Legislature wrapup: Region's lawmakers mostly flew under the radar

DENVER - With all the attention paid to Rep. Douglas Bruce this year, it was easy to forget 13 other legislators represent the Pikes Peak region.

The nine representatives and five senators who speak for El Paso and Teller counties contributed to their anonymity by proposing bills that dealt with peripheral issues. Aside from Rep. Bob Gardner's public-employees' strike ban and Rep. Marsha Looper's seasonal workers bill - a measure overshadowed by Bruce's "illiterate peasants" comment - bills introduced by 12 Republicans and two Democrats slipped under the radar.

The highs and lows for the area's delegation this year:

Larry Liston
Party: Republican
Position: District 16 (North Central Colorado Springs) Representative
What he wants to remember: Passed four of the five measures he authored, including one that gives tax credits to companies that hire the developmentally disabled.
What he wants to forget: Liston's session will be defined by one word - "sluts" - the term he used to describe unmarried teen parents in a Republican Caucus meeting. He apologized from the well of the House.
What lies next: Seeking re-election in Republican stronghold.

John Morse
Party: Democrat
Position: Joint Budget Committee member; District 11 (Manitou Springs, Old Colorado City, downtown Colorado Springs) Senator
What he wants to remember: Sponsored 22 successful bills, including measures to create a statewide school-safety program and to greatly increase the number of drivers who have trauma-care insurance. As one of the six legislators who put together the budget, he can take credit for funding increases for higher education.
What he wants to forget: Several people commented that while Morse passed a ton of bills, few were very noteworthy and even his trauma-care measure was greatly watered down.
What lies next: Not up for re-election until 2010.

Stella Garza Hicks
Party: Republican
Position: District 17 (SE Colorado Springs and Fort Carson) Representative
What she wants to remember: After being a complete nonentity in her first year, she passed three bills in her second, including one that increases the number of extensions law enforcement agencies can get on wiretapping orders. Earned praise as Fort Carson's biggest legislative advocate with her support for military bills and her solemn announcements of soldiers' deaths.
What she wants to forget: Took the bold step of being one of only three Republicans to co-sponsor a plan to unravel funding knots in the constitution, but she couldn't bring other Republicans on board
What lies next: Declined to run for the seat she was appointed to in 2006.

Douglas Bruce
Party: Republican
Position: District 15 (NE Colorado Springs) Representative
What he wants to remember: Made some headway in getting legislators to remove safety clauses - provisions that preclude citizen petitions to repeal a law - from bills. He was constantly getting his name in the news as he prepared for a primary race.
What he wants to forget: The news linked with his name included his receiving the first censure in the history of the House, for kicking a news photographer, his being pulled from a committee after refusing to support a resolution honoring veterans, his comments that foreign farm workers are "illiterate peasants" and his being investigated for alleged sexual harassment of a staffer. Had four bills, two constitutional amendments and one resolution die in committees, with a combined total of 18 supporting votes.
What lies next: Faces a primary to hold the seat to which he was appointed in December.

Bill Cadman
Party: Republican
Position: District 10 (NE Colorado Springs and El Paso County) Senator
What he wants to remember: Passed five bills, most notably a bipartisan effort to consolidate all of the state's data centers under one information technology department.
What he wants to forget: Always a legislator who would rather kill a bill than introduce one, Cadman did very little of the former this year. His efforts to criminalize illegal aliens and reign in the rule-making ability of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission were dismissed quickly.
What lies next: Seeking election to heavily Republican seat to which he was appointed in November.

Marsha Looper
Party: Republican
Position: District 19 (Fountain, Widefield, E El Paso County) Representative
What she wants to remember: Ten bills sponsored, 10 bills passed: A jaw-dropping accomplishment for a member of the minority party who has learned to cross the aisle as effectively as any Republican in Denver and get Democrats to be her Senate co-sponsors. The most prominent ones clear the titles of property owners in proposed toll road corridors, create a pilot program to allow for importation of more seasonal farm workers and protect the jobs of volunteer firefighters who are called to duty.
What she wants to forget: Proposed two constitutional amendments to expand the Homestead property tax exemption for senior citizens and saw both die in committees. Eastern plains residents accused her of selling out to owners of the proposed Super Slab corridor.
What lies next: Seeking re-election in very Republican district.

Victor Mitchell
Party: Republican
Position: District 45 (Teller and S Douglas County) Representative
What he wants to remember: Passed five of the six bills he introduced, most of which deal with audit committee clean-ups or technical business matters. He also became one of the Republicans' lead anti-union voices.
What he wants to forget: Moved from his 2007 assignment on the House Education Committee to the Business Affairs and Labor Committee just in time to miss the biggest educationreform year in memory.
What lies next: Declining to seek a second term.

Dave Schultheis
Party: Republican
Position: District 9 (N and NW Colorado Springs) Senator
What he wants to remember: Passed six bills, including a uniformly praised measure that clamps down on the parenting rights of convicted sex offenders who live out of state but share custody of children with Coloradans. Two of the bills created license plates.
What he wants to forget: Schultheis has built his career on trying to crack down on illegal immigration, and his three measures addressing that subject were dismissed out of hand.
What lies next: Not up for re-election until 2010.

Kent Lambert
Party: Republican
Position: District 14 (NW Colorado Springs) Representative
What he wants to remember: After having all of his efforts squashed in committee in 2007, his measure to protect the jobs of Civil Air Patrol volunteers who are called up to duty earned a signing ceremony from Gov. Bill Ritter.
What he wants to forget: Lambert's key issues - illegal immigration and protection for nonunion workers - continue to be nonstarters.
What lies next: Seeking re-election in overwhelmingly Republican district.

Amy Stephens
Party: Republican
Position: House Republican Caucus Chairwoman; District 20 (N Colorado Springs and El Paso County) Representative
What she wants to remember: Five of her six bills passed, including measures to make hospital pricing more transparent and to allow military spouses moving out of state because of a transfer to receive Colorado unemployment insurance benefits.
What she wants to forget: Spent a lot of time as party caucus chairwoman unsuccessfully trying to bring Bruce in line with the rest of the party.
What lies next: Seeking re-election in overwhelmingly Republican district.

Andy McElhany
Party: Republican
Position: Senate Minority Leader; District 12 (W and SW Colorado Springs and El Paso County) Senator
What he wants to remember: His proposal for toll booths on Interstate 70 got more support than any other road-funding plan this session, though it ultimately failed. Led a unified Senate GOP effort that killed several major Democratic proposals, including measures to end government spending limits and raise vehicleregistration fees.
What he wants to forget: Played well on defense but not on offense, pushing through very few major Republican bills after outlining a vast agenda before the session. His long-running effort to secure auto-related sales tax revenues for highways died quickly.
What lies next: Stepping down because of term limits after 14 years in the General Assembly.

Bob Gardner
Party: Republican
Position: District 21 (SW Colorado Springs and El Paso County and E Fremont County) Representative
What he wants to remember: His efforts for the developmentally disabled resulted in the creation of a set-aside program of government jobs for them and his heavily influencing the governor to add $14.9 million to the budget for disability services.
What he wants to forget: Efforts to create a Rainy Day Fund and to require monitoring bracelets for all sex offenders on parole or probation died before they hit the House floor.
What lies next: Rematch against 2006 Democratic opponent in heavily Republican district.

Mike Merrifield
Party: Democrat
Position: House Education Committee Chairman; District 18 (Manitou Springs, Old Colorado City, downtown Colorado Springs) Representative
What he wants to remember: A surprisingly noncontroversial year for one of the area's most outspoken legislators was marked instead by bipartisan praise for the education-reform bills that made their way through his committee. He also authored successful measures to give more rights to apartment renters and to improve the detection and treatment of students with dyslexia.
What he wants to forget: Merrifield was lukewarm on some of those education reform measures, commenting that they still seem to rely too heavily on testing. While he didn't brawl publicly with charter school backers this year, he also couldn't stop an increase in construction funding for those schools or save a bill amendment that would reduce funding to charters with a low number of at-risk students.
What lies next: Seeking re-election in swing district that he has dominated.

Tom Wiens
Party: Republican
Position: District 4 (Teller and Park counties and N El Paso County) Senator
What he wants to remember: Goaded the federal government into action with his efforts to bring attention to the potentially disastrous blockages in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel. Authored just one bill - requiring school districts to design emergency-response plans to disasters and incidents like shootings - but it passed.
What he wants to forget: Spent a lot of time trying to amend or kill bills that increased business regulation but made few impacts.
What lies next: Declined to seek re-election, possibly gearing up for a 2010 gubernatorial run.