John Hickenlooper: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox officeholder |
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|name = John Hickenlooper |
|name = Assface John Hickenlooper |
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|image = Thomas Perez meets with Governor John Hickenlooper Jr., January 2015 (cropped).jpg |
|image = Thomas Perez meets with Governor John Hickenlooper Jr., January 2015 (cropped).jpg |
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|order = 42nd [[Governor of Colorado]] |
|order = 42nd [[Governor of Colorado]] |
Revision as of 08:29, 28 May 2018
Assface John Hickenlooper | |
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![]() | |
42nd Governor of Colorado | |
Assumed office January 11, 2011 | |
Lieutenant | Joe Garcia Donna Lynne |
Preceded by | Bill Ritter |
Chair of the National Governors Association | |
In office July 13, 2014 – July 25, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Mary Fallin |
Succeeded by | Gary Herbert |
43rd Mayor of Denver | |
In office July 21, 2003 – January 11, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Wellington Webb |
Succeeded by | Bill Vidal |
Personal details | |
Born | John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. February 7, 1952 Narberth, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Helen Thorpe (2002–2014) Robin Pringle (2016–present) |
Children | 1 son |
Residence | Governor's Mansion |
Education | Wesleyan University (BA, MS) |
Website | Government website |
John Wright Hickenlooper Jr.[1] (/ˈhɪkənˌluːpər/; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician, businessman and the 42nd and current Governor of Colorado, in office since 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Born in Narberth, Pennsylvania, Hickenlooper is a graduate of Wesleyan University. After his career as a geologist, Hickenlooper entered a career in business and cofounded the Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver. Hickenlooper was elected the 43rd mayor of Denver in 2003, serving two terms, until 2011.
After incumbent governor Bill Ritter announced that he would not seek reelection, Hickenlooper announced his intentions to run for the Democratic nomination, in January 2010. He won in an uncontested primary and faced Constitution Party candidate, former representative Tom Tancredo, and Republican businessman Dan Maes in the general election, which he won with 51% of the vote. He was re-elected to a second term in 2014, defeating Republican former U.S. representative Bob Beauprez by 49% to 46%.
Early life, education and career
Hickenlooper was born in Narberth, Pennsylvania, a middle-class area of the suburban Main Line of Philadelphia.[2] He is the son of Anne (née Morris) and John Wright Hickenlooper.[3][4][5] His paternal great-grandfather, Andrew Hickenlooper, was a Union general of Dutch descent.[6] Hickenlooper was raised by his mother from a young age after his father's death. A 1970 graduate of The Haverford School, an independent boys school in Haverford, PA, he went on[7] to attend Wesleyan University, where he received a B.A. in English in 1974, and a master's degree in geology in 1980.
Hickenlooper worked as a geologist in Colorado for Buckhorn Petroleum, in the early 1980s. With the decline of the local oil industry, Hickenlooper was laid off. Instead of moving away, he decided to start the Wynkoop Brewing Company brewpub in 1988.[8] Wynkoop and a few other businesses contributed to the redevelopment of the LoDo area following the arrival of major league baseball to the neighborhood. Previously, the area was known to be dangerous; Hickenlooper is quoted as saying, "I must've had rocks in my head [when I chose that location]." When it first opened, the rent for Wynkoop's real estate was $1 per square foot per year.[9]
Mayor of Denver
Hickenlooper's first tasks included handling the city's budget crisis and changing its career personnel system. His cabinet appointees were relatively young. Municipal elections in Denver are nonpartisan. Hickenlooper won re-election for the office of mayor, in May 2007, with 88% of the vote.[10] In 2005, he was named by Time as one of the top five big-city mayors in the U.S.[11]
Hickenlooper resigned as mayor at 8 am on January 11, 2011, hours before being inaugurated as Colorado's governor.
Governor of Colorado
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Governor_John_Hickenlooper.jpg/220px-Governor_John_Hickenlooper.jpg)
On January 11, 2011, Hickenlooper was sworn in as the 42nd governor of Colorado. On December 4, 2012, he was elected to serve as vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association.[12] He currently serves on the Western Governors' Association, and served as the chairman of the National Governors' Association from July 2014 to July 2015.
On August 25, 2017, it was reported that Republican Governor of Ohio John Kasich was considering the possibility of a 2020 unity ticket to run against Donald Trump with Kasich at the top and Hickenlooper as vice president.[13]
Constitutionally limited to two consecutive terms,[14] Hickenlooper cannot run for governor in 2018.
Political positions
Allegations of sanctuary city
In 2010 Hickenlooper made statements denying he has run Denver as a so-called sanctuary city. In 2017 he welcomed 75 refugees from Afghanistan, the Republic of Congo, and Ethiopia, as well as Iraq, Syria and Somalia, which are prominently Muslim countries.[15]
Campaign for the Homeless
Since 2003, Hickenlooper has campaigned for increasing services to the homeless.[16] He announced a "10 Year Plan to End Homelessness" at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.[17]
Cannabis legalization
In 2000, Colorado voters passed Initiative 20, which legalized marijuana for medical use. In 2006, Denver became one of the first major U.S. cities to legalize the medical use of and decriminalize possession (of less than one ounce) of cannabis by those over age 18. Hickenlooper opposed the cannabis rescheduling initiative, which voters approved 53.49%–46.51%, but he did say that the vote "reflect[s] a genuine shift in people's attitudes". Under the current Denver Police interpretation of the law, supported by Hickenlooper, the initiative doesn't usurp the state law, the Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS). In 2012, Amendment 64 was added to the Colorado constitution allowing possession of up to one ounce of cannabis for those over 21 for recreational use. Though Hickenlooper had been publicly against this policy as well, he said he would enforce the will of the people.[18]
On January 23, 2015, he said that "This was a bad idea",[19] that other governors should wait and see what the consequences will be. As Colorado's new laws have been implemented and the results become more clear, Hickenlooper has indicated that his views have evolved, stating in May 2016 that Colorado's approach to cannabis legalization is "beginning to look like it might work".[20]
Gun control
On March 20, 2013, Hickenlooper signed bills HB1224, HB1228 and HB1229. HB1224 created a limit of 15 rounds in magazines that could be bought, sold or transferred within the state. HB1229 requires background checks for any firearm transfer within the state, and HB1228 taxes firearm transfers to recover costs of the background checks from HB1229.[21] Opponents of these bills gathered enough signatures to trigger special recall elections that resulted in the recall of Democratic senate president John Morse, and Democratic senator Angela Giron. Democratic senator Evie Hudak later resigned rather than face her own recall election on this issue.[22]
Hickenlooper is a member of the gun control group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Boston mayor Thomas Menino.
Capital punishment
On May 22, 2013, Hickenlooper granted an indefinite stay of execution to Nathan Dunlap, who was facing execution for the 1993 murder of four employees at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. The decision came after victims' families asked Hickenlooper to allow the execution of Dunlap to proceed as scheduled.[23] Hickenlooper stated: "It is a legitimate question whether we as a state should be taking lives."[24]
Disaster recovery
In May 2014, Hickenlooper signed legislation to provide better disaster relief to Coloradans after record-setting floods and wildfires had ravaged the state and destroyed homes, schools, roads, and watersheds. The bills distributed $5 million in grants to remove flood debris from watersheds, earmarked construction funding for flood-damaged schools and budgeted $17 million in grants for repairs to damaged wastewater and drinking water systems.[25] One of the bills called for the state to pay the property taxes of people who lost homes in Colorado floods or wildfires, which accounted for about 2500 destroyed or damaged homes.
Economic growth
In March 2014, he signed House Bill 1241 which funds the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI). "The program has a total grant budget of $2.7 million, of which $530,000 has been awarded. Right now, seven projects are under consideration, representing $20 million in capital investment and more than 150 new jobs in rural areas."[26]
Political campaigns
2006 Colorado gubernatorial race
Hickenlooper was viewed as a possible contender for governor of Colorado in the November 2006 election to replace term-limited Republican governor Bill Owens. Despite a "Draft Hick" campaign, he officially announced on February 6, 2006, that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for governor. Later, he threw his support behind Democratic candidate Bill Ritter, Denver's former district attorney, who was subsequently elected.[27]
2008 Democratic National Convention
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/John_Hickenlooper_DNC_2008.jpg/200px-John_Hickenlooper_DNC_2008.jpg)
Hickenlooper was an executive member of the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee and helped lead the successful campaign for Denver to host the landmark 2008 Democratic National Convention, which was also the centennial anniversary of the city's hosting of the 1908 Democratic National Convention.
In a controversial move decried by critics as breaching partisan ethics, the Hickenlooper administration arranged for the DNC host committee members, a private non-profit organization, to get untaxed fuel from Denver city-owned pumps, saving them $0.404 per gallon of fuel.[28] Once the arrangement came to light, the host committee agreed to pay taxes on the fuel already consumed, and to pay taxes on all future fuel purchases.[29] Also, Coors brewing company based in Golden, Colorado, used "waste beer" to provide the ethanol to power a fleet of FlexFuel vehicles used during the convention.[30]
2008 Senate seat appointment
According to The Denver Post, he was considered to be the frontrunner to fill the United States Senate seat to be vacated by Ken Salazar upon his expected confirmation to be Secretary of the Interior in the Obama Administration.[31] Hickenlooper had confirmed his interest in the seat.[32] However, on January 3, 2009, Gov. Bill Ritter appointed Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to the position.[33] Bennet previously served as chief of staff to Mayor Hickenlooper.
2010 Colorado gubernatorial race
After Ritter announced on January 6, 2010, that he would step down at the end of his term, Hickenlooper was cited as a potential candidate for governor.[34] Hickenlooper stated that if Secretary Salazar mounted a bid for governor, he would likely not challenge him in a Democratic primary.[35] On January 7, 2010, Salazar confirmed that he would not be running for governor in 2010 and endorsed Hickenlooper for the position.[36] On January 12, 2010, media outlets reported that Hickenlooper would begin a campaign for Colorado governor.[37] On August 5, 2010, Hickenlooper selected CSU-Pueblo president Joseph A. Garcia as his running mate.[38] In the general election, Hickenlooper was elected with 51% of the vote, ahead of former congressman Tom Tancredo, running on the American Constitution Party ticket, who finished with 36.4% of the vote.[39]
2014 Colorado gubernatorial race
Hickenlooper won a tightly contested gubernatorial election by winning a plurality of 49.0% of the vote against Republican businessman Bob Beauprez.[40]
Personal life
Hickenlooper married Robin Pringle on January 16, 2016.[41] His first wife, Helen Thorpe, is a writer whose work has been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, George, and Texas Monthly. In 2010, Hickenlooper told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he and Thorpe attended Quaker meetings and tried to live by Quaker values.[42] Prior to the separation, they lived in Denver's Park Hill neighborhood with their son, Teddy.[43] Upon taking office as governor, Hickenlooper and his family decided to maintain their private residence instead of moving to the Colorado Governor's Mansion.[44] On July 31, 2012, Hickenlooper announced that he and Thorpe were separating after 10 years of marriage.[45] Following his divorce, Hickenlooper moved into the Governor's Mansion.
A cousin, George Hickenlooper, who died in late 2010, was an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker.[46] He is the great-grandson of Civil War general Andrew Hickenlooper and the grandson of Federal Judge Smith Hickenlooper.
Other relatives include pianist Olga Samaroff (née Lucy Mary Olga Agnes Hickenlooper), who was the first wife of conductor Leopold Stokowski; and Bourke Hickenlooper, who served as governor of Iowa and a U.S. senator from Iowa.[47]
In popular culture
- Hickenlooper appears in Kurt Vonnegut's novel Timequake.[48] In November 2012, Esquire interviewed Hickenlooper as one of the "Americans of the Year 2012".[49]
- Hickenlooper made a cameo appearance in George's 2010 film Casino Jack.[50]
Electoral history
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John Hickenlooper | 915,436 | 51.05 | ||
Constitution | Tom Tancredo | 652,376 | 36.38 | ||
Republican | Dan Maes | 199,792 | 11.14 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | John Hickenlooper | 1,006,433 | 49.30 | ||
Republican | Bob Beauprez | 938,195 | 45.95 |
References
- ^ "MacDonald, Anne Morris". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 6, 2003. Death notice.
- ^ Lizza, Ryan (May 13, 2013). "The Middleman". The New Yorker: 26–31.
{{cite journal}}
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requires|url=
(help) - ^ "The Happy Shrewdness of John W. Hickenlooper". July 24, 2012. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Briefing: Denver". Rocky Mountain News. Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. April 4, 2003. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
- ^ "Mrs. Anne Kennedy Engaged". The New York Times. May 9, 1948.
- ^ "Gov. Hickenlooper "Civil War: The Untold Story:". Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ Bedingfield, Steve (October 13, 2010). "How Old is John Hickenlooper?". Politics Daily. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
{{cite news}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Politico (2011). "Arena Profile: Gov. John Hickenlooper". politico.com.
- ^ "Mile-High Madness", by Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated, October 2007
- ^ "Hickenlooper coasts to second term – The Denver Post". Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ Gibbs, Nancy (April 17, 2005). "The 5 Best Big City Mayors". Time.
- ^ "Shumlin elected to lead DGA, with O'Comartun as top aide". Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ Preston, Mark (August 25, 2017). "Source: Kasich, Hickenlooper consider unity presidential ticket in 2020". CNN.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Governor of Colorado". Ballotpedia.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ https://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/22/governor-mayor-welcome-refugees-colorado-union-station/
- ^ Mary Ellen Hombs (2011). Modern Homelessness: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 156.
- ^ "Denver v10 year plan to end homelessness" (PDF).
- ^ O'Driscoll, Patrick (November 3, 2005). "Denver OKs pot". USA Today. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- ^ Cirilli, Kevin (January 23, 2015). "Governor: Legalizing pot was bad idea". The Hill.
- ^ Kelly, David (May 17, 2016). "Governor who called legalization 'reckless' now says Colorado's pot industry is working". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Bartells, Lynn; Lee, Kurtis (March 21, 2013). "3 new gun bills on the books in Colorado despite its Wild West image". The Denver Post. pp. 1a, 10a.
- ^ Staff (November 17, 2013) DenverPost.com
- ^ Wayne Harrison, "Letters urge governor to deny clemency for Nathan Dunlap" Archived June 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, 7 News Denver, May 10, 2013.
- ^ "Home - The Official Site of Governor Hickenlooper". Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ "Colorado Residents Welcome Disaster Relief Legislation". Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ "Hickenlooper signs rural economic development bill". March 11, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ "Hickenlooper endorses Ritter for Gov : The Rocky Mountain News".
- ^ DNC host's tax-free gas evaporates : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News
- ^ "No more city gas for DNC host cars – The Denver Post". Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ "Molson Coors will fuel DNC vehicles with ethanol from waste beer - Denver Business Journal". Retrieved July 16, 2016.
- ^ "Next senator? Hickenlooper". The Denver Post. December 21, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
- ^ Osher, Christopher (December 24, 2008). "Denver mayor confirms interest in Senate job". The Denver Post. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
- ^ Parnes, Amie (January 3, 2009). "Bennet pick shocks some in Colorado". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
- ^ Knox, Don (January 6, 2010). "Can You Say Gov. Hickenlooper?". State Bill Colorado.
- ^ "Colorado Governor Bill Ritter not running for re-election". 9 News. January 6, 2010.
- ^ Salazar will not enter governor's race. The Denver Post. January 7, 2010.
- ^ "John Hickenlooper to run for governor, multiple reports say". Westword. January 12, 2010.
- ^ Bartels, Lynn; Crummy, Karen E. (August 6, 2010). "CSU-Pueblo chief tapped as Hickenlooper's running mate". The Denver Post.
- ^ 2010 Election Results, The New York Times, November 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ^ "Hickenlooper declares victory", The Denver Post, November 5, 2014.
- ^ "Gov. John Hickenlooper marries Robin Pringle in small ceremony". The Denver Post. January 16, 2016.
- ^ Timpane, John (October 27, 2010). "On campaign trail with John Hickenlooper, Pennsylvania native running for Colorado governor". Inquirer. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
- ^ Gathright, Alan (August 4, 2006). "Hickenloopers out to forsake their LoDo loft". Rocky Mountain News. Denver Publishing Company. pp. 6A. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ "Governors-including Hickenlooper-forgoing living in executive mansions" (Denverpost.com) Archived December 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bartels, Lynn (July 31, 2012). "Colorado governor and wife to separate, political future still looks bright". The Denver Post. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (November 22, 2010). "George Hickenlooper's Death Caused by Accidental Overdose". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Ealy, Charles. "George Hickenlooper: The life and times of a director". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
- ^ Farrell, Susan (2008). Critical companion to Kurt Vonnegut: a literary reference to his life and work. Infobase. p. 284. ISBN 0-8160-6598-5.
- ^ John Hickenlooper Interview 1212, Esquire Magazine. By Robert Sanchez. November 16, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ^ RYAN, KIKI. "Sneak peek at Abramoff flick starring Spacey - KIKI RYAN - P POLITICO CLICK". Retrieved July 16, 2016.
Further reading
- Lizza, Ryan (May 13, 2013). "The middleman : Colorado's Governor finds himself leading his state to the left". The Political Scene. The New Yorker. 89 (13): 26–31.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - Hickenlooper, John; Potter, Maximillian (2016). The Opposite of Woe, My Life in Beer and Politics. New York: Penguin Press.
External links
- Governor John Hickenlooper official government site
- John Hickenlooper at Curlie
- 1952 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- American food industry businesspeople
- American geologists
- American gun control advocates
- American people of Dutch descent
- American Quakers
- American restaurateurs
- American real estate businesspeople
- Colorado Democrats
- Colorado gubernatorial election, 2006
- Democratic Party state governors of the United States
- Governors of Colorado
- Haverford School alumni
- Living people
- Mayors of Denver
- People from Narberth, Pennsylvania
- Wesleyan University alumni
- Western Governors University people