Chris Hansen (politician)

Christopher Joshi Hansen (born Christopher Craig Hansen; June 16, 1975) is an American politician who serves in the Colorado Senate from the 31st as a member of the Democratic Party since 2020. Prior to his service in the state senate he served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 6th district from 2017 to 2020.

Chris Hansen
Hansen in 2021
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 31st district
Assumed office
January 21, 2020
Preceded byLois Court
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 6th district
In office
January 11, 2017 – January 17, 2020
Preceded byLois Court
Succeeded bySteven Woodrow
Personal details
Born
Christopher Craig Hansen

(1975-06-16) June 16, 1975
Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseUlcca Shashee Joshi
Children2
EducationKansas State University (BS
University of the Witwatersrand
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS)
Linacre College, Oxford (PhD)
Websitehansenforcolorado.com

Hansen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and raised in Goodland, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State University, University of the Witwatersrand, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Linacre College, Oxford. He started working at Cambridge Energy Research Associates in 2005.

Hansen was elected to the state house in the 2016 election and was reelected in the 2018 election. During his tenure in the state house he served as the chair of the Appropriations committee. A vacancy committee selected him to replace Lois Court in the state senate in 2020, and was elected in the following election. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2023 Denver mayoral election.

Early life and education

Christopher Craig Hansen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on June 16, 1975, to Lana and Wallace Hansen. He was raised in Goodland, Kansas. He met Ulcca Shashee Joshi in 1998, married her on July 28, 2001, and had two children with her. Hansen later changed his middle name to Joshi.[1][2][3][4][5]

Hansen graduated from high school in 1993, from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science in nuclear engineering in 1998, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in technology policy in 2003, and from Linacre College, Oxford with a doctorate in economic geography in 2009. He also received a graduate diploma in civil engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand. Hansen served as president of the student body at Kansas State University from 1996 to 1997 after being elected with 57% of the vote and also served as president of the Theta Xi chapter. He started working at Cambridge Energy Research Associates in 2005.[3][6][4]

Colorado Legislature

Elections

Hansen ran for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 6th district in the 2016 election. His opponent Jeff Hart sent out campaign advertisements falsely accusing Hansen of being supported by the National Rifle Association of America and later apologized for it. Hansen accused Hart of being under investigation by the Denver district attorney for violating misinformation laws, but the district attorney told Hansen to retract his statement for violating misinformation laws.[7] He defeated Hart in the Democratic primary and won in the general election without opposition.[8][9] He was reelected in the 2018 election without opposition.[10][11]

Hansen announced on October 2, 2019, that he would run to succeed Court in the state senate in the 2020 election.[12] Court received a diagnosis of Guillain–Barré syndrome on December 31, and resigned on January 16, 2020.[13] Attorney General Phil Weiser nominated Hansen to replace Court at the vacancy committee vote and Representative Janet Buckner seconded his nomination. Ninety-five of the one hundred twenty vacancy committee members voted for him against four other candidates on January 16, and he was sworn in on January 21.[3][14][15][16] A vacancy committee voted to appoint Steven Woodrow to replace Hansen in the state house on February 4.[17]

Hansen defeated Maria E. Orms for the Democratic nomination and won in the general election against Republican nominee Doug Townsend.[18][19] Hansen and Senator Robert Rodriguez were drawn into the 22nd district following reapportionment for the 2022 election.[20]

Tenure

During Hansen's tenure in the state house he served as the chair of the Appropriations committee and on the Joint Budget committee.[12] During his tenure in the state senate he has served on the Appropriations, Finance, and State, Veterans, and Military Affairs committees.[21] He also replaced Senator Rachel Zenzinger on the Joint Budget committee before Zenzinger returned to the committee by replacing Dominick Moreno.[22]

Hansen filed to run in the 2023 Denver mayoral election on November 14, 2022, but failed to advance to the runoff after placing sixth[23][24] and endorsed Kelly Brough.[25] He raised $623,749.37 and spent $609,576.06 during the campaign.[26]

Political positions

Hansen sponsored legislation to change the name of Columbus Day to be in honor of Frances Xavier Cabrini.[27] He and Representative Dafna Michaelson Jenet sponsored a resolution criticizing President Donald Trump's travel ban.[28] He support legislation to end capital punishment in Colorado.[29] He was one of the signatories of a letter sent to Representatives Lauren Boebert and Doug Lamborn calling for them to resign for inciting the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[30] He supported Denver's camping ban.[31]

The Colorado Sierra Club awarded Hansen as the state legislator of the year for 2019.[32] He received an A rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and was endorsed by the organization in the 2018 election.[33][34] He received a 100% rating from the American Civil Liberties Union in 2017, 2018, and 2019.[35]

Electoral history
2016 Colorado House of Representatives 6th district Democratic primary[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Chris Hansen 5,532 58.27%
Democratic Jeff Hart 3,962 41.73%
Total votes 9,494 100.00%
2016 Colorado House of Representatives 6th district election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Chris Hansen 32,624 100.00%
Total votes 32,624 100.00%
2018 Colorado House of Representatives 6th district Democratic primary[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Chris Hansen (incumbent) 15,512 100.00%
Total votes 15,512 100.00%
2018 Colorado House of Representatives 6th district election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Chris Hansen (incumbent) 32,899 100.00%
Total votes 32,899 100.00%
2020 Colorado Senate 31st district Democratic primary[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Chris Hansen (incumbent) 24,439 52.72%
Democratic Maria E. Orms 21,916 47.28%
Total votes 46,355 100.00%
2020 Colorado Senate 31st district election[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Chris Hansen (incumbent) 74,288 76.70%
Republican Doug Townsend 22,562 23.30%
Total votes 96,850 100.00%

References
  1. "WEDDINGS: VOWS; Ulcca Joshi and Christopher Hansen". The New York Times. August 5, 2001. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  2. "Candidate Information". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  3. "Chris Hansen". Denver Democrats. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  4. "Hansen, Otto win KSU presidency". The Manhattan Mercury. April 15, 1996. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "The Contenders: Chris Hansen Wants Denver to Be America's Greenest City". Westword. March 20, 2023. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023.
  6. "Chris Hansen". NewDEAL. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  7. "Key primaries foreshadow Colorado legislature's balance of power". The Denver Post. June 19, 2016. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  8. "2016 Primary Election Results - Democratic Party Ballot". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  9. "2016 General Election Results". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  10. "2018 Primary Election Results - Democratic Party Ballot". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  11. "2018 General Election Results". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  12. "Rep. Chris Hansen to run for Sen. Lois Court's Senate seat in Denver". Colorado Politics. October 2, 2019. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  13. "Senate President Pro Tempore Lois Court to step down, effective Jan. 16". Colorado Politics. January 6, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  14. "Sen. Nancy Todd elected president pro tempore for state Senate". Colorado Politics. January 17, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  15. "Hansen chosen to serve out term in SD31 vacancy election". Colorado Politics. January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  16. "Chris Hansen chosen to fill seat of Colorado Sen. Lois Court, who resigned because of illness". The Colorado Sun. January 16, 2020. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022.
  17. "Attorney, Democratic activist chosen for HD6 vacancy". Colorado Politics. February 4, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  18. "2020 Primary Election Results - Democratic Party Ballot". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  19. "2020 General Election Results". Secretary of State of Colorado. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  20. "First draft of Colorado's new state Senate, House district maps could pit 20 incumbents against each other". The Colorado Sun. June 29, 2021. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  21. "VOTER GUIDE 2020 Colorado Senate District 31: Chriis Hansen and Doug Townsend". Colorado Politics. October 12, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  22. "Steve Fenberg selected as next president of the Colorado Senate". The Colorado Sun. February 9, 2022. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  23. "State Sen. Chris Hansen enters Denver mayor's race". Colorado Politics. November 14, 2022. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023.
  24. "2023 Municipal Election". Denver, Colorado. Archived from the original on June 26, 2023.
  25. "Sen. Chris Hansen endorses Kelly Brough for Denver mayor". Colorado Politics. April 28, 2023. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023.
  26. "Chris Hansen mayoral campaign finance". Denver Campaign Finance Dashboard. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023.
  27. "State House sends renaming of Columbus Day to Senate". Colorado Politics. February 19, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  28. "Colorado House passes resolution urging repeal of president's travel ban". The Denver Post. January 31, 2017. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  29. "Colorado is poised to repeal the death penalty". The Denver Post. January 9, 2020. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  30. "Calls for Lauren Boebert's Expulsion Go National". Westword. January 11, 2021. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022.
  31. [9news.com/article/news/politics/elections/meet-candidates-running-for-denver-mayor-chris-hansen/73-73e482eb-5e70-4560-bd75-521a5fbef2ec "Meet the candidates running for Denver Mayor: Chris Hansen"]. KUSA. February 14, 2023. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  32. "Rep. Chris Hansen named Sierra Club's legislator of the year". Colorado Politics. January 13, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2022.
  33. "Chris Hansen". NARAL Pro-Choice America. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022.
  34. "NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado 2018 Candidate Endorsements". NARAL Pro-Choice America. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022.
  35. "2017 Legislative Scorecard". American Civil Liberties Union. August 1, 2017. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022.;
    "2018 Legislative Scorecard". American Civil Liberties Union. August 1, 2018. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022.;
    "2019 Legislative Scorecard". American Civil Liberties Union. August 1, 2019. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022.
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