Andy Kerr (American politician)


Andy Kerr is an American politician from Colorado. A Democrat, he served in both the Colorado Senate and the Colorado House of Representatives.
Kerr was first appointed to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2006, he represented House District 26, which encompasses most of Lakewood, Colorado from 2006 to 2012, at which point he was elected to the State Senate for District 22.

Biography

Kerr attended Foothills Elementary School, Dunstan Middle School, and Green Mountain High School, all within HD 26. Kerr received a B.A. in Geography, an M.A. in Information and Learning Technologies, and an Administrative Leadership and Policy Studies license from the University of Colorado.
Kerr and his wife Tammy have three children.

Legislative career

2006 appointment

Kerr was first appointed to the Colorado State House of Representatives in 2006, following the succession of then State Representative Betty Boyd to fill the vacancy created by Deanna Hanna's resignation from State Senate District 21.

Elections 2006–2012

State House

In his first, November 2006, election bid, Kerr defeated Republican Glenn Rhoades with 61.19% of votes cast. In his November 2008 re-election campaign, Kerr faced Republican challenger Ray Warren, winning the election with 60.4% of the vote. In his November 2010 re-election campaign, Kerr faced Republican challenger Mark Barrington, winning the election with 56.4% of the vote.

State Senate

In 2012 Kerr ran for the Colorado Senate in newly redistricted Senate District 22. District 22 encompassed areas formerly held by Republican Senator Tim Neville and Democratic Senator Betty Boyd. Kerr was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the 2012 general election, Kerr faced Republican opponent Ken Summers. Kerr was elected by a margin of 52% to 48%.

As State Representative

In his appointed term, Kerr served on the Health and Human Services and Judiciary Committees.
Following his election, Kerr served on the Education Committee and the Judiciary Committee. Following State Representative Dorothy Butcher's resignation from the Colorado State House of Representatives to run for Pueblo County Commissioner, Kerr was elected to fill Butcher's position as House Democratic Caucus Whip.
At the start of 2009's 67th General Assembly, Kerr was elected House Assistant Majority Leader replacing Terrance Carroll, who was elected Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. As Assistant Majority Leader, Kerr served on the Legislative Council. At the end of the 2009 session, Kerr was temporarily elected to the office of Majority Leader while Majority Leader Paul Weissmann underwent back surgery. After a brief recovery period, Weissmann returned to his duties and Kerr continued as Assistant Majority Leader until the loss of the Democratic majority in November 2010. After the loss of the majority in the 2010 election, Kerr ran for minority leader, but lost to Sal Pace. Leader Pace subsequently appointed former Rep. Paul Weissmann as his Chief of Staff.
During the 2010 session, Representative Kerr served on the Business Affairs and Labor Committee. Kerr was also appointed to serve as a commissioner on the Education Commission of the States.
For the 2011 session, Kerr was appointed to the Education Committee and the Appropriations Committee.

2018 Congressional campaign

On April 13, 2017, Kerr announced his candidacy for Colorado's 7th congressional district in the 2018 midterm elections.

2020 County Commissioner campaign

In November 2019, Kerr announced his candidacy for Jefferson County Commissioner from district 2. The incumbent Casey Tighe was term-limited.