Debbie Stafford
Encyclopedia
Debbie Stafford is a Colorado
legislator. First appointed to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican
in 2000, Stafford was elected four times to represent House District 40, which encompasses Elbert County
and rural Arapahoe County
east of Aurora, Colorado
. Noted for her work on animal welfare and children's issues, Stafford left the Republican caucus and joined the Democratic Party
in October 2007.
of Lakota Sioux descent, Stafford graduated from the Pikes Peak Institute of Medical Technology in 1972 and worked as a medical and optometric assistant in Colorado Springs
before attending Nazarene Bible College
from 1973 to 1974. An ordained minister, she served as associate pastor of Calvary Temple and Heritage Christian Center from 1986 to 1989 before becoming a domestic violence counselor in the 1990s. In 1997, Heritage Christian Center founded Project Heritage, a community nonprofit serving the needy; Stafford has served as the chair of Project Heritage's Board of Directors. She also earned an associate of arts degree from Aspen College in 1992.
In 2001 Stafford became a trained auctioneer, and she has employed her auctioneering skills during nonprofit fundraisers during her time as a legislator. Stafford has three children—Matthew, Melissa, and Rebekah; she was widowed during her first legislative campaign in 2000 and has since remarried to retired Defense Intelligence Agency
employee Bob Edison.
In the legislature, Stafford's priorities have included legislation on animal issues, including strengthening animal cruelty laws and opposing local bans on particular dog breeds. She has also been an advocate for children's issues, working to expand benefits in Colorado's foster care system and serving as a legislative advisor to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and for affordable housing
, as a member of Board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka and as chair the Colorado legislature's Affordable Housing Task Force.
Although Stafford holds traditionally conservative views on issues such as abortion
, stem cell research
, and school vouchers, Stafford has also crossed the aisle to support measures to end Colorado's death penalty
and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
. In 2007, she also faced opposition from many in the Republican Party for supporting a contentious bill to expand the ability of homeowners to sue over construction defects.
In October 2007, Stafford announced that she would switch party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, citing poor treatment from Republican leaders, and noting, "I am not leaving the Republican Party as much as the Republican Party left me." She was welcomed by the Democratic legislative majority as the 40th member of the House Democratic Caucus. In switching parties, she became the first Colorado legislator to do so since 1987.
In the 2007 legislative session, Stafford served as a member of the House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Although she briefly explored a run for the Colorado State Senate, Stafford has indicated that she will retire from the legislature after the 2008 session. Her stated priorities for her final session in the legislature include regulations prohibiting disposal of dead animals in landfill
s. Stafford has also introduced legislation to regulate the funeral industry, including new requirements that funeral directors be licensed; she sponsored a similar measure in 2006 that was vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens.
Having joined the majority party, Stafford was named vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee in the 2008 legislative session, in addition to keeping her seat on the House Health and Human Services Committee.
In the 2008 legislative session, Stafford planned to sponsor legislation to regulate hunting in Colorado, requiring that hunters must allow hunted animals opportunity for a "fair chase." The measure was opposed by some wildlife ranchers. Facing opposition from hunters and ranchers, Stafford asked for the bill to be killed in committee. Stafford also introduced legislation to restrict the ability of toll road
companies to claim land within proposed road corridors, legislation killed in a house committee for its possible effects on railroads.
Stafford also sits on the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, a position she will hold through July 2010.
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
legislator. First appointed to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in 2000, Stafford was elected four times to represent House District 40, which encompasses Elbert County
Elbert County, Colorado
Elbert County is the 21st most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 19,872 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Kiowa...
and rural Arapahoe County
Arapahoe County, Colorado
As of the census of 2000, there were 487,967 people, 190,909 households, and 125,809 families residing in the county. The population density was 608 people per square mile . There were 196,835 housing units at an average density of 245 per square mile...
east of Aurora, Colorado
Aurora, Colorado
City of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
. Noted for her work on animal welfare and children's issues, Stafford left the Republican caucus and joined the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
in October 2007.
Early career
Born in Rapid City, South DakotaRapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
of Lakota Sioux descent, Stafford graduated from the Pikes Peak Institute of Medical Technology in 1972 and worked as a medical and optometric assistant in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
before attending Nazarene Bible College
Nazarene Bible College
Nazarene Bible College is a Bible College located on in Colorado Springs, Colorado founded in 1964, chartered in 1967, and approved by the Colorado Department of Education to grant degrees in 1970.NBC has a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio...
from 1973 to 1974. An ordained minister, she served as associate pastor of Calvary Temple and Heritage Christian Center from 1986 to 1989 before becoming a domestic violence counselor in the 1990s. In 1997, Heritage Christian Center founded Project Heritage, a community nonprofit serving the needy; Stafford has served as the chair of Project Heritage's Board of Directors. She also earned an associate of arts degree from Aspen College in 1992.
In 2001 Stafford became a trained auctioneer, and she has employed her auctioneering skills during nonprofit fundraisers during her time as a legislator. Stafford has three children—Matthew, Melissa, and Rebekah; she was widowed during her first legislative campaign in 2000 and has since remarried to retired Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
employee Bob Edison.
Legislative career
Stafford first ran for the Colorado State House as a Republican in 2000. Shortly before the November 2000 election, retiring Rep. Gary McPherson died in an airplane crash, and Gov. Bill Owens appointed Stafford to the remainder of McPherson's legislative term. She was sworn in as a state representative on October 26, 2000, and was elected to a full term in the legislature just a week later. Stafford was re-elected in 2002, 2004, and 2006, always by a considerable margin in the solidly Republican district.In the legislature, Stafford's priorities have included legislation on animal issues, including strengthening animal cruelty laws and opposing local bans on particular dog breeds. She has also been an advocate for children's issues, working to expand benefits in Colorado's foster care system and serving as a legislative advisor to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and for affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
, as a member of Board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka and as chair the Colorado legislature's Affordable Housing Task Force.
Although Stafford holds traditionally conservative views on issues such as abortion
Abortion debate
The abortion debate refers to discussion and controversy surrounding the moral and legal status of abortion. The two main groups involved in the abortion debate are the self-described "pro-choice" movement and the "pro-life" movement...
, stem cell research
Stem cell controversy
The stem cell controversy is the ethical debate primarily concerning the creation, treatment, and destruction of human embryos incident to research involving embryonic stem cells. Not all stem cell research involves the creation, use, or destruction of human embryos...
, and school vouchers, Stafford has also crossed the aisle to support measures to end Colorado's death penalty
Capital punishment in the United States
Capital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
. In 2007, she also faced opposition from many in the Republican Party for supporting a contentious bill to expand the ability of homeowners to sue over construction defects.
In October 2007, Stafford announced that she would switch party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, citing poor treatment from Republican leaders, and noting, "I am not leaving the Republican Party as much as the Republican Party left me." She was welcomed by the Democratic legislative majority as the 40th member of the House Democratic Caucus. In switching parties, she became the first Colorado legislator to do so since 1987.
In the 2007 legislative session, Stafford served as a member of the House Health and Human Services Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. Although she briefly explored a run for the Colorado State Senate, Stafford has indicated that she will retire from the legislature after the 2008 session. Her stated priorities for her final session in the legislature include regulations prohibiting disposal of dead animals in landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
s. Stafford has also introduced legislation to regulate the funeral industry, including new requirements that funeral directors be licensed; she sponsored a similar measure in 2006 that was vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens.
Having joined the majority party, Stafford was named vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee in the 2008 legislative session, in addition to keeping her seat on the House Health and Human Services Committee.
In the 2008 legislative session, Stafford planned to sponsor legislation to regulate hunting in Colorado, requiring that hunters must allow hunted animals opportunity for a "fair chase." The measure was opposed by some wildlife ranchers. Facing opposition from hunters and ranchers, Stafford asked for the bill to be killed in committee. Stafford also introduced legislation to restrict the ability of toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
companies to claim land within proposed road corridors, legislation killed in a house committee for its possible effects on railroads.
Stafford also sits on the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, a position she will hold through July 2010.