The Colorado Democratic Party is the state affiliate of the United States Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

. Its chair is Rick Palacio

Rick Palacio

Rick Palacio is the current Chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party. He was born in Pueblo, Colorado and is a sixth-generation Coloradan. Rick attended Pueblo County High School, and later Regis University in Denver....

, and its executive director is Alec Garnett.

The remaining officers are:
Beverly Benevidez Ryken - First Vice Chair;
Vivian Stoval - Second Vice Chair;
Carolyn Boller - Secretary;
Sherry Jackson - Treasurer.

The governing body of the Party is the State Central Committee, which consists of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Democratic Party in each of Colorado's 64 counties, and "bonus" members for larger counties.

Each county party elects its officers between February 1 and February 15 of each odd-numbered year; the state party then elects its officers in March of odd-numbered years.

Responsibilities

The Colorado Democratic Party is responsible for arranging and staging the state convention in Presidential years and the state assembly every two years. The state convention selects delegates to the Democratic National Convention

Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...

 and Colorado's two at-large Presidential electors. The state assembly designates candidates for statewide offices, including the offices of Governor

Governor of Colorado

The Governor of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the...

, Attorney-General, Colorado

Secretary of State of Colorado

The Secretary of State of Colorado is the secretary of state of the state of Colorado in the United States. The office is one of five elected constitutional offices in the state...

, Treasurer

Treasurer

A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

, C.U. Regent At-Large, and United States Senator. The party also adopts its platform at the state assembly.

Principles

Based on its 2010 party platform, it is the party's goal to respect all people and pledge to build and maintain a nation that is secure and respected worldwide for living up to the basic principles of our Constitution and for maintaining the same high standards for all international relations, support the equal right of all people to have freedom of expression, religion and the pursuit of happiness as well as a quality public education, a clean and safe environment, a secure and healthy future, a fair living wage, secure retirement, equal opportunity, and universal access to quality health care, honor the privacy and security of every individual, and an ethical government and society that is fair, open and fully accountable to all people, realize that citizenship entails responsibility to the commonwealth of our nation and support the fair and just contribution of all citizens, and accept our fundamental responsibility to all future generations to pursue only policies that are sustainable and maintain or improve global well-being.

U.S. House of Representatives

• Diana DeGette
  Diana DeGette
  Diana Louise DeGette is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997, and a Chief Deputy Whip. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is based in Denver.-Early life, education and career:...
  
  , 1st District
  Colorado's 1st congressional district
  Colorado's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado based primarily in the City and County of Denver in the central part of the state...
  
  
• Jared Polis
  Jared Polis
  Jared Schutz Polis is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
  
  , 2nd District
  Colorado's 2nd congressional district
  Colorado's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. The district is located in the north-central part of the state and encompasses the northwestern suburbs of Denver including Boulder, Northglenn, Thornton, and Westminster...
  
  
• Ed Perlmutter
  Ed Perlmutter
  Edwin George "Ed" Perlmutter is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.- Early life, education and career:...
  
  , 7th District
  Colorado's 7th congressional district
  Colorado's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in the central part of the state, the district encompasses much of the northern parts of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, including the suburbs of Lakewood, Arvada, and Aurora as well as the...
  
  

Statewide offices

• Governor
  Governor of Colorado
  The Governor of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the...
  
  : John Hickenlooper
  John Hickenlooper
  John Wright Hickenlooper is an American politician and current Governor of Colorado. A Democrat, he was previously the Mayor of Denver, Colorado from 2003 to 2011.-Early life, education and career:...
  
  
• Lieutenant Governor
  Lieutenant Governor of Colorado
  The lieutenant governor of Colorado is the second-highest-ranking member of the executive department of the Colorado state government, below only the Governor of Colorado. The lieutenant governor, who acts as governor in his absence and succeeds to the governorship in case of vacancy, is elected on...
  
  : Joseph A. Garcia
  Joseph A. Garcia
  Joseph A. Garcia , is the 48th and current Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, having taken office in January 2011.-Educational background:...
  
  

Legislative leadership

Colorado General Assembly

The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado.-Constitutional definition:The Colorado Constitution establishes a system of government based on the separation of powers doctrine with power divided among three "departments": executive, legislative and judicial...

• President of the Senate: Brandon Shaffer
  Brandon Shaffer
  Brandon Shaffer is the current President of the Colorado State Senate representing Senate District 17, which encompasses the cities of Longmont, Lafeyette, Erie, and Louisville. Shaffer, a lifelong Democrat, was first elected as a State Senator in November 2004, and was reelected in 2008...
  
  
  • Senate Majority Leader: John P. Morse
• House Minority Leader: Mark Ferrandino
  Mark Ferrandino
  Mark Steven Ferrandino is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado and the Minority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives. Appointed to the legislature in 2007, Ferrandino represents House District 2, encompassing south central Denver...