Edward Casso

Edward Casso
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 32nd district
In office
January 10, 2007[1] – January 2013
Preceded by Valentin Vigil
Succeeded by Dominick Moreno
Personal details
Born Thornton, Colorado
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Selena

Edward Casso (born 1974[2]) is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006, Casso represented House District 32, which encompasses suburbs of Denver, Colorado in northwestern Adams County, from 2006 to 2012.[3]

Biography

Born in Thornton, Colorado, Casso earned a bachelor's degree in political philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997.[4] He was the first member of his family to attend college. While at CU, Casso was president of the CU College Democrats.[2] There, he was a precinct committeeperson for the Boulder County Democratic Party[4] and a member of the vacancy committee that appointed Ron Tupa to the Colorado State Senate.[2]

After moving to Adams County, Casso served as a precinct committeeperson, co-captain of house district 32-D, and vice-chair and later chair of the Adams County Young Democrats.[2] He has also served as chair of the Colorado Democratic Party Outreach Commission, and worked as an intern for Congressman David Skaggs.[4]

Before being elected to the legislature, Casso worked as a teacher in an alternative high school during summers,[5] and as a substitute teacher for Denver Public Schools.[6] Casso resides in Commerce City, Colorado;[2] he and his wife, Selena, have two children: Cecelia and Aristotle.[4]

Legislative career

2006 election

In the 2006 Colorado legislative elections, Casso defeated Republican Tracey Snyder with 57 percent of the popular vote.[3] Casso was endorsed by the Denver Post,[7] but not the Rocky Mountain News.[8]

2007 legislative session

In the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Casso sat on the House Education Committee and the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee. [9]

During the 2007 session, Casso sponsored two bills to revise the ways in which schools' CSAP test scores were reported. One, which would have exempted scores from special education students,[10] was killed in a Senate committee;[11] the other, which would have exempted scores for students whose parents opt the students out of the test, was killed in a House committee at Casso's request because of concerns that it would jeopardize federal school funding.[10]

Following the legislative session, Casso was present at the Colorado State Capitol during an incident in which state troopers shot and killed a mentally ill individual gunman targeting Gov. Bill Ritter. Casso observed the dead body and afterwards supported increased security, including metal detectors, for the state capitol building.[12][13][14] He also served on the interim legislative Health Care Task Force[15] and the Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Reform Commission between legislative sessions.[16]

In October 2007, Casso was honored by LARASA, the Latin American Research And Service Agency with the Lena L. Archuleta Education Service Award, for his work in the legislature, including a vote in committee that benefitted LARASA Learning Centers.[17][18]

After the legislative session, Casso was elected deputy whip for the House Democratic Caucus.[19]

2008 legislative session

In the 2008 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Casso sits on the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee and the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee. [20]

After killing a bill he sponsored to extend a combined high school-community college program to school districts on the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute Indian Reservation, at the request of tribal leaders,[21] Casso is expected to travel to the reservations to discuss the program following the legislative session.[22]

2008 election

Casso sought a second term in the legislature in 2008 and faced no opposition in either the August Democratic primary[23] or the November general election.[24]

2009 legislative session

For the 2009 legislative session, Casso was named to a seat on the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee and as vice-chair of the House Business Affairs Committee.[25] He was also nominated for the post of House Majority Caucus Whip, but lost the caucus' vote for the post to Rep. Claire Levy.[26] Casso has also sponsored legislation to declare September 11 a state holiday.[27][28]

2010 legislative session

After Casso praised Gov. Bill Ritter's decision not to run for a second term in January 2010 and harshly criticized the sitting Democratic governor, House Speaker Terrance Carroll replaced Casso as vice-chair of the House Business Affairs Committee with Rep. Sara Gagliardi.[29]

2012 legislative session

Representative Casso announced he would not seek reelection in the 2012 General Election.[30] Casso is succeeded by former legislative aide Dominick Moreno who was elected over his Republican opponent.[31][32]

2016 Congressional election

Casso formed an exploratory committee for the 2016 election to the United States House of Representatives in Colorado's 6th congressional district.[33]

References

  1. ↑ "House Journal - January 10, 2007" (pdf). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved December 8, 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Edward Casso (HD 32)". Colorado House Democrats. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  3. 1 2 "State House District 32". COMaps. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Representative Edward Casso". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  5. ↑ Casso, Edward (September 7, 2006). "Candidate profile: Edward Casso". YourHub.com. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  6. ↑ Bartels, Lynn (February 7, 2008). "Citizen Legislator, February 8". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  7. ↑ Editorial Board (October 7, 2006). "State House races". Denver Post. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  8. ↑ Editorial Board (October 12, 2006). "Our choices for the Colorado House". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on December 1, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  9. ↑ "House Committees of Reference". Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  10. 1 2 Brown, Jennifer (March 9, 2007). "Don't mess with CSAP, panel says". Denver Post. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  11. ↑ Staff Reports (April 12, 2007). "Under the dome". Denver Post. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  12. ↑ Couch, Mark P.; Jennifer Brown (July 17, 2007). "Gunman: "You're gonna pay"". Denver Post. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
  13. ↑ Frosch, Dan (July 17, 2007). "Troopers Kill Gunman Near Office of Colorado’s Governor". New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
  14. ↑ Staff Reports (July 17, 2007). "32-Year-Old Thornton Man Shot, Killed Inside State Capitol". TheDenverChannel.com. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Health Care Task Force". Colorado Legislative Council. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Reform Commission". Colorado Legislative Council. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
  17. ↑ "LARASA Honors Two House Democrats Today" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. October 5, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  18. ↑ "Bernie Valdez Awards Luncheon". Latin American Research And Service Agency. Archived from the original on August 22, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  19. ↑ "House Democrats Elect Andy Kerr to Majority Whip "The next generation of Democratic leadership"" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. November 9, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
  20. ↑ "House Committees of Reference". Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  21. ↑ Hanel, Joe (April 12, 2007). "Tribes ask Capitol to drop ed bill". Cortez Journal. Retrieved May 10, 2008.
  22. ↑ Berry, Carol (April 12, 2007). "Fast College Fast Jobs program comes to a halt". Indian Country Today. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2008.
  23. ↑ "Colorado Statewide Cumulative Report - 2008 Primary Election". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  24. ↑ Editorial Board (October 17, 2008). "Post's picks in Colorado's House of Representatives". Denver Post. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  25. ↑ "House Democrats Unveil 2009 Committee Chairs & Assignments" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. November 18, 2008.
  26. ↑ Pelzer, Jeremy (November 6, 2008). "Full list of 2009 Statehouse leadership positions". PolitickerCO.com. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
  27. ↑ Bartels, Lynn (December 29, 2008). "Lawmaker seeks state holiday to mark Sept. 11". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  28. ↑ Riccardi, Nicholas (January 26, 2009). "Lawmaker determined to make 9/11 a state holiday". Denver Post. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
  29. ↑ Bartels, Lynn (January 28, 2010). "Democratic rep loses post after ripping Ritter". Denver Post. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  30. ↑ "Colorado State Representative Edward Casso - General Information - Ballotpedia".
  31. ↑ "CO - Election Results - Colorado Secretary of State".
  32. ↑ "State House 2012 Election Results - Denver Post".
  33. ↑ http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2014/11/13/andrew-romanoff-take-break-gear-16-campaign/115193/

External links

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