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See Also: State of Colorado The Constitution of the U.S. State of Colorado provides for three branches of government: the Legislative , the Executive , and the Judicial branches. LEGISLATURE The legislative body is the Colorado General Assembly made up of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 65 members and the Senate has 35. Currently, Democrats are in control of both chambers of the General Assembly. The 64th Colorado General Assembly is the first to be controlled by the Democrats in forty years. The current Speaker Of The Colorado House Of Representatives is Andrew Romanoff (D-Denver), and the current President Of The Colorado Senate is Joan Fitz-Gerald (D-Boulder). EXECUTIVE The Governor heads the state's executive branch. The current Governor Of Colorado is Bill Ritter (D). Colorado's other elected executive offices are Lieutenant Governor Of Colorado (elected on a ticket with the Governor), Secretary Of State Of Colorado , Colorado State Treasurer , and Attorney General Of Colorado , all of which serve four-year terms. Members of the Colorado State Board Of Education and the Regents Of The Universities Of Colorado are elected from seven districts coterminous with Colorado's US House districts, plus one seat elected by voters statewide, each of whom serve six-year terms. The executive branch of Colorado state government comprises 19 departments:
JUDICIARY The judicial branch is headed by the Colorado Supreme Court , whose rulings can only be overturned by a federal court. As well as the Colorado Supreme Court, the State judicial branch is made up of the Colorado Court of Appeals, which hears cases brought to it by municipal courts. State judges and justices are appointed by the Governor, then elected to ten-year terms. The current Chief Justice Of The Colorado Supreme Court is Mary Mullarkey . U.S. CONGRESS The State of Colorado is represented by two United States Senator s:
The State of Colorado is represented by seven Representatives to the United States House Of Representatives :
POLITICS Colorado is considered a very independent state politically, having elected 17 Democrats and 12 also gained in every open seat race in the state, picking up a seat in the United States Senate and the House Of Representatives . Democrats are strongest in Metropolitan Denver , Boulder , and southern Colorado (including Pueblo , and a few western ski resort counties). Republicans are strongest in the rural plains region, Colorado Springs , the Western Slope (including Grand Junction ), and some of the Denver suburbs. The fastest growing parts of the state, particularly Douglas , Elbert and Weld counties in metro Denver, are strongly Republican. Colorado is made up primarily of transplanted citizens, and this is illustrated by the fact that Governor Ritter is the first native-born Coloradan to hold the post since 1975 when John David Vanderhoof left office. Ritter is also the first native Coloradan to be elected to the Governorship in nearly fifty years, with the last being fellow Democrat Stephen L.R. McNichols in 1958 (Vanderhoof ascended from the Lieutenant Governorship when John Arthur Love was given a position in Richard Nixon 's administration in 1973 .) SEE ALSO
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