Ken Salazar
Junior Senator from Colorado
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2005 Serving with Wayne Allard
Preceded by	Ben Nighthorse Campbell
36th Attorney General of Colorado
In office January 12, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Governor	Bill Owens
Preceded by	Gale Norton
Succeeded by	John W. Suthers
Born	March 2, 1955 (1955-03-02) (age 53) Alamosa, Colorado
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Hope Salazar
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American politician, rancher, and environmentalist from the U.S. state of Colorado. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Alan Wayne Allard (born December 2, 1943) is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Republican Party. Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell (born April 13, 1933) is an American politician. John William Suthers (born October 18 1951) is the current Attorney General of Colorado. Events 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bill Owens is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. Gale Ann Norton (born March 11, 1954) served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior from 2001 to 2006 under President John William Suthers (born October 18 1951) is the current Attorney General of Colorado. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) The City of Alamosa is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and the most populous city of Alamosa County, Colorado, United The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law as an attorney, Counsel or Solicitor; a person Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Politics of the United States takes place in the framework of a presidential, Federal republic where the President of the United States (the Head of A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. Salazar, a Democrat, served as state Attorney General before winning a U.S. Senate seat in the 2004 Senate elections. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives The United States Senate election 2004 was an election for one-third of the seats in the United States Senate which coincided with the re-election of George He has been the junior U.S. Senator from Colorado since January 2005. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. He and Mel Martinez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U. Melquíades Rafael "Mel" Martínez (born October 23, 1946) is currently the junior United States Senator from Florida and served Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Hispanic (hispano hispánico hispânico Hispānus adjective from ''Hispānia'', the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) is a term that historically S. Senators since 1977. They were joined by Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) in January 2006. Robert "Bob" Menendez (born January 1, 1954) is the junior Democratic Senator from New Jersey. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States.

Early Life and Family

Senator Ken Salazar was born in the town of Alamosa and grew up near the town of Manassa, Colorado in the San Luis Valley area of south-central Colorado to his parents, Emma M. The City of Alamosa is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and the most populous city of Alamosa County, Colorado, United The Town of Manassa is a Statutory Town that is the most populous town in Conejos County, Colorado, United States. The San Luis Valley is an extensive alpine valley in the United States states of Colorado and New Mexico covering approximately 8000 square miles and Henry (Enrique) S. Salazar,^[1] Americans of Mexican descent. Salazar can trace his ancestry all the way back from before his family's arrival in North America to 12th century Spain. Ken is a 5th generation Coloradan, 12th generation North American or the family roots go back in what is now classified as North America for 12 generations.

Salazar attended St. Francis Seminary and Centauri High School in Conejos County, graduating in 1973. Conejos County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado in the United States. He later attended Colorado College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1977, and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. The Colorado College (familiarly known as CC) is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Political science is a branch of Social sciences that deals with the theory and practice of Politics and the description and analysis of Political systems Juris Doctor (abbreviated JD or JD, from the Latin, Teacher of Law) is a first professional graduate degree and Professional The University of Michigan Law School ( Michigan Law) is the Law school of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Later Salazar was awarded honorary degrees (Doctor of Laws) from Colorado College (1993) and the University of Denver (1999). An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa ( Latin: 'for the sake of the honour' is an Academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding The University of Denver ( DU) founded in 1864 is the oldest private University in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States.

After graduating, Salazar had a private law practice. In 1986 he became chief legal counsel to then Governor Roy Romer; in 1990, Romer appointed him to his cabinet as Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. The Governor of the State of Colorado is the chief executive of the U Roy R Romer (born October 31, 1928 in Garden City Kansas, United States) was the 39th Governor of Colorado and served as the A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch.

U. S. Senator

In 1994, Salazar returned to private practice. In 1998, he was elected state attorney general; he was reelected to this position in 2002. In 2004, he declared his candidacy for the U. S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell (born April 13, 1933) is an American politician. Salazar considers himself a moderate and has at times taken positions that are in disagreement with the base of his party — for a number of years he opposed gay adoption. Salazar lost to Mike Miles at the State nominating convention. In spite of this loss, the national Democratic Party backed Salazar with contributions from the DSCC and promotion of Salazar as the only primary candidate. Salazar came back to defeat Miles in the Democratic primary,and he narrowly defeated beer executive Pete Coors of the Coors Brewing Company to win. A primary election ( nominating primary) also referred to simply as a primary, is an election in which voters in a Jurisdiction select candidates Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed Alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea Peter Hanson Coors (born September 20 1946 is a US businessman and Entrepreneur. The Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. His elder brother John also had an electoral victory in 2004, winning a race for the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's third congressional district. John T Salazar (born July 21, 1953) is a Democrat from Colorado, was elected to the United States House of Representatives in The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. A congressional district is an electoral Constituency that elects a single member of a Congress.

2004 campaign logo. Salazar's slogan was "fighting for Colorado's land, water, and people. "

He took office on January 4, 2005. Salazar and his wife Esperanza "Hope" have two daughters, Melinda (20)& Andrea (19). They also have one grand daughter named Mireya.

Soon after arriving in the Senate, Salazar generated controversy within his party by introducing Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales and sitting by his side during Gonzales' confirmation hearings. In most Common law jurisdictions the Attorney General, or Attorney-General, is the main legal advisor to the government and in some jurisdictions may in addition Alberto R Gonzales (born August 4 1955) was the 80th Attorney General of the United States.

On May 23, 2005, Salazar was one of fourteen moderate senators to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the so-called "nuclear option". A filibuster, or "talking out a bill", is a form of obstruction in a Legislature or other decision-making body The nuclear option, also called the constitutional option, is an attempt by the presiding officer of the United States Senate to end a filibuster by majority Under the agreement, the Democrats would retain the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance", and the three most conservative Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) would receive a vote by the full Senate. Court of Appeal, Court of Appeals, and Appellate Division redirect here for a list of specific courts using those titles see Court of Appeal Janice Rogers Brown (born May 11, 1949 in Greenville Alabama) is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District Priscilla Richman Owen (born October 4, 1954) is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. William Holcombe "Bill" Pryor Jr (born April 26 1962, Mobile Alabama, USA) is a federal judge on the United States Salazar has been feuding with Focus on the Family, a Colorado-based conservative religious group of national stature, over his stance on judicial nominees.

In August 2006, Ken Salazar supported fellow Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman in his primary race against Ned Lamont in Connecticut. Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman (born February 24 1942 is the junior United States Senator from Connecticut. Edward Miner "Ned" Lamont Jr (born January 3, 1954 Connecticut ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. Ned Lamont, running primarily as an anti-war candidate, won the primary. Salazar's continued support of Lieberman, who successfully ran as an independent against Lamont, has rankled the anti-war wing of the Democratic party.

Committee Assignments

• Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing, Inspection, and Plant and Animal Health
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit
• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
  • Subcommittee on National Parks
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth
• Select Committee on Ethics
• Special Committee on Aging

Electoral History

Footnotes

See also

List of Hispanic Americans in the United States Congress

External links

• United States Senator Ken Salazar, U. This is a list of Hispanic Americans who have served in the U S. Senate site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Ken Salazar profile
• Ken Salazar for U.S. Senate, Campaign site