Senate Democrats on Friday chose James Coleman, an eight-year legislator who has sponsored numerous workforce-development bills and carries a reputation as a collaborator, to be president of the upper body of the Legislature for the next two years.
Coleman succeeds Steve Fenberg, who was term-limited from seeking re-election after serving as Senate president since midway through the 2022 session. Opposite him, Republicans chose Sen. Paul Lundeen of Monument to continue as minority leader after they were able to flip one seat in Tuesday’s election and stop Democrats from achieving a supermajority in the chamber.
Behind the scenes over the past few months, Coleman and Sen. Julie Gonzales of Denver, one of the most prominent progressives at the Capitol, had been competing for the votes to hold the top post in the chamber. But Gonzales opted against seeking the nomination Friday, allowing Coleman to win by acclimation and lead a caucus that holds a 23-12 lead in seats but also holds major divisions among members, as was evidenced in legislative-leader election speeches.
Although Coleman did not list specific priorities Friday, returning Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez, D-Denver, cited affordable housing, sustainable infrastructure and a quality workforce as issues the caucus will seek to tackle. Coleman, who also represents Denver and has served the past two years as the Senate President Pro Tempore, focused his limited remarks on how he intends to represent the breadth of views in his caucus.
Who is James Coleman?
Colorado state Sen. James Coleman speaks in April in the Senate about his construction-defects reform bill.
“It’s been an honor to serve for the last eight years in the Legislature and develop meaningful policy,” he said during a meeting that Democrats moved to a virtual setting in anticipation of the coming snowstorm. “My priority is you, my caucus … No one will out-serve me serving you. We are a family.”
Coleman, who served four years in the House before serving the past four in the Senate and cruising to re-election this week, is in many ways a bridge between the progressive wing of the caucus and the more pragmatic wing that’s frustrated progressives by watering down and killing key bills over the past two years. He does not speak frequently on bills either on the floor or in committee but is known for working behind the scenes to try to tamp down some of the most controversial efforts and find compromise.
His business-focused bills tend to deal with increasing access to the labor force, such as successful measures this year that will make it easier for skilled tradespeople to stack their credentials and for convicted felons to gain or regain professional licensing. However, he also stepped into the fight this year over construction-defects reform and passed a bill to limit defects-related lawsuits by a 25-8 margin (with cosponsoring Sen. Rachel Zenzinger) before it died in the House.
One of the first things Coleman likely will seek to address is the simmering schism between pragmatists and progressives that was on display during Friday’s caucus meeting. More moderate Democrats have killed efforts to allow local rent-control laws, expand the ability to file deceptive-trade-practices lawsuits and boost air-quality regulations, among other things, leaving progressives feeling like they’ve wasted their massive margin.
Senate Democrats divided between progressives, pragmatists
Colorado state Sen. Dylan Roberts speaks on the Senate floor during the 2023 session.
Sen. Dylan Roberts of Frisco, one of the leading moderate Democratic voices, took that issue head-on as he ran unopposed to be caucus chair. “There is much relationship-building that needs to be done within this group,” Roberts said, citing unspecified acts of what he called “wholly unprofessional behavior” from some caucus members to others.
While most of the Democratic leadership positions were elected unanimously — including Sens. Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Commerce City as President Pro Tem and Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo as majority whip — the moderate/liberal split was evident in two contested races.
Sen. Lisa Cutter of Morrison, lauded by Sen. Jessie Danielson of Wheat Ridge for having “crafted and passed significant progressive legislation,” defeated Sen.-elect Lindsey Daugherty of Arvada to become assistant majority leader, the No. 3 role in the chamber. Cutter’s efforts have included passage of a fee-funded statewide recycling plan, expansion of the ban on commercial products with intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals and attempts to increase regulations on air-quality permits.
But Sen.-elect Judy Amabile of Boulder, a former manufacturing company owner who spoke of her ability to reach across the aisle, won an open position on the powerful six-person Joint Budget Committee, joining Sen. Jeff Bridges of Greenwood Village, who’s known as a pragmatist. She defeated Sen. Janice Marchman of Loveland, a more progressive lawmaker who had argued in her nomination speech that Democrats’ JBC team should reflect the ideological makeup of their caucus.
Senate Republicans also choose leaders
Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen speaks on the final day of the 2023 legislative session against Senate Bill 303.
Senate Republicans, who met Thursday, elected Sen. Cleave Simpson of Alamosa, a water and agricultural expert who is one of the more moderate caucus members, as assistant minority leader, the No. 2 job in the caucus behind Lundeen. They also chose Sens. Byron Pelton of Sterling as caucus chair and Janice Rich of Grand Junction as minority whip and reappointed Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer of Weld County as their lone JBC member.
“Our caucus is uniquely diverse in representing a wide array of perspectives, expertise and experience, and experience from every corner of the state,” Lundeen said in a news release. “This caucus now carries the heavy mantle of applying this expertise into service, not just to our own constituents but to the entire state.”
House Democrats postponed their leadership elections, which originally had been schedule for Friday, until Monday, as ballots continue to be counted in several close races. House Republicans met Friday and re-elected Rep. Rose Pugliese of Colorado Springs as minority leader to head up their leadership slate.
The 120-day 2025 legislative session is scheduled to begin on Jan. 8.