Name	Ken Salazar
Office	50th United States Secretary of the Interior
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	David Hayes
Term start	January 20, 2009
Predecessor	Dirk Kempthorne
Jr/sr2	United States Senator
State2	Colorado
Term start2	January 3, 2005
Term end2	January 20, 2009
Predecessor2	Ben Campbell
Successor2	Michael Bennet
Office3	36th Attorney General of Colorado
Governor3	Bill Owens
Term start3	January 12, 1999
Term end3	January 3, 2005
Predecessor3	Gale Norton
Successor3	John Suthers
Birth name	Kenneth Lee Salazar
Birth date	March 02, 1955
Birth place	Alamosa, Colorado, United States
Party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Hope Salazar
Residence	Denver
Alma mater	Colorado CollegeUniversity of Michigan
Profession	Lawyer
Signature	Ken Salazar Signature.svg
Religion	Roman Catholicism }}

Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar (; born March 2, 1955) is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. Senators since 1977; they were joined by Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) in January 2006. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005.

On December 17, 2008, President-elect Obama announced he would nominate Salazar as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. The environmentalist movement's reaction to this nomination was mixed. Previously, Salazar supported the nomination of Gale Norton to Secretary of the Interior, President George W. Bush's first appointee who preceded Salazar as Colorado Attorney General. On January 20, 2009, Salazar was confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate.

Early life and family

Ken Salazar was born in Alamosa, Colorado, the son of Emma M. and Henry (Enrique) S. Salazar. He grew up near Manassa, in the community of Los Rincones in the San Luis Valley area of south-central Colorado. Salazar attended St. Francis Seminary and Centauri High School in La Jara, graduating in 1973. He later attended Colorado College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1977, and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. Later Salazar was awarded honorary degrees (Doctor of Laws) from Colorado College (1993) and the University of Denver (1999). After graduating, Salazar started private law practice.

Salazar has ancestors in the Southwestern United States dating back from the 16th century, when that region was part of New Spain. He has identified as Mexican American and said: "I've been taunted, called names -- from dirty Mexican to lots of other names -- as I was growing up, and even now as a United States senator."

Salazar and his wife, Esperanza, have two daughters and one granddaughter.

State Cabinet member

In 1986, Salazar became chief legal counsel to then Governor Roy Romer; in 1990, Romer appointed him to his Cabinet as Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. In this position, he authored the Great Outdoors Colorado Amendment, which created a massive land conservation program of which he became chairman. Salazar also created the Youth in Natural Resources program to provide for environmental education in public schools. In his cabinet role, he established reforms that forced mining and petroleum operations to better protect the surrounding environment.

Colorado Attorney General

In 1994, Salazar returned to private practice. In 1998, he was elected state attorney general; he was reelected to this position in 2002. Police operations were streamlined under Salazar, and several new branches of law enforcement were created: the Gang Prosecution Unit, the Environmental Crimes Unit, and the General Fugitive Prosecutive Unit, which targeted murderers. He also worked to strengthen consumer protection and anti-fraud laws, as well as to protect children through new policy designed to crack down on sex offenders.

U.S. Senator

In 2004, Salazar declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Salazar considers himself a moderate and has at times taken positions that are in disagreement with the base of his party — for example, he opposed gay adoption for a number of years. Salazar fell behind to candidate Mike Miles early in the state's caucus process. The national Democratic Party backed Salazar with contributions from the DSCC, and Salazar came back to defeat Miles in the Democratic primary, going on to defeat beer executive Pete Coors of the Coors Brewing Company and win the general election for the Senate seat. His elder brother John also had an electoral victory in 2004, winning a race for the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 3rd congressional district.

He took office on January 4, 2005.

Soon after arriving in the Senate, Salazar generated controversy within his party by introducing Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales and sitting by his side during Gonzales' confirmation hearings.

On May 23, 2005, Salazar was among the Gang of 14 moderate senators to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the filibuster against judicial appointments, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the so-called "nuclear option". Under the agreement, the Democrats would retain the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance", and the three most conservative Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) would receive a vote by the full Senate. Salazar has skirmished with Focus on the Family, a Colorado-based conservative Christian group of national stature, over his stance on judicial nominees.

In 2005, Salazar voted against increasing fuel-efficiency standards (CAFE) for cars and trucks, a vote that the League of Conservation Voters believes is anti-environment. In the same year, Salazar voted against an amendment to repeal tax breaks for ExxonMobil and other major petroleum companies.

In August 2006, Ken Salazar supported fellow Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman in his primary race against Ned Lamont in Connecticut. Lamont, running primarily as an anti-war candidate, won the primary. Salazar's continued support of Lieberman, who successfully ran as an independent against Lamont, has rankled the anti-war wing of the Democratic Party.

In 2006, Salazar voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast.

In 2007, Salazar was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote against a bill that would require the United States Army Corps of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects.

According to Project Vote Smart, Ken Salazar received a 25 percent vote rating for 2007 by the Humane Society of the United States, a zero percent vote rating for 2005-2006 by Fund for Animals, a 60 percent vote rating for 2007 by Defenders of Wildlife, and a zero percent vote rating on the Animal Welfare Institute Compassion Index. He also supported the Bush Administration's release of lands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for emergency haying in Colorado's Yuma and Phillips Counties. Salazar has an 81 percent lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters, including a 100 percent rating for the year 2008.

Salazar resigned his Senate seat on January 20, 2009, upon his confirmation by the Senate to become Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama.

Electoral history

Secretary of the Interior

Ken Salazar make their way to the crown of the Statue of Liberty in May 2009.]] Salazar accepted Obama's offer to join his cabinet as the Secretary of the Interior. His appointment required a Saxbe fix by Congress. On January 7, 2009, Congress approved a bill, , and President George W. Bush signed it into law, providing such a fix by reducing the Secretary of Interior's salary to the level it was prior to the time Salazar took office in January 2009.

The Senate confirmed Salazar's nomination by voice vote on January 20, 2009, shortly after Obama was sworn in as President. As Secretary of the Interior, Salazar is in charge of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other federal agencies overseen by the Interior Department.

Salazar is one of two Hispanics currently serving in Obama's Cabinet, along with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis of California. Salazar is the second Hispanic Interior Secretary after Manuel Lujan, Jr., who held the post from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush.

Several prominent environmentalist groups are wary of Salazar, noting his strong ties with the coal and mining industries. Kieran Suckling, executive director of Center for Biological Diversity, which tracks endangered species and habitat issues states "He [Ken Salazar] is a right-of-center Democrat who often favors industry and big agriculture in battles over global warming, fuel efficiency and endangered species."

The nomination was praised, however, by Gene Karpinski, President of the League of Conservation Voters. Upon the nomination, Karpinski said, "Throughout his career, Senator Salazar has campaigned on a pledge of support for 'our land, our water, our people.' With a perfect 100% score on the 2008 LCV Scorecard, he has lived up to that pledge. As a westerner, Senator Salazar has hands on experience with land and water issues, and will restore the Department of the Interior's role as the steward of America's public resources. We look forward to working with him to protect the health of America's land, water, and people in the coming years."

Although Senate Republicans were expected to raise questions concerning Salazar's stances on oil shale development and drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, Salazar was one of several Obama Cabinet appointees confirmed in the Senate by voice vote on January 20, 2009, shortly after Obama's inauguration. Salazar became the 50th Secretary of the Interior succeeding Dirk Kempthorne, who praised Salazar's appointment.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter appointed Denver Superintendent of Schools Michael Bennet to replace Salazar and to finish his term in the Senate, which expired in January 2011.

On January 23, 2009, Salazar stated that he is considering reopening the Statue of Liberty's crown to tourists. The crown has been closed to the public since the September 11, 2001 attacks. "I hope we can find a way," Salazar said in a statement. "It would proclaim to the world — both figuratively and literally — that the path to the light of liberty is open to all."

On March 6, 2009 Salazar agreed to move forward with the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove the Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf from the Endangered Species List in Montana and Idaho, but not Wyoming. Minimum recovery goal for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains is at least 30 breeding pairs and at least 300 wolves for at least three consecutive years, a goal that was attained in 2002 and has been exceeded every year since. (There are currently about 95 breeding pairs and 1,600 wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.) Salazar, a former rancher has come under criticism of groups like the Defenders of Wildlife for this decision, and lack of protection of wolves.

On May 9, 2009, Salazar announced the upholding of a Bush-era policy that prevents the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions via the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a policy he pledged to reevaluate when he took office in January. The policy states that, despite the apparent negative impact global warming has on polar bears, an endangered species, greenhouse gasses cannot be regulated with the ESA. Salazar stated in a conference call announcing the decision that "The single greatest threat to the polar bear is the melting of Arctic Sea ice due to climate change," but the Endangered Species Act "is not the appropriate tool for us to deal with what is a global issue." The decision was met with criticism from environmental groups and praise from energy groups including the American Petroleum Institute, some Democrats and many Republicans. Salazar contended in the same conference call that the ESA was never intended to be used for the regulation of climate change, while sidestepping questions of how this situation is different from that of the Clean Air Act, which is currently being used by the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate emissions.

With Governor Bill Ritter's announcement on January 6, 2010, that he would not seek re-election as Governor, speculation began to swirl about a possible Salazar candidacy that year. Congressman John Salazar, Secretary Salazar's brother, told local media that he thought his brother would likely seek the governor's mansion. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper indicated that while he was considering a run himself, he would "do everything [he could] to help him get elected." Both the Secretary's brother, John, and the Obama Administration urged him to run for Governor, but he ultimately declined and endorsed Hickenlooper's campaign.

On 28 April 2010, Ken Salazar approved the Cape Wind offshore wind farm.

He has dealt with criticism after pushing to impose tougher leasing rules and cancel a series of planned drilling operations in Alaska and elsewhere. Salazar has dealt with criticism over his handling of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, both because of the way his agency handled the permitting process for underwater drilling, and also because of the way the aftermath of the spill has been handled by the government.

Being the Secretary of the Interior, Salazar was the designated survivor for the 2011 State of the Union Address.

References

External links

Biography at the United States Department of the Interior

Profile at SourceWatch

|- |- |- {{U.S. Secretary box |before= Dirk Kempthorne |years= 2009–present |president= Barack Obama |department= Secretary of the Interior}} |- |-

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:American politicians of Mexican descent Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Colorado Attorneys General Category:Colorado College alumni Category:Colorado Democrats Category:Colorado lawyers Category:Democratic Party United States Senators Category:Hispanic and Latino American people in the United States Congress Category:Obama Administration cabinet members Category:People from Alamosa County, Colorado Category:State cabinet secretaries of Colorado Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni Category:United States Secretaries of the Interior Category:United States Senators from Colorado

cs:Ken Salazar da:Ken Salazar de:Ken Salazar et:Ken Salazar es:Ken Salazar fa:کن سالازار fr:Ken Salazar it:Ken Salazar nl:Ken Salazar ja:ケネス・リー・サラザール no:Ken Salazar pl:Ken Salazar ru:Салазар, Кен simple:Ken Salazar fi:Ken Salazar sv:Ken Salazar zh:肯·薩拉查

name	Scott Tipton
state	Colorado
district	3rd
term start	January 3, 2011
preceded	John Salazar
state house2	Colorado
state2	Colorado
district2	58th
term start2	January 9, 2009
term end2	January 2, 2011
preceded2	Ray Rose
succeeded2	Don Coram
birth date	November 09, 1956
birth place	Española, New Mexico
alma mater	Fort Lewis College(B.A., 1978)
party	Republican
spouse	Jean Tipton
children	Liesl; Elizabeth
residence	Cortez, Colorado
occupation	Politician; Small Businessman
religion	Anglican
website	Scott Tipton for Congress
footnotes	}}

Scott R. Tipton (born November 9, 1956) is the U.S. Representative for . In November 2010, he defeated three-term incumbent Democrat John Salazar, whom he lost to in 2006 by a wide margin. He was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives and a co-owner of a pottery company in Cortez, Colorado. Prior to being elected to public office, he was the Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party from 1997 to 2008.

Early life

Scott Tipton was raised in Cortez, where he attended public schools with his brother Joe and graduated from Montezuma-Cortez High School. He went on to Ft. Lewis College in Durango where he studied Political Science. He graduated in 1978, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. After Ft. Lewis, Scott returned to Cortez and founded Mesa Verde Indian Pottery, which he co-owns with his brother Joe. After 31 years in business, Mesa Verde Trading has developed an international client base.

Early political career

A lifelong Republican, Tipton became involved in the Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign in 1976 and was a delegate to the Republican Convention that year. He also assisted and ran local campaigns for Reagan in 1980 and 1984 across Montezuma County, Colorado and the 3rd Congressional District.

Over the years, he has served in various roles for the campaigns of Scott McInnis, Ben Campbell, Bill Owens and George Bush. A former Montezuma County GOP Chairman, Scott served as the Republican Chairman of the 3rd Congressional District for eight years.

Colorado legislature

2008 election

Scott Tipton announced his candidacy for Colorado House District 58 on February 5, 2008. This announcement came shortly after the incumbent Ray Rose announced he was retiring in 2008 and several key leaders asked Tipton to run. Tipton had no opposition in the August Republican primary, but faced Democrat Noelle Hagan in the November 2008 general election. Hagan's candidacy was endorsed by the ''Denver Post'' and the ''Montrose Daily Press'', but Tipton won the race with 59 percent of the popular vote.

Tenure

With Representatives Laura Bradford and Frank McNulty, Tipton plans on re-introducing a version of Jessica's Law to establish minimum sentences for child sex offenders, and sponsoring bills to create a full-time judge position in Montrose, and to simplify water rights filing.

Committee assignments

For the 2009 legislative session, Tipton was named to seats on the House Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources Committee and the House Local Government Committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

;2006 Tipton challenged the then Freshman Democratic U.S. Congressman John Salazar. Tipton lost 38% to 62% for Salazar.

;2010 Tipton challenged Democratic incumbent John Salazar in . Libertarian Gregory Gilman and Independent Jake Segrest were also on the ballot, with Independents John W. Hargis, Sr. and James Fritz qualified as write-in candidates.

Tipton decided to retire from the Colorado House of Representatives to run for Congress in 2010, again challenging Salazar. In the Republican primary, Tipton defeated Bob McConnell 56% to 44%.

Larry Sabato, Stuart Rothenberg, CQ Politics, New York Times, and Charlie Cook rated the race as a "Toss-up", with FiveThirtyEight giving Tipton a 77.9% of winning, while Real Clear Politics rated the race "Leans GOP". Colorado's 3rd has a Cook PVI of R+5.

Tenure

Tipton is a signer of Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

Committee assignments

Committee on Agriculture

*Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry

Committee on Natural Resources

*Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands

*Subcommittee on Water and Power

Committee on Small Business

*Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade (Chairman)

*Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations

Personal life

Tipton and his wife Jean have been married for 27 years and have two daughters, Liesl and Elizabeth.

References

External links

U.S. Congressman Scott Tipton ''official U.S. House site''

Scott Tipton for Congress ''official campaign site''

Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:Colorado Republican Party chairs Category:Colorado Republicans Category:Fort Lewis College alumni Category:Members of the Colorado House of Representatives Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado Category:People from Montezuma County, Colorado

pl:Scott Tipton