President Garcia Appoints & Senate Overwhelming Approves Former-Representative Cole Wist to the Independent Ethics Commission

Wist will succeed Commissioner William Leone as the Senate appointee to the Commission for a four-year term, beginning in July 2021

DENVER, CO - Today, Senate President Leroy Garcia introduced Senate Resolution 21-006 to formally appoint Cole Wist to the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission, a constitutionally created independent commission charged with upholding ethics in Colorado government. The Senate voted 34-1 to approve the President's appointment. 

“Though Representative Wist and I come from different political parties, I have always known him to be an honest, principled man with integrity,” said President Leroy Garcia (D-Pueblo). “I have no doubt that Cole Wist’s exemplary character and experience will make him an extremely valuable member of the Independent Ethics Commission.”

Wist is a former state legislator, and former House Assistant Minority Leader, who represented House District 37 in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2016-2018. Throughout his short but exemplary legislative career, Representative Wist quickly earned a reputation as being an ethical and principled legislator, a creative problem solver, a civil justice reform advocate, and a productive bipartisan lawmaker who demonstrated experienced and reasoned leadership.

Representative Wist was a legislator to whom members from both sides of the aisle turned for guidance and balanced advice and who was admired by his legislative colleagues for his intelligence, fairness, civility, and grace. 

In addition to his legislative career, Wist is a well-respected and experienced attorney, of counsel with the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs in Denver, where he engages in a national legal practice representing employers in complex labor and employment matters and focusing on workplace safety and health and crisis risk management. Over his decades-long legal career, Wist has earned the respect of and been recognized by his peers in the legal community for his outstanding professional achievements.

On the basis of his dedicated public service as a respected member of the Colorado House of Representatives, his extensive career as a highly regarded and well-respected attorney for over thirty years, and his outstanding qualifications and reputation in the community as an individual of integrity and the highest ethical standards, Cole Wist has demonstrated the temperament and personal qualities that will enable him to serve as a respected member of the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission.

For Senate appointments to be confirmed, resolutions must pass through the full Senate with at least a two-thirds vote. To read the resolution in its entirety, visit leg.colorado.gov/bills/sr21-006.