Joe Salazar facts for kids

Joseph Anthony Salazar (born in 1971 or 1972) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Salazar served as a representative in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. In 2018, he ran for Colorado Attorney General but lost in the primary election.

Currently, Joe Salazar leads Colorado Rising. This group works against a drilling method called "fracking." He is also known for supporting Bernie Sanders. This makes him a part of the progressive side of the Democratic Party.

Early Life and School

Salazar grew up in Thornton, Colorado. He has shared that his family's Spanish ancestors came to the region a very long time ago. He also mentioned that both of his grandmothers had Apache heritage.

Joe Salazar went to the University of Colorado Boulder. There, he earned his bachelor's degree. Later, he studied law at the University of Denver. He received a Juris Doctor (JD) degree, which is a professional law degree.

Working as a Lawyer

Before becoming a politician, Joe Salazar worked as a lawyer. He was part of a law firm called Smith, Shelton, Ragona and Salazar, LLC. His work mainly focused on three areas of law:

• Employment law, which deals with rules for jobs and workplaces.
• Civil rights, which protects people's basic freedoms.
• Constitutional law, which is about the rules in the country's main law book, the Constitution.

Political Career

Joe Salazar has had an active career in politics. He served in the Colorado state government and ran for other important roles.

Serving in the Colorado House of Representatives

Joe Salazar was first elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2012. He served there until 2019. During his time as a representative, he worked on several important issues.

One of his main goals was to stop high schools from using mascots that are offensive to Native Americans. He also tried to change Columbus Day's status as a state holiday. He felt that Christopher Columbus's actions were disrespectful.

Salazar also supported laws about freedom of information. These laws help people get public records easily. He wanted to limit how much it costs to ask for these records. This makes it easier for everyone to access information.

He was also one of the few lawmakers in Colorado to support Bernie Sanders when Sanders ran for president in 2016.

Running for Colorado Attorney General in 2018

After thinking about running for governor, Salazar decided to run for Colorado Attorney General in 2018. The Attorney General is the state's chief legal officer. This person acts as the state's lawyer.

In the Democratic primary election, Salazar ran against Phil Weiser. Weiser used to be the dean of the University of Colorado Law School. Joe Salazar's campaign received support from Bernie Sanders and a group called Our Revolution. Even with this support, Salazar lost the election by a very small number of votes.

After 2018: New Roles

After the 2018 election, Joe Salazar took on a new role. He became the director of Colorado Rising. This is a group that works against fracking. Fracking is a way of drilling for oil and gas.

In 2021, Salazar thought about running for the U.S. Senate. He considered challenging Senator Michael Bennet. However, he later decided not to run for that position. He also chose not to run for a new congressional district in Colorado.

In late 2021, Salazar filed papers to run for a state Senate district in Colorado. This new district included areas like Thornton and Federal Heights. However, in February 2022, he decided to withdraw from that race as well.