Colorado House of Representatives District 16 is represented by Andy Pico (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Colorado state representatives represented an average of 88,826 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 77,372 residents.

About the office

Members of the Colorado House of Representatives serve two-year terms with term limits.^[1] Colorado legislators assume office on the first day of the legislative session after their election. The legislative session must begin no later than 10:00 AM on the second Wednesday of January.^[2] The state constitution requires the newly elected governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and secretary of state to take office on the second Tuesday of January.^[3] In the year after those offices are elected, the legislative session must begin before the second Tuesday of January to declare the winners of those races.^[4][5]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Article 5, Section 4 of the Colorado Constitution states: "No person shall be a representative or senator who shall not have attained the age of twenty­-five years, who shall not be a citizen of the United States, who shall not for at least twelve months next preceding his election, have resided within the territory included in the limits of the county or district in which he shall be chosen; provided, that any person who at the time of the adoption of this constitution, was a qualified elector under the territorial laws, shall be eligible to the first general assembly."

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislators
Salary	Per diem
$40,242/year	For legislators residing within 50 miles of the capitol: $45/day. For legislators living more than 50 miles from the capitol: $219/day. Set by the legislature. Vouchered.

Term limits

See also: State legislatures with term limits

Voters enacted the Colorado Term Limits Act in 1990. That initiative said that Colorado representatives are subject to term limits of no more than four two-year terms.^[6]

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Colorado General Assembly, then the political party that last held the seat is responsible for selecting a replacement.^[7] A vacancy committee consisting of members representing the political party holding the vacant seat must conduct an election to appoint a replacement. The person selected to fill the vacant seat must be approved by a majority of the members of the vacancy committee. The person who is selected to fill the vacancy remains in the seat until the next scheduled general election.^[8]

See sources: Colorado Art. 5, Sec. 2(3) and Colorado Rev. Stat. §1-12-203

District map

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Colorado after the 2020 census

On Nov. 15, 2021, the Colorado Supreme Court approved the state legislative redistricting plans approved by the state's Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission on Oct. 11 and 12, 2021.^[9] These maps take effect for Colorado’s 2022 state legislative elections.

The Colorado Sun's Thy Vo wrote that the House and Senate maps "appear to favor Democrats' maintaining their majority in the General Assembly."^[9] Colorado Politics' Evan Wyloge wrote that the new maps created nine House districts where previous election results fell within a five percentage point margin and eight such Senate districts. At the time of approval, Democrats held a 42-23 majority in the House and a 20-15 majority in the Senate.^[10]

State Senate map

Below is the state Senate map in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle.

State House map

Below is the state House map in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle.

Reactions

Following the commission's submission of its final maps to the state supreme court, Colorado Newsline's Sara Wilson wrote that "objections to those maps revolve around the argument that they split up cities like Lakewood and Greeley without justification and don't create enough competitive districts."^[11]

The Colorado Republican Committee and the Republican state House and Senate caucuses submitted a joint brief, saying, "While the Final Plans are not perfect, and are not the maps Colorado Republicans would have drawn, they are a result of a faithful application of the agreed-upon constitutional criteria for redistricting by the Commission and should therefore be approved."^[11]

How does redistricting in Colorado work? On November 6, 2018, Colorado voters approved two constitutional amendments, Amendment Y and Amendment Z, establishing separate non-politician commissions for congressional and state legislative redistricting. Each commission consists of four members belonging to the state's largest political party, four members belonging to the state's second-largest party, and four members belonging to no party. Commission members are appointed by a panel of three judges selected by the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. The amendment requires at least eight of the commission's 12 members, including at least two members not belonging to any political party, to approve a map.^[12]

The Colorado Constitution requires that state legislative district boundaries "be contiguous, and that they be as compact as possible based on their total perimeter." In addition, "to the extent possible, districts must also preserve the integrity of counties, cities, towns and–where doing so does not conflict with other goals–communities of interest." There are no similar requirements for congressional districts.^[13][14]

Elections

2020

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2020

2018

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2018

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kevin Smith (Independent)

2016

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Colorado House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 28, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 4, 2016.

Larry Liston defeated John Hjersman in the Colorado House of Representatives District 16 general election.^[15][16]

Colorado House of Representatives, District 16 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Larry Liston	71.87%	26,225
	Libertarian	John Hjersman	28.13%	10,262
Total Votes				36,487
Source: Colorado Secretary of State

Larry Liston defeated incumbent Janak Joshi in the Colorado House of Representatives District 16 Republican primary.^[17][18]

Colorado House of Representatives, District 16 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Larry Liston	60.87%	5,459
	Republican	Janak Joshi Incumbent	39.13%	3,510
Total Votes				8,969

2014

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Colorado House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 24, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 31, 2014. Ryan Macoubrie was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Janak Joshi was unopposed in the Republican primary. Joshi defeated Macoubrie in the general election.^{[19][20][21][22]}

Colorado House of Representatives, District 16, General Election, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Janak Joshi Incumbent	66.6%	18,892
	Democratic	Ryan Macoubrie	33.4%	9,472
Total Votes				28,364

2012

See also: Colorado House of Representatives elections, 2012

Elections for the Colorado House of Representatives consisted of a primary election on June 26, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 19, 2012. Incumbent Janak Joshi defeated David Rawe (C) and Michael Giallombardo (L) in the general election. The candidates ran without opposition in the June 26 primary elections.^[23][24]

Colorado House of Representatives, District 16, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Janak Joshi Incumbent	68.2%	21,781
	Libertarian	Michael J. Giallombardo	18%	5,735
	American Constitution Party	David Rawe	13.9%	4,426
Total Votes				31,942

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2018, candidates for Colorado House of Representatives District 16 raised a total of $447,212. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $20,328 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Colorado House of Representatives District 16
Year	Amount	Candidates	Average
2018	$64,961	3	$21,654
2016	$152,636	3	$50,879
2014	$15,043	2	$7,522
2012	$-155	2	$-78
2010	$45,424	2	$22,712
2008	$33,897	2	$16,949
2006	$30,696	1	$30,696
2004	$32,871	2	$16,436
2002	$52,341	3	$17,447
2000	$19,498	2	$9,749
Total	$447,212	22	$20,328

See also

• Colorado State Legislature
• Colorado State Senate
• Colorado House of Representatives
• Colorado state legislative districts

External links

• The Colorado State House of Representatives

Footnotes

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