legislative session

Representative Scanlan resigned her seat and was appointed Senior Education Policy Advisor for the administration of Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper.[65] She was succeeded by Democrat Millie Hamner a retired educator.[66][67][68]

References

  1. "House Journal - January 9, 2008" (pdf). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Staff report (6 October 2005). "Seven vie for school board positions". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  3. "State House District 56". COMaps. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  4. 1 2 3 DeGette, Cara (26 December 2007). "New Lawmaker Tips House Balance to Dem Women". Colorado Confidential. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lynn, Steve (4 February 2008). "Liftie turned legislator wants to represent Eagle Co.". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Allen, Robert (4 November 2008). "Scanlan's poise trumps Hasan's cash". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  7. 1 2 "Staff Bios: Christine Scanlan". Keystone Center. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  8. "About Us". Keystone Center. Archived from the original on 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  9. Sutor, Julie (28 April 2004). "Scanlan appointed to school board". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  10. Morris, Mike (1 November 2005). "Major, Scanlan retain school board seats; Groneman also joins panel". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  11. "Board of Education Meeting/Retreat Minutes - November 10, 2005" (PDF). Summit School District. Archived from the original (pdf) on February 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  12. "Board of Education Minutes - November 14, 2007" (pdf). Summit School District. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  13. Sutor, Julie (14 November 2004). "Summit Schools don't measure up against federal yardstick". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  14. Morris, Mike (21 October 2005). "School board candidates show passion, little disagreement". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  15. Associated Press (November 19, 2007). "Gibbs selected to fill Fitz-Gerald's Senate seat". KJCT8.com. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
  16. 1 2 Pounder, Lory (19 December 2007). "Scanlan appointed to fill state House seat". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
  17. "Christine Scanlan is Colorado's Newest Legislator". Colorado House Democrats. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  18. School District approves $150,000 toward turf field | SkyHiDailyNews.com
  19. "Christine Scanlan Selected to Tout Tourism for Colorado" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 6 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  20. "House Speaker Announces New Committee Assignments for 2008 Legislative Session" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 6 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  21. Renoux, Matt (20 January 2008). "Bark beetles making their way to the Front Range". 9News.com. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  22. Boyd, Anna (21 January 2008). "Increased Efforts to Combat Pine Beetle Infestation in Colorado". eFluxMedia. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  23. "Rep. Scanlan Calls On Washington To Act Now On Bark Beetle Epidemic" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  24. Dickson, Ashley (7 September 2008). "Scanlan off to D.C. to fight pine-beetle epidemic". Sumit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
  25. Staff Reports (10 September 2008). "Scanlan receives support for beetle battl". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  26. 1 2 3 Dickson, Ashley (26 May 2008). "Officials wrap up busy state session". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  27. Hascall, K.J. (5 June 2008). "Local frosh lawmaker turns heads in Denver". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  28. "Bill Protecting Colorado's Rivers and Streams Advances in the House" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 12 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  29. "Now Kids, Play Safe" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  30. Doan, Kay (10 July 2007). "State Representative Scanlan presents new bills". Greeley Tribune. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  31. Dickson, Ashley (27 February 2008). "Scanlan passes two bills out of committee". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-03-02.
  32. Dickson, Ashley (12 March 2008). "New bill offers incentives for beetle-kill removal". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  33. Saccone, Mike (8 March 2008). "CSAP out, ACT in?". Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  34. Ingold, John (28 March 2008). "$5 tolls for I-70 given a little gas". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  35. Dickson, Ashley (13 March 2008). "Summit reps frown on Interstate 70 tolls". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  36. Saccone, Mike (22 July 2008). "Republicans wonder what's up with Democrat-led wildfire panel". Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  37. Dickson, Ashley; Harriet Hamilton (8 July 2008). "Denver Water shutting down Dillon Dam Road permanently". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  38. Scanlon, Bill (10 July 2008). "Closing of Dillon Dam Road angers Summit officials". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  39. McPhee, Mike (25 July 2008). "After uproar, Dillon Dam road reopens". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  40. Dickson, Ashley (29 July 2008). "Proposed law would keep Dam Road open". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  41. "Rep. Scanlan & Sen. Gibbs Announce New Legislation To Protect Dillon Dam Road & Encourage Greater Cooperation" (Press release). 29 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-08.
  42. Lynn, Steve (27 May 2008). "Republican candidates lead Eagle County money race". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  43. Allen, Robert (14 September 2008). "Grassroots Dem confident in record, reputation". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  44. Brown, Keely (6 April 2008). "'The pace is crazy'". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  45. Lynn, Steve (10 July 2007). "Edwards: State candidate blasts spending". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  46. 1 2 Stoner, Edward (11 September 2008). "Outside money roils race for Eagle Co's state rep". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  47. Ingold, John (1 October 2008). "Parties try to nibble at other's standing". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  48. Williams, David O. (22 December 2008). "Hasan spent more than $350,000 on failed state House bid". The Colorado Independent. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
  49. Allen, Robert (6 November 2008). "Character-attack ads in Summit County disgusted state House candidates". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  50. Stoner, Edward (25 September 2008). "Hasan, Scanlan talk schools". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  51. Allen, Robert (29 October 2008). "Summit County: House candidates clash on education". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  52. Allen, Robert (30 September 2008). "House District 56 candidates weigh in on I-70 monorail". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  53. Stoner, Edward (30 September 2008). "Scanlan discusses I-70 traffic". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  54. Allen, Robert (4 October 2008). "Monorail splits state House race". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  55. Allen, Robert (22 October 2008). "House candidates take alternate approaches to beetle-kill efforts". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  56. Editorial Board (2 October 2008). "Call us crazy: Hasan for HD 56". Vail Daily. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  57. Williams, David O. (17 October 2008). "'Call them crazy'? Vail Daily endorses Hasan, a former columnist, in House race". The Colorado Independent. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  58. Editorial Board (24 September 2008). "Editorial: Scanlan for House District 56". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  59. Editorial Board (17 October 2008). "Post's picks in Colorado's House of Representatives". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  60. "Colorado Statewide Cumulative Report - 2008 General Election". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  61. "House Democrats Unveil 2009 Committee Chairs & Assignments" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 18 November 2008.
  62. Staff Reports (1 December 2008). "DThere's gold in them thar Summit County trees". Summit Daily News. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  63. Sealover, Ed (19 February 2009). "Mrs. Scanlan goes to Washington". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  64. Williams, David O. (25 February 2009). "Avon's Sipes seeks to tie biomass plant to wastewater heat exchange in downtown core". RealVail.com. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  65. "Governor John Hickenlooper - Office of Legislative Relations". Office of Governor John Hickenlooper - Office of Legislative Relations - Appointments.
  66. "Colorado General Assembly - Representative Millie Hamner".
  67. "CO - Election Results - Colorado Secretary of State".
  68. "State House 2012 Election Results - Denver Post".
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