November 18, 2011 08:22 PM UTC

Ferrandino Unopposed, New House Minority Leader

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #2: AP’s Ivan Moreno:

After being chosen at a caucus hearing, Ferrandino recalled how his parents discouraged him from running for office because of his difficult childhood as a special education student.

“I think my parents, as parents are, protective and didn’t want to see me get hurt,” Ferrandino said. He said to students in special education: “You can do whatever you want. You put your mind to it, you can achieve.”

…Republican House Speaker Frank McNulty congratulated Ferrandino on his election and praised his work on the JBC.

“He is a good friend, and I look forward to working with him. As the House Democrat member of the Joint Budget Committee, Mark showed an interest in spending restraint,” McNulty said in a statement.

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UPDATE: Rep. Claire Levy has been appointed to replace Ferrandino on the Joint Budget Committee. Statement from Colorado Democratic Party chairman Rick Palacio after the jump.

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Leading LGBT blog Out Front Colorado fittingly has the first story up:

For the second time in ten years a member of the Colorado LGBT community will lead the Democrats in the state House of Representatives.

Denverite Rep. Mark Ferrandino was elected as minority leader by his peers.

He ran unopposed. He succeeds Pueblo’s Sal Pace who is running for Congress…

In 2009, Ferrandino was appointed to the powerful Joint Budget Committee. As minority leader he’ll have to resign from that post.

Moreover, he’ll now be in charge of appointing his colleagues to committees, help run the floor debates and votes for bills.

Republicans control the House by one vote, 33-32.

If Democrats take back the House in 2012 and Ferrandino is re-elected, he’ll be poised to become the first out gay speaker of the House in Colorado.

We’ll update with statements as they come in.

Statement by CDP Chairman Rick Palacio on Rep. Mark Ferrandino’s Election as State House Minority Leader

Denver – After Representative Mark Ferrandino was unanimously selected by his Democratic colleagues to serve as the Colorado State House Minority Leader, Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Rick Palacio released the following statement:

“Representative Ferrandino will be a strong leader for our Democratic House Caucus. His commitment to Colorado’s working families and small businesses is unwavering. I congratulate Minority Leader Ferrandino on his election and look forward to working together to fight for our Democratic values.”

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