In November 2004, Coloradans elected Ken Salazar to serve as Colorado’s thirty-fifth United States Senator. Senator Salazar has been a key leader in creating a clean and renewable energy economy that is less dependent on foreign oil. He has helped lead every bipartisan effort on energy since 2005, including the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007. Senator Salazar serves on the Finance Committee and the Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources, Ethics, and Aging Committees.
From 1999-2004, Ken Salazar served as Colorado’s thirty-sixth Attorney General, winning statewide elections in 1998 and 2002. He served as chairman of the Conference of Western Attorneys General and received the “Profiles in Courage” award. As Colorado’s top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Salazar established the first-ever Colorado Attorney General Fugitive Prosecutions Unit, Attorney General Gang Prosecution Unit, and an Environmental Crimes Unit. From 1987-1994 Ken Salazar served in the Cabinet of Governor Roy Romer as chief legal counsel and executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Ken crafted reforms for oil, mining, and gas operations to better protect the environment and the public. He created the Youth in Natural Resources program and authored the Colorado constitutional amendment creating Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO).
Ken graduated from Centauri High School in Conejos County in 1973, attended St. Francis Seminary, received a political science degree from Colorado College in 1977, and graduated with a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1981. Salazar also received honorary doctorates of law from Colorado College in 1993 and the University of Denver in 1999.
