Jennifer Veiga
Jennifer L. Veiga | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Colorado Senate from the 31st district | |
| In office July 28, 2003[1] – May 15, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Doug Linkhart |
| Succeeded by | Pat Steadman |
| Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 3rd district | |
| In office January 1997 – July 21, 2003[2] | |
| Succeeded by | Anne McGihon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Long Beach, California[3] |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Domestic partner | Bronwyn Russell |
| Residence | Australia |
| Occupation | Attorney, politician |
| Website | web |
Jennifer L. Veiga (born October 10, 1962)[4] is a former American attorney and politician from Colorado. Veiga is a former Democrat member of Colorado House of Representatives and member of Colorado's 31st Senate district, covering downtown and north-central Denver.
She announced on April 7, 2009 that she would be resigning her seat to move to Australia where her partner's mother was ill.[5] Her resignation became effective on May 15 and, on May 29, Pat Steadman was sworn-in as her successor.[6]
Biography
[edit]Graduating from Irvine High School in 1980, she went on to the University of Colorado at Boulder where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1983. She then received a Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1987.[4][dead link]
A practicing lawyer with the Denver law firm Hall & Evans, LLC specializing in civil ligitagation, Veiga was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1996 and re-elected three times, in 1998, 2000, and 2002. In 2003, she served as House Minority Leader, as well as a member of the Executive Committee and the Legislative Council.[4][dead link]
In July 2003, she was named by a Vacancy Committee to the 31st District seat in the Colorado Senate[4][dead link] following the resignation of Doug Linkhart.[7] She ran unopposed for election to the Senate seat in November 2004 and won re-election in 2008. She served as Chairman of the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.[4][dead link]
A lesbian, she came out publicly in August 2002 and is the first ever openly gay person to serve in the Colorado legislature.[8] As a representative and then as a senator, Veiga introduced legislation every year to ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, at first with little success.[9] In 2005 and then in 2006, Veiga's non-discrimination bill was passed by the legislature, but vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens;[10] in 2007, however, the bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter.[11] At the time of her retirement, she was one of three openly gay members of the legislature, serving alongside representatives Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver) and Sue Schafer (D-Wheat Ridge).
References
[edit]- ^ "CSL Journal" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
- ^ "House Journal" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
- ^ Project Vote Smart - Senator Jennifer L. 'Jen' Veiga - Biography[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d e Biography jenveiga.com [permanent dead link]
- ^ Sealover, Ed (April 7, 2009). "Veiga, chair of Colorado Senate business committee, to resign".
- ^ "Steadman wins appointment to SD 31 - The Colorado Independent". 21 May 2009.
- ^ "GayWired.com - First lesbian in Colorado House Now First Lesbian in State Senate". Archived from the original on 2005-12-29. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ^ Kyle Henley (2005-06-11). "Gay, lesbian politicians are learning the basics". The Gazette (Colorado Springs). Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
- ^ "Jenniferveiga.com » Legislative Priorities". Archived from the original on 2007-05-05. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ^ Western Equality | OutWest Newsletter May/June 2006 Archived 2007-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Press Release- May 25, 2007". Archived from the original on 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
External links
[edit]- Jennifer Veiga's profile at Minter Ellison, a law practice in Australia Retrieved January 8, 2015.
- Project Vote Smart - Senator Jennifer L. 'Jen' Veiga (CO)[permanent dead link] profile
- Follow the Money - Jennifer L Veiga
- Democratic Party Colorado state senators
- Democratic Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives
- 1962 births
- Living people
- George Washington University Law School alumni
- University of Colorado Boulder alumni
- American lesbian politicians
- LGBTQ state legislators in Colorado
- Women state legislators in Colorado
- LGBTQ people from California
- 21st-century Colorado politicians