Senate President Leroy Garcia Receives Pentagon Appointment, Announces Plans for Resignation

Garcia: “I am incredibly grateful that my community and my colleagues entrusted me with this responsibility, and I have been humbled by the opportunity to serve the state I love.”

DENVER, CO – Colorado Senate President Leroy Garcia (D-Pueblo) today announced he intends to resign as President of the Colorado Senate in order to accept an appointment to serve our nation at the Pentagon.

Garcia’s resignation will take effect on February 23, 2022.

“For nearly a decade, I have had the immense honor to represent the People of Pueblo at the Colorado State Capitol, and the privilege to serve as Senate President since 2019,” President Garcia said. “I am incredibly grateful that my community and my colleagues entrusted me with this responsibility, and I have been humbled by the opportunity to serve the state I love.  While my time in the Senate is coming to a close, I am proud of all that we’ve accomplished together to move Colorado forward, and I am confident that whomever is selected to fill these vacancies will serve with the integrity and tenacity that Coloradans deserve.”   

“The state of Colorado is grateful for President Garcia’s unwavering commitment to delivering for Colorado and Pueblo. Under President Garcia’s leadership we have led trailblazing health care reforms to save Coloradans money, created a state park at Fischer’s Peak and we are poised to move forward in making front range rail a reality,” said Governor Jared Polis. “President Garcia’s experience as a paramedic and Marine Corps veteran will be a huge asset to President Biden’s administration. On behalf of a grateful state, I congratulate him on his appointment.”

"President Garcia’s appointment is a great loss for Colorado, but a huge gain for our country,” said Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg. “Since the day I decided to run for office, President Garcia has been a mentor for me, just like he’s been for many of my colleagues. I’ve learned so much from him over the years about public service, leadership, and responsibility. He’s taught me that no matter what’s going on in the world, a true public servant’s first responsibility is to care for our democratic institutions and the people we serve, and to ensure we’re passing it off to the next generation better than we found it. Simply put, the state of Colorado is better because of Leroy Garcia.”

“President Garcia is a trailblazer and the consummate public servant, and has guided the Senate with grace and diligence through some of the biggest crises Colorado has ever seen,” said Senate Majority Caucus Chair Julie Gonzales (D-Denver). “I am incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to serve alongside and learn from Presidente, and I will miss his mentorship and his guidance. I know he will continue to make our state and our country proud as he serves at the Pentagon.”

Garcia will serve as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs within the Department of Defense at the Pentagon.

Garcia was first elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2012 and the Colorado Senate in 2014. A sixth generation Southern Coloradan and a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq in 2003, Garcia spent his time in the legislature fighting to improve the lives of Southern Coloradans and veterans across the state. 

After receiving the unanimous support of his Senate colleagues in 2019, Garcia became the first Latino Senate President in Colorado history. Outside of his work in the legislature, Garcia is a parish pianist, a licensed paramedic, an emergency medical services faculty member at Pueblo Community College, and a proud father to his two boys, Jeremiah and Xan.