Dan Gibbs
Encyclopedia
In his first year in the legislature — the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly
— Gibbs sat on the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee and was Vice-Chair of the House Transportation and Energy Committee. That same year, Gibbs was also appointed to the Colorado Interbasin Water Compact Committee and the board of directors of the Colorado Tourism office.
Starting when we was a staffer for Congressman Udall and continuing into his legislative career, Gibbs promoted increased government assistance on forest management
issues, particularly in response to the increased fire danger caused by mountain pine beetle
infestations. In the legislature, Gibbs sponsored legislation which established the Colorado Community Forest Restoration grant program, setting aside $1 million for projects to reduce fire risks. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter
and ultimately yielded $176,000 for forest restoration projects within Gibbs' district.
Following the legislative session, in order to better understand issues surrounding forest wildfires, Gibbs trained for and received certification in wildland firefighting, becoming certified Type II Wildland Firefighter
with Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue. Gibbs' first deployment as a volunteer firefighter was to assist fighting the Santiago Fire
during the October 2007 California wildfire epidemic
.
After successfully sponsoring a 2007 bill requiring collaboration between the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission and Colorado Division of Wildlife to minimize the impact on wildlife from oil and gas drilling, Gibbs testified before the U.S. House's Natural Resources committee on cooperative efforts between oil and environmental interests.
After initial resistance, Gibbs also successfully pushed legislation in 2007 to increase penalties for truck drivers who fail to comply with Colorado's law requiring snow chain on roads in winter, a move designed to improve accessibility and safety on I-70, which bisected Gibbs' house district. In later years, Gibbs and state officials attributed decreases in accidents and tickets issued for violating the chain law to the passage of the bill. Gibbs was named to the interim Transportation Legislation Review Committee at the end of the 2007 regular session.
in November 2007, Gibbs was unanimously elected by a vacancy committee to take her seat in the Colorado State Senate. He resigned from the House of Representatives at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 11, 2007, and was sworn into the Colorado State Senate an hour later to represent Senate District 16, which covers Clear Creek
Gilpin
, Grand
, Summit
and portions of western Boulder
and Jefferson
counties. Because of his interim appointment, Gibbs faced an election in November 2008 to retain his new Senate seat. Christine Scanlan
was appointed to fill Gibbs' vacant house seat on December 19, 2007.
During the 2008 session, Gibbs sponsored a total of 26 bills as either the lead sponsor or the Senate sponsor of a House bill. Twenty-two of his bills were passed — an average of more than one per week during the legislative session — including:
Several of Gibbs bills failed in committee, including legislation to provide $10 million in tax incentives for the film industry in Colorado. With Rep. Scanlan, Gibbs was a prominent opponent of several proposals to charge tolls along the I-70 mountain corridor within his district; he later cited this as his most significant accomplishment of the session.
In response to Gibbs' efforts to advance understanding of the ongoing bark beetle epidemic, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed an executive order in February 2008 creating the Colorado Forest Health Advisory Council; Gibbs was named to the 24-member panel shortly after its creation. Following the legislative session, Gibbs was also named the chairman of an interim legislative committee to study wildfire issues, but was criticized by Republicans for delaying the start of the committee's work. The following day, Gibbs announced plans for the committee's first meeting.
In July 2008, Gibbs was a prominent critic of Denver Water's sudden closure of the Lake Dillon
Dam Road for security reasons. Shortly after the road was reopened, Gibbs and Rep. Christine Scanlan
announced plans for legislation to prevent future unilateral closures and to encourage cooperation between agencies to share vulnerability assessments and emergency plans
, and the Golden Transcript
. Gibbs raised over $100,000 during his campaign to Ytterberg's $60,000, and ultimately won re-election with about 59 percent of the vote, taking three-quarters of votes cast in Summit County
, but losing narrowly to Ytterberg in suburban Jefferson County
.
Gibbs missed some of the opening ceremonies of the 2009 General Assembly after being called to help fight a wildfire near Boulder, Colorado
; his absence was cited by Gov. Ritter during the governor's "State of the State" address. With Rep. Christine Scanlan
, Gibbs travelled to Washington DC in February and in June to lobby for resources to deal with Colorado's mountain pine beetle
epidemic.
Gibbs was the Senate sponsor of a major transportation proposal, introduced by Rep. Joe Rice
and backed by Gov. Bill Ritter and other Democratic leaders, to increase transportation funding by $250 million per year, primarily for road and bridge repair, by increasing a range of vehicle registration fees. The proposal, labeled "FASTER," an acronym for Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery, stalled in the state senate, but advanced after a compromise was reached to drop a pilot program to charge drivers based on vehicle miles travelled and to allow locally-authorized toll roads. and eventually passed out of the legislature, FASTER was passed without the support of Republicans, who objected to the level of fee increases and called for resources besides fees to be used to support transportation. The increased registration fees drew significant protest from the public when they took effect in July 2009.
Other legislation sponsored by Gibbs included bills to extend Colorado's habitat stamp program, to create a specialty license plate for skiing and snowboarding, to overhaul regulations on oil and gas drilling operations, and to facilitate local planning and fundraising for fighting wildfires.
Gibbs was also viewed as one of the crucial swing votes on a measure to repeal the death penalty in Colorado and use the resulting savings to fund a statewide cold case unit. Although he first voted to remove the death penalty repeal from the legislation, he later voted in support of a version of the bill containing the repeal, which came within one vote of passing the legislature on the final day of the session.
In January 2009, Gibbs was named one of the Western Colorado Conservation Corps' Legislators of the Year, and in May 2009, he was the keynote speaker at Summit High School
's graduation.
, but that he would complete his term in the legislature, which expires in 2011. Gibbs retirement opened up a seat that Republicans viewed as a pickup opportunity.
Colorado General Assembly
The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado.-Constitutional definition:The Colorado Constitution establishes a system of government based on the separation of powers doctrine with power divided among three "departments": executive, legislative and judicial...
— Gibbs sat on the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee and was Vice-Chair of the House Transportation and Energy Committee. That same year, Gibbs was also appointed to the Colorado Interbasin Water Compact Committee and the board of directors of the Colorado Tourism office.
Starting when we was a staffer for Congressman Udall and continuing into his legislative career, Gibbs promoted increased government assistance on forest management
Forest management
200px|thumb|right|[[Sustainable development|Sustainable]] forest management carried out by [[Complejo Forestal y Maderero Panguipulli|Complejo Panguipulli]] has contributed to the preservation of the forested landscape around [[Neltume]], a sawmill town in Chile...
issues, particularly in response to the increased fire danger caused by mountain pine beetle
Mountain pine beetle
The mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia. It has a hard black exoskeleton, and measures about 5 millimeters, about the size of a grain of rice.Mountain pine beetles inhabit...
infestations. In the legislature, Gibbs sponsored legislation which established the Colorado Community Forest Restoration grant program, setting aside $1 million for projects to reduce fire risks. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter
Bill Ritter (politician)
August William "Bill" Ritter is an American politician of the Democratic Party, and was the 41st Governor of the state of Colorado, from 2007 to 2011. Before his election in 2006, he served as the district attorney for Denver...
and ultimately yielded $176,000 for forest restoration projects within Gibbs' district.
Following the legislative session, in order to better understand issues surrounding forest wildfires, Gibbs trained for and received certification in wildland firefighting, becoming certified Type II Wildland Firefighter
Wildland fire suppression
Wildfire suppression refers to the firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts in wildland areas requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure fire fighting found in populated areas...
with Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue. Gibbs' first deployment as a volunteer firefighter was to assist fighting the Santiago Fire
Santiago Fire
The Santiago Fire was an intentionally started wildfire located near Santiago Canyon in Orange County, California, U.S., and one of twenty-three California wildfires of October 2007.-The fire:...
during the October 2007 California wildfire epidemic
October 2007 California wildfires
The October 2007 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that began burning across Southern California on October 20. At least 1,500 homes were destroyed and over 500,000 acres of land burned from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border...
.
After successfully sponsoring a 2007 bill requiring collaboration between the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission and Colorado Division of Wildlife to minimize the impact on wildlife from oil and gas drilling, Gibbs testified before the U.S. House's Natural Resources committee on cooperative efforts between oil and environmental interests.
After initial resistance, Gibbs also successfully pushed legislation in 2007 to increase penalties for truck drivers who fail to comply with Colorado's law requiring snow chain on roads in winter, a move designed to improve accessibility and safety on I-70, which bisected Gibbs' house district. In later years, Gibbs and state officials attributed decreases in accidents and tickets issued for violating the chain law to the passage of the bill. Gibbs was named to the interim Transportation Legislation Review Committee at the end of the 2007 regular session.
2007 senate appointment
Following the resignation of Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-GeraldJoan Fitz-Gerald
Joan Fitz-Gerald was a Democratic member of the Colorado Senate, representing the 16th District since 2001. She served as President of the Senate, the first woman to hold that office....
in November 2007, Gibbs was unanimously elected by a vacancy committee to take her seat in the Colorado State Senate. He resigned from the House of Representatives at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, December 11, 2007, and was sworn into the Colorado State Senate an hour later to represent Senate District 16, which covers Clear Creek
Clear Creek County, Colorado
Clear Creek County is one of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 9,322 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Georgetown...
Gilpin
Gilpin County, Colorado
Gilpin County is the second least extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Gilpin County was named after Colonel William Gilpin, the first Governor of the Territory of Colorado. The county population was 4,757 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Central City...
, Grand
Grand County, Colorado
Grand County is the 21st largest of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 12,442 at U.S. Census 2000...
, Summit
Summit County, Colorado
Summit County is the 19th most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 23,538 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Breckenridge...
and portions of western Boulder
Boulder County, Colorado
Boulder County is the sixth most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county seat is Boulder. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is the City of Boulder...
and Jefferson
Jefferson County, Colorado
Jefferson County , whose slogan is the "Gateway to the Rocky Mountains", is the fourth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, Jefferson County is adjacent to the west side of the state capital, Denver....
counties. Because of his interim appointment, Gibbs faced an election in November 2008 to retain his new Senate seat. Christine Scanlan
Christine Scanlan
Christine Scanlan is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado.A Democrat appointed to a vacancy in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2007, Scanlan represents House District 56, encompassing Eagle, Lake and Summit Counties, including the skiing communities of Vail and Breckenridge.-Early...
was appointed to fill Gibbs' vacant house seat on December 19, 2007.
2008 legislative session
In his first year in the Colorado State Senate, Gibbs sat on the Senate Agriculture, Livestock, Natural Resources and Energy Committee and the Senate Transportation Committee — the counterparts of both of the House committees he served on — and was named vice-chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also co-chaired the General Assembly's Sportsmen's Caucus.During the 2008 session, Gibbs sponsored a total of 26 bills as either the lead sponsor or the Senate sponsor of a House bill. Twenty-two of his bills were passed — an average of more than one per week during the legislative session — including:
- the Colorado Forest Restoration Act, a reauthorization of Gibbs' 2007 house bill to provide funds for local forest restoration projects through 2012, cosponsored with Rep. Christine ScanlanChristine ScanlanChristine Scanlan is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado.A Democrat appointed to a vacancy in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2007, Scanlan represents House District 56, encompassing Eagle, Lake and Summit Counties, including the skiing communities of Vail and Breckenridge.-Early...
; - the Workplace Accommodations for Working Mothers Act, which requires employers to provide accommodations for breastfeeding mothers;
- the Firefighter Protection Act, which would grant additional legal protections for firefighters;
- a bill clarifying rules regarding sales of gaming machines;
- a bill to prohibit soft drinks from being sold at public schools,
- a bill lowering the blood alcohol limit for boat operators.
- a bill allowing water boards to issue bonds for fire-mitigation projects.
Several of Gibbs bills failed in committee, including legislation to provide $10 million in tax incentives for the film industry in Colorado. With Rep. Scanlan, Gibbs was a prominent opponent of several proposals to charge tolls along the I-70 mountain corridor within his district; he later cited this as his most significant accomplishment of the session.
In response to Gibbs' efforts to advance understanding of the ongoing bark beetle epidemic, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed an executive order in February 2008 creating the Colorado Forest Health Advisory Council; Gibbs was named to the 24-member panel shortly after its creation. Following the legislative session, Gibbs was also named the chairman of an interim legislative committee to study wildfire issues, but was criticized by Republicans for delaying the start of the committee's work. The following day, Gibbs announced plans for the committee's first meeting.
In July 2008, Gibbs was a prominent critic of Denver Water's sudden closure of the Lake Dillon
Lake Dillon
Dillon Reservoir, sometimes referred to as Lake Dillon, is a fresh water reservoir located in Summit County, south of I-70 and bordered by the towns of Frisco, Silverthorne, and Dillon. It is a reservoir for the city of Denver, and its waters are under the control of Denver Water...
Dam Road for security reasons. Shortly after the road was reopened, Gibbs and Rep. Christine Scanlan
Christine Scanlan
Christine Scanlan is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado.A Democrat appointed to a vacancy in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2007, Scanlan represents House District 56, encompassing Eagle, Lake and Summit Counties, including the skiing communities of Vail and Breckenridge.-Early...
announced plans for legislation to prevent future unilateral closures and to encourage cooperation between agencies to share vulnerability assessments and emergency plans
2008 election
In the 2008 general election, Gibbs faced Republican Don Ytterberg, whom he had outraised roughly $80,000 to $50,000 by mid-October. Gibbs cited his track record of passing legislation and his connections and experience at the state capitol as part of his case for re-election, and named wildfire and business concerns as his major priorities for a continued term in the Colorado Senate. He also called for reducing business personal property taxes and growing local small businesses. Gibbs' re-election bid was endorsed by the Denver Post, the Summit Daily News, and the Boulder Daily Camera, the Arvada PressArvada Press
The Arvada Press newspaper is delivered weekly, primarily by youth carriers, to 37,200 single-family households in Arvada, Colorado, USA. On May 5, 2005, the paper replaced the former Arvada Sentinel Newspaper....
, and the Golden Transcript
Golden Transcript
The Golden Transcript is the second oldest newspaper in Colorado, behind the Central City Register-Call. The Transcript is also the oldest media outlet of the Denver metropolitan area. It is published by Mile High Newspapers in Golden, Colorado....
. Gibbs raised over $100,000 during his campaign to Ytterberg's $60,000, and ultimately won re-election with about 59 percent of the vote, taking three-quarters of votes cast in Summit County
Summit County, Colorado
Summit County is the 19th most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 23,538 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Breckenridge...
, but losing narrowly to Ytterberg in suburban Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Colorado
Jefferson County , whose slogan is the "Gateway to the Rocky Mountains", is the fourth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, Jefferson County is adjacent to the west side of the state capital, Denver....
.
2009 legislative session
In the 2009 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Gibbs rose to chair the Senate Transportation Committee and sat on the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.Gibbs missed some of the opening ceremonies of the 2009 General Assembly after being called to help fight a wildfire near Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
; his absence was cited by Gov. Ritter during the governor's "State of the State" address. With Rep. Christine Scanlan
Christine Scanlan
Christine Scanlan is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado.A Democrat appointed to a vacancy in the Colorado House of Representatives in 2007, Scanlan represents House District 56, encompassing Eagle, Lake and Summit Counties, including the skiing communities of Vail and Breckenridge.-Early...
, Gibbs travelled to Washington DC in February and in June to lobby for resources to deal with Colorado's mountain pine beetle
Mountain pine beetle
The mountain pine beetle Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a species of bark beetle native to the forests of western North America from Mexico to central British Columbia. It has a hard black exoskeleton, and measures about 5 millimeters, about the size of a grain of rice.Mountain pine beetles inhabit...
epidemic.
Gibbs was the Senate sponsor of a major transportation proposal, introduced by Rep. Joe Rice
Joe Rice
Joe Rice is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado, an Iraq War veteran, and a former mayor of Glendale, Colorado.Rice presently works for Lockheed Martin Space Systems and also is a member of the United States Army Reserve...
and backed by Gov. Bill Ritter and other Democratic leaders, to increase transportation funding by $250 million per year, primarily for road and bridge repair, by increasing a range of vehicle registration fees. The proposal, labeled "FASTER," an acronym for Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery, stalled in the state senate, but advanced after a compromise was reached to drop a pilot program to charge drivers based on vehicle miles travelled and to allow locally-authorized toll roads. and eventually passed out of the legislature, FASTER was passed without the support of Republicans, who objected to the level of fee increases and called for resources besides fees to be used to support transportation. The increased registration fees drew significant protest from the public when they took effect in July 2009.
Other legislation sponsored by Gibbs included bills to extend Colorado's habitat stamp program, to create a specialty license plate for skiing and snowboarding, to overhaul regulations on oil and gas drilling operations, and to facilitate local planning and fundraising for fighting wildfires.
Gibbs was also viewed as one of the crucial swing votes on a measure to repeal the death penalty in Colorado and use the resulting savings to fund a statewide cold case unit. Although he first voted to remove the death penalty repeal from the legislation, he later voted in support of a version of the bill containing the repeal, which came within one vote of passing the legislature on the final day of the session.
In January 2009, Gibbs was named one of the Western Colorado Conservation Corps' Legislators of the Year, and in May 2009, he was the keynote speaker at Summit High School
Summit High School (Frisco, Colorado)
Summit High School is the only high school serving Frisco, Colorado in Summit County in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Approximately 850 students attend the school from the surrounding mountain towns of Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain Keystone and Summit Cove...
's graduation.
2010 election
In November 2009, Gibbs announced that, rather than running for re-election to the state senate in fall of 2010, he would run for the Summit County Commissioner seat being vacated by Bob FrenchBob French
Robert "Bob" French is a United States jazz drummer and a former radio show host at WWOZ, from New Orleans, Louisiana.French has led The Tuxedo Jazz Band since 1977. -Career:As a child French took drumming lessons from Louis Barbarin...
, but that he would complete his term in the legislature, which expires in 2011. Gibbs retirement opened up a seat that Republicans viewed as a pickup opportunity.