State Sen. Janet Buckner speaks at an event hosted by Colorado’s Black Democratic Legislative Caucus to provide a 2023 legislative preview at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance in Denver, Jan. 25, 2023. (Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline)
A second Colorado state senator will step down shortly after winning another four-year term.
Sen. Janet Buckner, an Aurora Democrat, announced Thursday that she will resign from her seat in Senate District 29 on Jan. 9, one day after the start of the upcoming legislative session.
“After a personally challenging year, it is time for me to step aside and prioritize my family and health. I am grateful to my constituents in Senate District 29 for their trust, and to my colleagues in both the House and Senate who have graciously supported me. I leave with full confidence that SD29 will continue to thrive under thoughtful and dedicated leadership,” she said in a statement.
Buckner ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and general election this year.
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She was first appointed to the House in 2015 to serve the remainder of her husband’s term after his death. She served in the House until her election to the Senate in 2020. She is the chair of the Senate Education Committee and sits on the Senate Finance Committee.
In a statement, Gov. Jared Polis praised Buckner’s work on education and healthcare. Buckner sponsored various bills to establish Colorado’s universal preschool program.
“When her husband John passed away in 2015, Janet didn’t hesitate to step up and powerfully build upon the legacy of his service. Janet and John are giants of the community and will leave a lasting legacy,” the Democrat said.
Last week, state Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat, also said he will step down from the Legislature after he accepted a job with an electric cooperative in southwestern Colorado. Hansen beat his Libertarian challenger in the general election by about 60,000 votes.
Both Buckner and Hansen will be replaced by a vacancy committee made up of Democrats from their district. Vacancy committees are often composed of highly-involved party insiders and range from a handful to over one hundred members. Those replacements will need to run for reelection in 2026 to serve the entirety of Buckner and Hansen’s new terms, per vacancy rules.
The vacancy committee meetings will likely be in early January.
Scrutiny on vacancy process
Hansen told the Colorado Sun last week that he is supporting Rep.-elect Sean Camacho to replace him in the Senate. Camacho was just elected for his first term representing House District 6 in Denver. If Camacho is picked, another vacancy committee would need to meet to decide his replacement.
Buckner’s announcement prompted a call for vacancy process reform from Shad Murib, the chair of the Colorado Democratic Party. In a statement, he said he intends to communicate with Polis, Secretary of State Jena Griswold and legislative leadership in the coming days “to begin the conversation” on reform.
An analysis earlier this year by Colorado Politics found that nearly 30% of the General Assembly’s 100 senators and representatives had been appointed to a legislative seat by a vacancy committee at some point in their tenure.
“The growing number of senators and representatives of both parties serving in office as a result of vacancy committee selections and not traditional elections should concern every Coloradan, and it certainly concerns me,” Murib said. “Regardless of the high standards we place on ourselves to run as great a vacancy committee process as law allows, the fact remains that vacancy committees are small and don’t provide for the same type of public input and scrutiny as a traditional election.”
Colorado is one of five states that uses partisan vacancy committees to replace lawmakers. Other states either have a special election, governor appointment or county commissioner appointment. Special elections are most common, but they can be expensive and logistically difficult.
“Speculation that lawmakers strategize their resignations to hand-pick their replacements, or climb the ladder of elected office, is also a growing sentiment among the public,” Murib said. “While we have worked hard to prevent this from ever occurring, it is incumbent on us to do everything we can to bolster trust in our democracy by acknowledging and addressing this issue proactively.”
Last session, Democratic Rep. Bob Marshall of Highlands Ranch introduced a bill for a ballot measure that would have barred appointed lawmakers from running in the general election following their vacancy committee appointment. It did not get a floor vote.
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