Candidate for House, Colorado , District #2

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Bio

Joan Hogan Fitz-Gerald was the third child of Jeanne and Joseph Hogan. She was born on June 2, 1948 in New York City. Joan and her siblings were raised by a single mother who taught school and instilled the importance of education in their lives.

Upon graduation from Holy Cross Academy, Joan was awarded several scholarships to college including the New York State Regent's Scholarship and a private scholarship sponsored by Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Mayor Robert F. Wagner. She went to Marymount Manhattan College earning a B.A. degree in political science and history.

After college, Joan briefly attended Fordham University Law School at night while working during the day. While attending Fordham, she met her future husband John Fitz-Gerald, an Army veteran and son of Irish immigrants. John had also been taught the value of hard work as well as what public support of education could do through the G.I. Bill.

In 1977, John's job brought Joan and their two young sons, to Jefferson County where the beauty and quality of life in Colorado has kept them ever since.

In 1990 while serving as vice-chair of the Jefferson County Democratic Party, the Democrats found they had no candidate to run for the post of Clerk & Recorder. County Chairman Mike Armstrong reminded Joan that it had been her idea for the county party to adopt a policy of fielding candidates for every office no matter how difficult and ordered her to "bite the bullet" and run. No Democrat had won the post of Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder in the county's more than 100 year history. Underfunded and overlooked, Joan vowed to bring the two-party system into the county courthouse. Joan was determined to put on a real campaign. "I walked a lot of suburban streets alone, knocking on doors and talking to people about what they wanted from the office," said Fitz-Gerald. "I remember feeling that no matter how much I did, and how many people I met, I wasn't putting a dent in the 800 square miles of Jefferson County." She did make a dent. Despite pundits saying a Democrat with a New York accent could not win in Republican-leaning Jefferson County, Joan was elected Clerk & Recorder and re-elected in 1994.

As Clerk, she extended the hours of the motor vehicle office without increasing personnel or going over budget. Fitz-Gerald also made elections more accessible by pioneering the use of mail ballots in Colorado. For this innovation Joan and her staff received an award from the National Association of Counties. Governor Roy Romer twice appointed Fitz-Gerald to the Motor Vehicle Board. On behalf of the Colorado Clerks Association Joan served as co-chair of the Clerks' legislative committee. In her free time, Joan taught civics to students around Jefferson County with the hope of inspiring some of them to run for public office someday. "Look around your classroom and think about those with whom you agree and those with whom you disagree," she told students. "If you don't run for office, someone else here will. This is how democracies are run--by us."

Following her own advice, Joan ran for U.S. Congress in 1996 against a 16-year Republican incumbent. Her bid failed to unseat him but the lessons she learned about campaigning and about life were invaluable. "The 1996 campaign was an enormous challenge," said Fitz-Gerald. "But I was far from alone. The scores of volunteers I worked with were so wonderful and they gave of their time so willingly, I will never forget them. So much of my years in office and my campaigns were about building bridges between constituency groups. This is the most satisfying aspect of being in public service."

In 2000, Joan announced her race for state Senate against an incumbent Republican in what was widely regarded as an uphill race. In the midst of the campaign, Joan's opponent dropped out and she won a narrow victory in November against an opponent appointed by the Republican vacancy committee.

By 2002 Joan was able to win re-election by a comfortable margin and was elected by her colleagues as minority leader of the state Senate. For the next two years she led the senate Democratic caucus. Joan was determined to bring them into the majority. Her successful drive to bring the senate Democrats back into the majority was matched by the house Democrats success at the same time so that for the first time in 44 years Democrats controlled both chambers of the state legislature after the 2004 election.

In January, 2005 the state senate elected Joan Fitz-Gerald President of the Colorado State Senate, the first woman ever to hold the position. Shortly thereafter, she was recognized for her accomplishments nationally when she was elected Chair of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a national party committee that works to change legislative chambers. She was the first woman ever elected to chair the DLCC.

For the next two years Joan led the majority on an ambitious agenda to provide access to affordable healthcare, to improve public education and to develop economic security. As Joan stated in her opening day remarks as President of the state Senate, "I see an opportunity to provide every family with a paycheck, every child with a textbook, and every patient with a doctor." Unfortunately, years of budget cutting due to a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment nick-named "TABOR" was threatening the core functions of the state government and needed to be addressed first. Despite opposition from the Republican minority in the legislature, Joan brokered a compromise with the Governor and nine Republican members of the state Senate to take a question to the state-wide ballot asking voters for a five-year pause from the ratcheting-down effects of TABOR. Referendum C was put on the November 2005 ballot and passed by voters.

By November, 2006 the prospects of the Democratic majority brightened with additional seats to both the Senate and House Democratic caucuses. Joan was re-elected President of the state Senate.

During the 2007 legislative session, Joan sponsored Senate Bill 97 that provided millions more for CU Health Sciences Center, rural health care, children's health care, mental health, and drug and alcohol treatment programs.

Senate Bill 100, also sponsored by Joan, increases the reliability of electrical power by identifying the best areas for renewable energy production. It encourages utilities to build transmission lines to connect these renewable energy sites to Colorado's power grid in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

Joan also has been instrumental in developing, sponsoring and implementing vital legislation to deal with the pine beetle infestation. Grand and Summit Counties are among the hardest hit counties in Colorado. Her resolution and bills on the infestation provide community protection, improve forest resilience and create local economic opportunities.

As the wife and daughter of military veterans, Joan supports the bi-partisan efforts in Congress to bring this war to a close. She wants to ensure that our troops are fully trained and equipped and our veterans are receiving the health care and support that their sacrifice and courage demand.

Joan supported resolutions in the Colorado Senate that opposed troop escalation and honored military veterans, and fallen soldiers.

On April 18th, 2007 Joan announced her candidacy for U.S. Representative from the 2nd Congressional District of Colorado by filing candidate papers with the Federal Election Commission. In her announcement Fitz-Gerald stated, "Together, we have accomplished a lot and seen many positive changes here in Colorado, and now it's time for us to help the nation solve tough problems like our country's health care crisis and getting our troops out of Iraq."

The Fitz-Geralds reside in Coal Creek Canyon, Jefferson County with an energetic nine-year old Chesapeake/Labrador named "Chewy".

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