Cherylin Peniston

Cherylin Naylor Peniston[2] (born 3 March 1948[3]) is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. A career public school teacher, Peniston was first elected as a Democrat in 2006 to the Colorado House of Representatives. She represented House District 35, which encompasses most of Westminster, Colorado and portions of Arvada.[4] Term limited, she did not seek re-election in 2014.[5]

Cherylin Peniston
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 35th district
In office
January 10, 2007[1] – January 7, 2015
Preceded byAnn Ragsdale
Succeeded byFaith Winter
Personal details
Born (1948-03-03) March 3, 1948
Chicago, Illinois
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseW.J.[2]
ProfessionTeacher

Biography

Born in Chicago, Illinois,[3] Peniston earned a bachelor's degree in education from the University of La Verne in 1970,[2] and spent her career teaching social studies and foreign languages at Scott Carpenter Middle School in Adams County School District 50 from 1971 to 1999.[3]

While teaching, she earned her master's degree in International Studies from the University of Denver in 1990, and won two Fulbright Scholarships to study abroad — for six weeks in Egypt in 1987 and for three weeks in Japan in 1997.[2][6]

Between 1999 and 2003, Peniston was elected to two terms as president of the Westminster Education Association, the local union associated with the National Education Association.[2] She was also a member of the District 50 Education Foundation, and was also a substitute teacher at Scott Carpenter Middle School from 2003 until 2006.[3]

From 2005 to 2006, Peniston was Assistant Secretary of the Adams County Democratic Party,[3] and was a member of the Adams County Democratic Latino PAC and the Colorado Democratic Latino Initiative.[2] Peniston is married; she and her husband, W.J., have two children, Erin and Geoffry, and at least one grandchild.[2][6]

Legislative career

2006 election

Spurred to run for elected office because of her experiences as a teacher and union leader,[7] Peniston was elected to the state house in 2006, first winning the Democratic party primary over Jeff Vigil[8] and then defeating Republican Ruben Pacheco by a 2:1 margin, winning a predominantly Democratic district[4] in which Pacheco did not run an active campaign. Peniston was endorsed both by the Rocky Mountain News[9] and the Denver Post,[10] as well as by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.[11]

2007 legislative session

In the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Peniston sat on the House Education Committee and the House Local Government Committee.[12] Peniston's only unsuccessful bill during the 2007 session was a measure to require that school districts which make budget cutbacks cut pay for administrators as well as teachers; it was killed in a Senate committee.[13]

Following the legislative session, Peniston served on the legislature's Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Reform Commission.[14]

2008 legislative session

In the 2008 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Peniston sits on the House Education Committee and the House Local Government Committee.[15]

Peniston worked with elementary school students in Adams County to draft and sponsor a measure to name the Western painted turtle the Colorado state reptile.[16] After passing the General Assembly, the bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Ritter at the students' school.[17]

2008 election

Peniston sought a second term in the legislature in 2008, facing Republican Tracy Gimer. Peniston's re-election bid was endorsed by the Denver Post,[18] and she prevailed with 67 percent of the popular vote.[19]

Peniston has also sponsored legislation to require that adopted pets be spayed or neutered,[20] to allow gifted children to enter kindergarten or first grade at earlier ages,[21][22] to create curricula for students in juvenile detention or residential treatment,[23] and to allow residential projects as part of transit-oriented development in conjunction with FasTracks.[24][25]

2009 legislative session

For the 2009 legislative session, Peniston was named to chair the House Local Government Committee and to a seat on the House Education Committee.[26]

With Sen. John Morse, Peniston plans on introducing legislation to increase vehicle registration fees by $1 to pay for rural ambulance services.[27] Peniston has also sponsored legislation to require tags or ID chips on many domestic cats.[28]

2012 election

In the 2012 General Election, Representative Peniston faced Republican challenger Brian Vande Krol. Peniston was elected by a margin of 56% to 44%.[29][30]

References
  1. "House Journal - January 10, 2007" (PDF). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  2. "Cherlyin Naylor Peniston - Colorado - State House District 35 candidate". RockyMountainNews.com. Archived from the original on 2007-07-29. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  3. "Representative Cherylin Peniston". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  4. "State House District 35". COMaps. Archived from the original on 2009-02-15. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  5. Ballotpedia. Cherylin Peniston. Viewed: 2017-01-29.
  6. Bartels, Lynn (15 February 2008). "Judge lifts lobbyist gift ban". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  7. Staff Reports (21 January 2008). "This week in the Legislature". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  8. Bartels, Lynn (20 August 2006). "Few Hispanics win in primaries". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 2008-04-15. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  9. Editorial board (12 October 2006). "Our choices for the Colorado House". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  10. Editorial Board (7 October 2006). "State House races". Denver Post. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  11. "Brady Campaign Endorses Colorado Candidates" (Press release). Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. 18 October 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  12. "House Committees of Reference". Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  13. Washington, April M. (1 March 2007). "Across-the-board school pay cuts fail in Senate committee". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  14. "Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Reform Commission". Colorado Legislative Council. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  15. "House Committees of Reference". Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  16. Davidson, Michael (23 January 2008). "'No' vote from Bruce can't derail student campaign". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  17. Davidson, Michael; Andy Wineke (19 March 2008). "Assembly glance". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  18. Editorial Board (17 October 2008). "Post's picks in Colorado's House of Representatives". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  19. "Colorado Statewide Cumulative Report - 2008 General Election". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  20. Brown, Jennifer (19 February 2008). "Spay, neuter mandate wins initial OK". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  21. Staff Reports (29 January 2008). "Under The Dome this week". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  22. ""Smart Start" Bill Gives Gifted Young Children a Chance to Begin School When Ready" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 11 April 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  23. Harden, Mark (27 May 2008). "Bill creating school counselor corps signed". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  24. Staff Reports (27 December 2007). "Health, education top concerns". Westminster Window. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  25. Caccarelli, Rachel (13 December 2007). "Lawmakers talk legislation, react to chamber objectives". Westminster Window. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  26. "House Democrats Unveil 2009 Committee Chairs & Assignments" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 18 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03.
  27. Staff Reports (26 November 2008). "Rural Ambulance Woes Raise Talk of Statewide Fee Increase". Face the State. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  28. Sealover, Ed (9 January 2009). "Bills already proposed cover cats, slow drivers". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  29. "CO - Election Results - Colorado Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2017-03-14.
  30. "State House 2012 Election Results - Denver Post". Archived from the original on 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
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