Gov.-elect Bill Ritter announced Thursday the appointment of his first two Cabinet members, who will oversee Colorado higher education and run the state’s employment and jobs department.
Former U.S. Rep. David Skaggs will head the Department of Higher Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. He will oversee 28 public colleges and universities as well as various loan and cultural programs.
Former Denver Auditor Don Mares will be the state’s labor and employment director, assisting injured and unemployed workers and ensuring fair labor practices.
Mares said he will also help with the “creation of good jobs and the retention of good jobs.”
Mares and Skaggs are expected to start Jan. 9, when Ritter is sworn in as governor.
Additionally, Ritter announced that Michael Locatis will head the state’s information and technology department. Locatis is head of technology for the city and county of Denver.
“Colorado is blessed with some of the brightest, most energetic and innovative-minded people in the country,” Ritter said in a statement. “This trio is no exception.”
Skaggs, who received a law degree from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, represented the 2nd Congressional District from 1987 to 1999. He also served six years in the Colorado House and was a Marine in Vietnam.
He founded the Center for Democracy & Citizenship at the Council for Excellence in Government, based in Washington. The center focuses on improving civic education in schools and encouraging voting and public service.
Skaggs said he accepted the job in the Ritter administration because higher education is “as important as any other thing that state government can do to improve the lives of young people.”
Mares served as Denver’s auditor from 1995 to 2003, and as a state representative and senator from 1989 to 1995.
He is special counsel with Fleishman & Shapiro in Denver. Mares serves on the Colorado State Personnel Board and the leadership council for Escuela de Guadalupe. He has a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown contributed to this report.
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
