Legislative Action Report
| Jurisdiction | Colorado,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 5 No. 9 Pg. 1321 |
| Pages | 1321 |
| Publication year | 1976 |
1976, September, Pg. 1321. Legislative Action Report
Lawyer-legislators will be scarce in Colorado's 51st General Assembly, which voters may choose at the November 2 general election. They may be little more numerous than they are in the current legislature that has 17 lawyers--- eight senators and nine representatives---among its 100 members.
Twenty-two lawyers have accepted designations for legislative posts, the secretary of state's list shows, but many of them face opposition in the September 13 primary elections. Defeat in a primary would, if course, eliminate a candidate from the general election. It appears possible that in three races lawyers will represent each party--- which means that at least three of the attorney candidates will have to lose.
Six of the 17 lawyers serving in the 50th General Assembly are not seeking re-election---four in the Senate and two in the House of Representatives. The senators quitting are Republican Joe Shoemaker of Denver, for several years either chairman or vice-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee; three-term Democrat Roger Cisneros of Denver; G. Hank Brown, R-Greeley, assistant majority leader; and Robert E. Johnson, R-Golden, chairman of the Transportation Committee. Stepping down voluntarily in the House are Democrat Edward M. (Ted) Bendelow of Denver and Republican Larry F. Hobbs of Morrison, both of whom have worked on bills supported by the CBA.
Doubtless, lawyer members will play major roles in the new legislature, regardless of their numbers, just as they have done the past two years. It is axiomatic, however, that non-lawyer votes will be required to pass every bill, including those relating directly to the legal profession and the courts.
Three lawyer-legislators are holdovers in the Senate and will not come up for re-election until 1978. They are Majority Leader Richard H. Plock, Jr., R-Denver, and Democrats Clarence A. Decker of Denver and Robert W. Smedley of Littleton.
The other lawyer-senator, Republican Ralph A. Cole of Littleton, is seeking re-election and is being opposed by another lawyer, Jim Benson, Aurora Democrat.
Another contest between two lawyers is developing in the southeast Denver district for the post being vacated by Senator Shoemaker. Contestants are...
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