Governor of Colorado
| Party | Governors |
|---|---|
| Democratic | 21 |
| Republican | 19 |
| Populist | 1 |
The following is a list of the Governors of the State of Colorado, as well as Colorado Territory and the extralegal Territory of Jefferson. The governor is the chief executive of the state, and commander-in-chief of the state military forces.
In the circumstance that the office is vacant through death, resignation, removal, or other disability, the lieutenant governor takes the oath of office and becomes, rather than acts, as governor. If both the governor and lieutenant governor are incapacitated, the line of succession moves down through the senior members of the state senate and state house of representatives of the same party as the governor. In this case, too, the replacement actually becomes governor rather than acting in the office. Governors and lieutenant governors are elected to four-year terms, to commence on the second Tuesday in January, and are limited to two terms.
Until 1967, the governor and lieutenant governor were elected on separate tickets for two-year terms. This was increased to four years in 1967, and in 1986 the constitution was amended to elect the two offices on the same ticket. The term limit was added to the constitution in 1991.
The current governor is Bill Ritter, who took office on January 9 2007.
Governors
The region that would become Colorado was obtained in three parts by the United States: first in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, then the Mexican Cession after the Mexican-American War in 1848, and a thin slice was also claimed by the Republic of Texas in 1835 and added to the United States when Texas was annexed in 1845. The Purchase was initially a military district commanded by Amos Stoddard. It was split in 1804 into Orleans Territory and the District of Louisiana, which was placed under the jurisdiction of Indiana Territory. In 1805, the district was organized as Louisiana Territory, and renamed Missouri Territory in 1812, to avoid confusion with the new state of Louisiana. It was later split into many other territories, four of which made up modern-day Colorado. For the period between Missouri statehood and the formation of the new territories in 1850, the eastern parcel of Colorado was unorganized territory.
For the Purchase section, see the lists of governors for the territories of Indiana (1804–1805), Missouri (1805–1821), New Mexico (1850–1861), Utah (1850–1861), Kansas (1854–1861), and Nebraska (1854–1861). For the Texan section, see the list of presidents of the Republic of Texas (1836–1845), and the list of governors of the state of Texas (1845–1848). The region before Texan independence and the Mexican Cession was nominally part of the Spanish and Mexican territory of Santa Fé de Nuevo México; see the list of Spanish governors of New Mexico for the period prior to 1835.
Governor of the Territory of Jefferson
The self-proclaimed Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was organized on October 24 1859.[A] Jefferson Territory included all of the present State of Colorado, but it extended about 3 miles (5 km) farther east, 138 miles (222 km) farther north, and about 50 miles (80 km) farther west. The territory was never recognized by the federal government, but many of the laws enacted by the Jefferson Territory were later affirmed or reenacted by the Colorado General Assembly.
| # | Name | Took office | Left office | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert Williamson Steele | November 7 1859 | June 6 1861 | Democratic | [2][3] |
Governors of the Territory of Colorado
The Territory of Colorado was formed on February 28 1861, from parts of the territories of New Mexico, Utah, and Nebraska, and the unorganized territory that was previously the western portion of Kansas Territory.[B] It had seven governors before becoming a state, one of whom served two nonconsecutive terms.
| # | Name | Took office | Left office | Party | Appointed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Gilpin | March 25 1861[D] | March 26 1862 | Republican | Abraham Lincoln | [4][5] |
| 2 | John Evans | March 26 1862[D] | October 17 1865 | Republican | Abraham Lincoln | [6] |
| 3 | Alexander Cummings | October 17 1865[G] | April 24 1867 | Republican | Andrew Johnson | |
| 4 | Alexander Cameron Hunt | April 24 1867[G] | June 14 1869 | Republican | Andrew Johnson | |
| 5 | Edward M. McCook | June 14 1869[H] | 1873 | Republican | Ulysses S. Grant | [7] |
| 6 | Samuel Hitt Elbert | April 4 1873[I] | 1874 | Republican | Ulysses S. Grant | [8] |
| 7 | Edward M. McCook | June 19 1874[H] | March 29 1875 | Republican | Ulysses S. Grant | |
| 8 | John Long Routt | March 29 1875[J] | August 1 1876 | Republican | Ulysses S. Grant |
Governors of the State of Colorado
Colorado was admitted to the Union on August 1 1876.[C] Since then, it has had 36 governors, serving 41 distinct terms.
Republican Democratic Populist
Notes
- ^ Table only includes state governors. An additional 8 Republicans served as territorial governor.
- ^ The formation of the territory as well as the election for governor were held on the same day, October 24 1859. Steele opened the legislature on November 7 1859; assuming he would not have taken office on election day, this is the date used.
- ^ Robert Williamson Steele proclaimed Jefferson Territory dissolved on June 6 1861, several months after the official formation of Colorado Territory.
- ^ The territory was formed on February 28 1861, but no governor was appointed until March 25 1861. Gilpin himself did not arrive in the territory until May 27 1861.[E]
- ^ Removed from office for improper financial drafts from the federal treasury.
- ^ Resigned at the request of President Johnson following the Sand Creek Massacre. The resignation was requested on July 18 1865.[F]
- ^ Removed from office by petition.[H]
- ^ Records show Elbert served "less than a year", but his successor was only appointed in June 19, which was 14 months after Elbert took office.[I]
- ^ a b c The 1904 election was rife with fraud and controversy. Alva Adams won election, but soon after he took office, the Republican legislature declared James Peabody to be the actual winner, on the condition that Peabody immediately resign. Since Peabody had been governor for a few moments before resigning, it was his lieutenant governor, Jesse McDonald, that succeeded to the governorship. In all, Colorado had three governors on March 17, 1905.
- ^ Resigned to take elected seat in the United States Senate.
- ^ a b c As lieutenant governor, filled unexpired term.
- ^ Resigned to take seat on the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
- ^ Resigned to be Director of the Office of Energy Policy.
- ^ Governor Ritter's first term expires on January 11 2011; he is not yet term limited.
Other high offices held
This is a table of congressional offices held by governors.[K] All representatives and senators mentioned represented Colorado. * denotes those offices which the governor resigned to take.
| Name | Gubernatorial term | Other offices held |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Spalding Thomas | 1899–1901 | U.S. Senator |
| John Franklin Shafroth | 1909–1913 | U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator |
| Edwin Carl Johnson | 1933–1937, 1955–1957 | U.S. Senator* |
Living former governors
As of January 2008, four former governors were alive, the oldest being John David Vanderhoof (1973–1975, born 1922). The most recent governor to die was John Arthur Love (1963–1973), on January 21 2002.
| Name | Gubernatorial term | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| John David Vanderhoof | 1973–1975 | May 27 1922 |
| Richard "Dick" Lamm | 1975–1987 | August 12 1935 |
| Roy Romer | 1987–1999 | October 31 1928 |
| Bill Owens | 1999–2007 | October 22 1950 |
See also
References
- General
- Office of the Governor of the State of Colorado
- Biographies of the Governors of Colorado from the Colorado State Archives
- The Territorial Governors Collection from the Colorado State Archives
- Colorado Constitution, Article IV - Executive Department
- "Governors of Colorado". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
- Specific
- [A] ^ J.E. Wharton and D.O. Wilhelm (1866). "History of Denver with a Full and Complete Business Directory" (HTML). Leona L. Gustafson. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|year=(help); More than one of|host=and|author=specified (help)CS1 maint: year (link) - [B] ^ Thirty-sixth United States Congress (1861-02-28). "An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado" (PDF). State of Colorado, Department of Personnel and Administration, Colorado State Archives. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - [C] ^ President of the United States of America (1876-08-01). "Proclamation of the Admission of Colorado to the Union" (php). The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - [D] 1 2 Houston Jr., Robert B. (2005). Two Colorado Odysseys: Chief Ouray Porter Nelson. p. 3. ISBN 0595358608.
- [E] ^ McGinnis, Ralph Y. (1994). Abraham Lincoln and the Western Territories. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 58. ISBN 0830412476.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - [F] ^ "Correspondence from W. H. Seward to Gov. John Evans, re: Request by President for Resignation - 7/18/1865". Colorado State Archives. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- [G] 1 2 "Alexander Cummings". Colorado State Archives. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- [H] 1 2 3 "Edward Moody McCook". Colorado State Archives. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- [I] 1 1 "Samuel Hitt Elbert". Colorado State Archives. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- [J] ^ "John L. Routt". Colorado State Archives. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- [K] ^ "Governors of Colorado". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
