Pete Lee

Pete Lee (born October 11, 1947) is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado.^[1] He was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2010, as a Democrat representing House District 18, which includes central Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs in El Paso County.^[2]

Biography

Pete Lee represents House District 18 in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. He is vice chairman of the Judiciary Committee and also sits on the Transportation Committee. He was first elected in 2010 and reelected in 2012.

In the 2014 session Rep. Lee sponsored legislation raising the amount of money a Colorado business could raise from a stock offering from $1 million to $5 million.^[3] He also sponsored a bill that provides social workers to juveniles who are facing criminal charges.^[4]

During the 2013 legislative session Rep. Lee sponsored a bill creating public benefit corporations, allowing corporations to focus on positive impacts to society or the environment and not just profits.^[5] He also sponsored the Keep Jobs in Colorado Act to ensure the state is giving preference to businesses using Colorado workers and products when choosing which companies will get a state contract.^[6]

Rep. Lee has volunteered for many non-profits during his time in the community including the NAACP, the National Alliance of Business, Aspen Pointe and the Manitou and Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Councils.^[7] Previously Rep. Lee worked for a meatpacker in Ohio, the Holly Sugar Corporation in Colorado Springs and the law firm Hill Corrigan Morgan and Krall.^[8] He later opened his own law firm representing small businesses and individuals.

Rep. Lee studied at business at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and received his law degree from the University of Akron after completing his undergraduate studies at Ohio Wesleyan.^[9]

Legislative career

2010 election

In November 2010, Lee won a highly contested State House race against Republican Karen Cullen, receiving 54.5 percent of the vote to 45.4 percent in a district within Republican-dominated El Paso County.^[10] Lee's win kept the seat in Democratic hands during the 2010 midterm elections in which Republican candidates claimed most vulnerable seats in the state and country.

2011 Legislative Session

In 2011 Lee was assigned by his party to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Local Government Committee for his freshman year in the legislature.^[11]

Drawing on his experience and interest in criminal justice law, Lee has introduced legislation promoting victims' rights and reducing recidivism. He advocates for laws allowing prosecutors or victims to use restorative justice, which is an approach to crime that focuses on the emotional needs and interests of victims, encourages offenders to take responsibility for their crimes and supports sentences that pay victims back when possible. Lee introduced a bill in 2011 to define and promote Restorative Justice in Colorado state law, encouraging it as an alternative to the existing corrections system in some cases and as a compliment to it in others.^[12]

Lee also took a stand in favor of voting rights, and has supported increasing the convenience of and access to voting in order to improve turnout. In 2011 he supported the Uniform Military and Overseas Voting Act to help ensure that U.S. citizens in the armed forces stationed overseas are able to vote, and opposed legislation that would require citizens to have a birth certificate or Social Security card on-hand to register.^[13]

2012 legislative session

In the 2012 legislative session the Democrats were in a slim minority: 33 Republicans, 32 Democrats in the State House. Lee served as a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Local Government Committee.

Lee's major piece of legislation in 2012 was HB 12-1133: Economic Gardening Pilot Program. This bill would have provided management and technical assistance to second-stage small business. This program began in Littleton, Colorado and has been successful in eight other states. It provides high-powered management consulting usually only available to Fortune 500 companies.

2012 election

In the 2012 General Election, Representative Lee faced Republican challenger Jennifer George. Lee was reelected by a margin of 53% to 41%.^[14][15]

2013 legislative session

Rep. Lee sponsored a bill allowing for restorative justice for juveniles in Colorado.^[16] He also sponsored legislation to improve the consulting services available to Colorado companies and the Keep Jobs in Colorado Act that ensures that 80 percent of the labor force working on a state funded project are Colorado residents.^[17][18]

2014 legislative session

Rep. Lee built on his legislation from the 2013 session by sponsoring a bill that provides social workers for juveniles who are facing criminal charges.^[19] He also sponsored legislation to help businesses in an advanced industry offer paid internships to college students to ensure that college graduates have the training to work in the 21st century economy.^[20]

References