Sen. Lucia Guzman of Denver and Sen.-elect Kerry Donovan of Vail at the Colorado Senate Democratic caucus election in 2014. The caucus will meet again next week at the state Capitol to elect Guzman as minority leader. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)
Denver Sen. Lucia Guzman will become the head of the Democratic caucus when it meets next week to elect a new minority leader to replace Sen. Morgan Carroll.
Carroll is stepping down as minority leader — but staying on a senator — after announcing Tuesday she is running for Congress in the 6th District . Carroll is expected to announce sometime today that she is going to resign as minority leader effective next week.
Outgoing Colorado Senate President, Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, has a laugh with new Senate President, Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, on the opening day of the 2015 session. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
Guzman served as the Senate president pro tem — Carroll was the Senate president — when the Democrats were in the majority.
But that changed after Republicans last November won control for the first time in a decade. Carroll’s caucus elected her minority leader, and the GOP caucus elected Bill Cadman of Colorado Springs as the Senate president. Republicans have an 18-17 majority.
two terms on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education, worked as a pastor for two Methodist churches in Denver and at one time oversaw Denver’s Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations.
She is well liked by Republican lawmakers. When Guzman’s garden was featured in The Denver Post, Sen. David Balmer of Centennial went to the microphone, and asked for her autograph.
Colorado Sen. Lucia Guzman cuts chard at her Denver garden. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
