Edward Casso.html |
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Edward Casso
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Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 32nd district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 10, 2007[1] |
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| Preceded by | Valentin Vigil |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Selena |
Edward Casso (born 1974[2]) is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006, Casso represents House District 32, which encompasses suburbs of Denver, Colorado in northwestern Adams County.[3]
Contents |
Biography
Born in Thornton, Colorado, Casso earned a bachelor's degree in political philosophy from the University of Colorado in 1997.[4] He was the first member of his family to attend college. While at CU, Casso was president of the CU College Democrats.[2] There, he was a precinct committeeperson for the Boulder County Democratic Party[4] and a member of the vacancy committee that appointed Ron Tupa to the Colorado State Senate.[2]
After moving to Adams County, Casso served as a precinct committeeperson, co-captain of house district 32-D, and vice-chair and later chair of the Adams County Young Democrats.[2] He has also served as chair of the Colorado Democratic Party Outreach Commission, and worked as an intern for Congressman David Skaggs.[4]
Before being elected to the legislature, Casso worked as a teacher in an alterative high school during summers,[5] and as a substitute teacher for Denver Public Schools.[6] Casso resides in Commerce City, Colorado;[2] he and his wife, Selena, have two children: Cecelia and Aristotle.[4]
Legislative career
| Bills Introduced in 2007 by Rep. Casso (for which Rep. Casso is the primary originating sponsor) |
||
|---|---|---|
| BILL | TITLE | OUTCOME |
| HB07-1052 | Concerning disclosure by issue committees that support or oppose state ballot issues. | Postponed indefinitely in House committee |
| HB07-1077 | Concerning imposition of requirements on providers of supplemental education services. | Signed by Gov. Ritter |
| HB07-1112 | Concerning parity in health care coverage for mental illness. | Signed by Gov. Ritter |
| HB07-1205 | Concerning the laden status of a truck trailer that is not carrying cargo. | Signed by Gov. Ritter |
| HB07-1284 | Concerning the exception of certain students' scores from calculations of a school's academic performance. | Passed House; Postponed indefinitely in Senate committee |
| HB07-1287 | Concerning authorization of parental choice to exempt children from participation in the Colorado Student Assessment Program. | Postponed indefinitely in House committee |
2006 election
In the 2006 Colorado legislative elections, Casso defeated Republican Tracey Snyder with 57 percent of the popular vote.[3] Casso was endorsed by the Denver Post,[7] but not the Rocky Mountain News.[8]
2007 legislative session
In the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Casso sat on the House Education Committee and the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee. [9]
During the 2007 session, Casso sponsored two bills to revise the ways in which schools' CSAP test scores were reported. One, which would have exempted scores from special education students,[10] was killed in a Senate committee;[11] the other, which would have exempted scores for students whose parents opt the students out of the test, was killed in a House committee at Casso's request because of concerns that it would jeopardize federal school funding.[10]
Following the legislative session, Casso was present at the Colorado State Capitol during an incident in which state troopers shot and killed a mentally ill individual gunman targeting Gov. Bill Ritter. Casso observed the dead body and afterwards supported increased security, including metal detectors, for the state capitol building.[12][13][14] He also served on the interim legislative Health Care Task Force[15] and the Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Reform Commission between legislative sessions.[16]
In October 2007, Casso was honored by LARASA, the Latin American Research And Service Agency with the Lena L. Archuleta Education Service Award, for his work in the legislature, including a vote in committee that benefitted LARASA Learning Centers.[17][18]
After the legislative session, Casso was elected deputy whip for the House Democratic Caucus.[19]
2008 legislative session
| Bills Introduced in 2008 by Rep. Casso (for which Rep. Casso is the primary originating sponsor) |
||
|---|---|---|
| BILL | TITLE | OUTCOME |
| HB08-1019 | Concerning the provision of educational services for children in out-of-home placements. | Signed by Gov. Ritter |
| HB08-1156 | Concerning juvenile parole, and [...] the codification of an improvement upon current Department of Human Services practices relating to juvenile parole [...] | (in progress) |
| HB08-1171 | Concerning the exclusion of a federal excise tax paid on the first sale of a heavy vehicle from the purchase price of such vehicle for the purpose of determining tax liability. | (in progress) |
In the 2008 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Casso sits on the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee and the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee. [20]
After killing a bill he sponsored to extend a combined high school-community college program to school districts on the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute Indian Reservation, at the request of tribal leaders,[21] Casso is expected to travel to the reservations to discuss the program following the legislative session.[22]
References
- ^ "House Journal - January 10, 2007" (pdf). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
- ^ a b c d e "Edward Casso (HD 32)". Colorado House Democrats. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ a b "State House District 32" (html). COMaps. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
- ^ a b c d "Representative Edward Casso" (html). Project Vote Smart. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
- ^ Casso, Edward (7 September 2006). "Candidate profile: Edward Casso", YourHub.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Bartels, Lynn (7 February 2008). "Citizen Legislator, February 8", Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Editorial Board (7 October 2006). "State House races", Denver Post. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Editorial Board (12 October 2006). "Our choices for the Colorado House", Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ "House Committees of Reference" (html). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
- ^ a b Brown, Jennifer (9 March 2007). "Don't mess with CSAP, panel says", Denver Post. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Staff Reports (12 April 2007). "Under the dome", Denver Post. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Couch, Mark P.; Jennifer Brown (17 July 2007). "Gunman: "You're gonna pay"", Denver Post. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ Frosch, Dan (17 July 2007). "Troopers Kill Gunman Near Office of Colorado’s Governor", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ Staff Reports (17 July 2007). "32-Year-Old Thornton Man Shot, Killed Inside State Capitol", TheDenverChannel.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ "Health Care Task Force". Colorado Legislative Council. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ "Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Reform Commission". Colorado Legislative Council. Retrieved on 2008-04-27.
- ^ Colorado House Democrats (5 October 2007). "LARASA Honors Two House Democrats Today". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ "Bernie Valdez Awards Luncheon". Latin American Research And Service Agency. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Colorado House Democrats (9 November 2007). "House Democrats Elect Andy Kerr to Majority Whip “The next generation of Democratic leadership”". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ "House Committees of Reference" (html). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
- ^ Hanel, Joe (12 April 2007). "Tribes ask Capitol to drop ed bill", Cortez Journal. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
- ^ Berry, Carol (12 April 2007). "Fast College Fast Jobs program comes to a halt", Indian Country Today. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
