Former Colorado Senate President Ray Powers, a champion for transportation projects and one of the state’s last long-serving lawmakers, died this morning in his home at Powers Ranch Colorado Springs.
He was 79.
Powers, a Republican who represented El Paso County, served in the legislature for 22 years, the last two as Senate president. Term limits forced him from office in 2000, making him among the first longtime legislators to have to leave because of the rule that limits time in any single office to 8 years.
“He’s considered the patriarch of the El Paso County Republican Party,” said current Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, a Republican from Colorado Springs who held campaign fundraisers in the barn on Powers’ farm. “The thing about Ray that I was always impressed with was he knew exactly who he was. He was comfortable in his own skin.
“He didn’t have to do any polls. He knew what he stood for and nobody was going to back him away from it.”
Powers’ wife, Dorothy, found her husband dead Friday morning at their home after returning from having coffee with friends, McElhany said. Powers had been sick in recent months, said McElhany and family friend Kathy Oatis.
“He was a wonderful man,” Oatis said. “He gave so much wisdom to everybody.”
Former Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, said Powers will best be remembered for his accomplishments on transportation funding measures.
Powers was the sponsor in 1997 of Senate Bill 1, which established the mechanism for putting money into roads and transit projects still used today. McElhany said the measure — despite being somewhat obscure to the general public — has resulted in billions of dollars going to the state’s transportation system.
Powers was also the sponsor of a bill in 1999 that led to the funding package for the T-REX and COSMIX Interstate 25 expansions as well as 23 other transportation projects around the state.
Owens, who saw the bill as a centerpiece of his agenda, said Powers was crucial in winning support for the bill, which passed with bipartisan backing but also with objections from Republicans and Democrats.
“Without Ray’s support, that might not have ever happened,” Owens said of the projects.
Powers’ accomplishments came despite the fact that he never finished high school, McElhany said. When Powers was 14, McElhany said, Powers’ father died, and the boy had to quit school to work full-time on the family dairy farm.
Owens said Powers didn’t rule the Senate with an iron gavel.
“With Ray, it was more based on personality and friendship,” Owens said. “People liked Ray Powers. He didn’t need to wield a heavy stick because he was generally able to convince people to follow.”
Fred Brown, a political commentator and the former statehouse bureau chief for The Denver Post, said Powers developed a reputation as a “coalition builder” toward the end of his political career.
“He had his critics, but he also had some real fans,” Brown said.
Powers is survived by his wife, Dorothy; daughter, Janet, stepson Steve, five grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, and a sister, Marjorie Morford of Colorado.
A memorial service for Powers will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Church of the Nazarene, 4120 E. Fountain Blvd., in Colorado Springs.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ray Powers Memorial at First Nazarene Church.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com.
