Senate President Leroy Garcia Delivers Opening Day Remarks

DENVER, CO – Colorado Senate President Leroy Garcia (D-Pueblo) today delivered his Opening Day Remarks to kick off the 2022 legislative session – his last as Senate President. Below is a transcript of Garcia’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

"Madam President Pro Tempore, Mr. Majority Leader, Mr. Minority Leader – friends, loved ones, and honored guests.

Good morning, and welcome to the Colorado Senate.

It is an honor to be with you all today as we find ourselves on day one of what promises to be a challenging, yet rewarding 120 days.

For those who have not heard the great news, the good Senator from Wheat Ridge gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Callum just a few weeks ago. Please join me in congratulating Senator Jessie Danielson, her husband Andy and their daughter Isabella on their new addition to the family!

Congratulations Senator Danielson!

This is the fourth time I have had the privilege of standing before you and addressing you on opening day as your Senate President, and I sincerely enjoyed working on this speech because it gave me an opportunity to reflect on all the things we have endured together. Over the last three years, the challenges have been unprecedented, but so have our victories.

We fought to lead Colorado’s Comeback to recover from the pandemic, and made monumental investments in Colorado’s affordability and resilience by cutting taxes for small businesses, improving our schools, expanding access to childcare, investing in rural communities, and developing our state’s workforce.

We worked together to modernize and update our misdemeanor sentencing laws, finding bipartisanship and agreement on a contentious issue where consensus is often hard to find.

We have saved Coloradans thousands of dollars on their healthcare bills, finding innovative ways to cut costs, build transparency, and increase access for all.

In the midst of the worst economic downturn in Colorado’s history, our Joint Budget Committee moved mountains to pave the way for our economic recovery, while still crafting a budget that reflects the values that this state believes in.

We have made crucial strides towards protecting the great outdoors our state is known for, so Coloradans today, tomorrow and for generations to come can continue enjoying them.

I mention this not to take a victory lap, but because we convene today under the shadow of a prolonged period of statewide grief. Over just the last few weeks, Aurora, Denver, Lakewood and beyond have mourned the victims of gun violence. Our neighbors in Boulder County have started to rebuild after fires reduced their homes to ash. The pandemic’s death toll keeps climbing, as does the rate of suicides and overdoses.

It is easy to focus on what divides us, rather than on the shared responsibility each of us has to make sure that these tragedies become more than just headlines – they are calls to action.

When the founders of this country put pen to paper, they predicted that the young nation was destined to exist as perpetual works in progress, the dream of a more perfect union remaining permanently out of reach.

We carry that mantle today, where we find ourselves in a building constructed as a monument to our founder’s belief that the pursuit of progress is both noble and necessary. Our constituents sent us so we could prove those words right, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges and unfathomable loss.

Although our state – like the entire country – feels more divided than ever, Coloradans are united in their vision for their future.

Whether home is a rental apartment in downtown Denver, a family farm nestled on the Western Slope, or a house on Pueblo’s South Side, every Coloradan wants – and deserves – many of the same things.

• A safe, reliable place to lay your head to rest

• A stable income that allows you to provide for yourself and your family

• A life free from violence and discrimination

While we have worked to make these things universal, far too many Coloradans have been left behind and ultimately, we are here to change that – to do our part in making sure every person is able to achieve the life and future they envision for themselves and their families.

It has become somewhat of a tradition for the Senate President to declare on opening day that this upcoming session will be the most consequential in history. That declaration has never felt more appropriate, as we begin the 2022 legislative session with a once in a lifetime gift that puts the wind at our backs as we choose how we shape Colorado’s future.

The American Rescue Plan Act has given us an opportunity that we never would have thought possible before. With hundreds of millions of dollars at our disposal, we have a one-time chance to create transformational change that Coloradans will feel for decades.

Over the last several months, bipartisan groups of legislators met with experts to chart the future of this spending. And thanks to the dedication of our members who served on those task forces, we are going to spend the next 120 days making sure that we make every dollar count.

We’re going to make transformational changes to drastically increase the supply of safe and affordable housing, so Coloradans in every corner of this state can keep a roof over their head.

We are going to stabilize our behavioral health system that has been stretched far too thin for far too long, so our neighbors that struggle with mental health and substance use disorders can get the support they need to stay safe.

We are going to invest in our most important resource: our children, to make sure they have the education, training and support needed for a bright future.

We are going to support small businesses, grow our state’s economy, and make sure that our recovery continues to lift up all Coloradans.

We are going to make sure that the issues discussed around kitchen tables in Pueblo and beyond – like public safety, affordability, student success and more – are the issues that we discuss here at the Capitol.

One of the most important lessons I have learned as a legislator is to make the most of every opportunity, because a second chance is never guaranteed. None of us know if Colorado will have another opportunity like the one we have today, to take Colorado leaps and bounds towards the dream of a brighter future. It is not an opportunity we will let go to waste.

This opening day speech is my fourth – and final – of my tenure as Senate President. It is also the first of what will be a long list of “last times” that I will experience over the next 120 days.

Each of us will eventually walk out of this chamber for a final time, and once we’ve said goodbye to the Senate, our legacy won’t be measured by the titles we collect or the size of our office.

Our legacy will be measured by all the ways that Coloradans will feel the choices we make for years to come, and the ways they experience what we do with this once in a lifetime opportunity.

It is the Colorado family that was able to pull themselves from the brink of homelessness and keep a roof over their heads because we choose to invest in affordable housing.

It is the small business owner who keeps their doors open and their employees on the payroll because we created programs that help them weather tough times.

It is the young Coloradan who starts to put their mental health struggles in the rear view mirror – because we worked together today to ensure that mental and behavioral health care is available to anyone who is ready for it.

It is the combat veteran who comes home from deployment and is able to enjoy the freedoms they fought to protect – because we fought for them in the capitol.

It is the Latino kid, who ensures that the first Latino Senate President – is far from Colorado’s last.

Our legacy will be measured not by whether or not we resolved all our problems in 120 days, but by how we used these 120 days to relentlessly pursue a more perfect Colorado.

This session – especially as the demands of legislating put us to the test, we cannot lose sight of the fact that Colorado’s future gets brighter when we confront our challenges with the relentless optimism that better is possible, only if we choose to make it the only possible outcome.

Let’s make that choice together.

Before we move forward, I want to close by sharing my gratitude.

We would not be here today if it were not for the first responders – the doctors, nurses, law enforcement, EMS professionals, and so many more – who have made it their mission to keep Colorado safe and healthy. We are indebted to them for their service. Please join me in showing our appreciation for their service.

I want to thank my boys – I guess now I should be calling them young men – Jeremiah and Xan, for your love and support.

I also am grateful for my parents, my friends and to Pueblo – thank you for putting your trust in me to represent our community. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve. Know that I will continue to fight for a better future here in the Capitol, and beyond.

Majority Leader Fenberg and Minority Leader Holbert – thank you for your collaboration, your commitment to service, and your friendship. I am incredibly fortunate to have such great partners in leadership.

And colleagues, I want to share my gratitude for each and every one of you. This partnership had a little bit of a rocky start, as you might recall.

However, three years later, this chamber has set an example for the rest of the country by leaving the partisan antics to Washington DC so we can focus on making the lives of Coloradans better.

Members, with you, let’s get to work."