Walker Stapleton

Walker Stapleton (born April 15, 1974) is an American politician who served two terms as Colorado's State Treasurer from 2011 to 2019.[1] Stapleton was the Republican nominee for Governor of Colorado in the 2018 election, which he lost to Democrat Jared Polis.[2]

Walker Stapleton
56th Treasurer of Colorado
In office
January 11, 2011 – January 8, 2019
GovernorJohn Hickenlooper
Preceded byCary Kennedy
Succeeded byDave Young
Personal details
Born (1974-04-15) April 15, 1974
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJenna Stapleton
Children3
RelativesCraig Roberts Stapleton (Father)
Benjamin F. Stapleton (paternal great-grandfather)
George Herbert Walker (maternal great-grandfather)
EducationWilliams College (BA)
London School of Economics
(MA)
Harvard University (MBA)

Early life and family

Stapleton's family has been active in Colorado since the early 1900s.[3][4] Walker was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, attending the private Brunswick School.[5][6] He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, and holds a graduate degree in business economics from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[7]

Stapleton's mother, Dorothy Walker Stapleton, is a first cousin once removed of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, making him a second cousin of former U.S. President George W. Bush and former Florida governor Jeb Bush.[4] He has maintained close ties to the Bush family and credits George H. W. Bush for inspiring him to enter politics.[8] His father is diplomat Craig Roberts Stapleton.[9] His great-grandfather, Benjamin F. Stapleton, served as mayor of Denver from 1923 to 1931 and 1935 to 1947.[3]

Career

Stapleton began his private sector career in 1997 at Hambrecht & Quist as an investment banker.[10] Two years later, he became Director of Business Development for Live365.[11] He subsequently served as CEO and CFO of various private and publicly traded companies, until assuming office as Colorado Treasurer in 2011.[12]

In early 2018, Stapleton, then running for governor of Colorado, was accused by fellow candidate Steve Barlock of paying off the History Colorado Center to remove mention of the family's ties with the white supremacy movement and the beginnings of the Ku Klux Klan in America from their exhibitions.[13][14]

Stapleton was a 2014 Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow.[15] In January 2022 Governor Jared Polis appointed Stapleton to the state's Economic Development Commission.[16]

Electoral history
Colorado Treasurer Republican Primary Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Walker Stapleton 181,420 50.90
Republican J. J. Ament 174,992 49.10
Colorado Treasurer Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Walker Stapleton 866,934 50.70
Democratic Cary Kennedy (inc.) 842,877 49.30
Colorado Treasurer Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Walker Stapleton (inc.) 979,281 49.87
Democratic Betsy Markey 882,437 44.94
Libertarian David Jurist 101,826 5.19
Colorado Gubernatorial Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jared Polis 1,348,888 53.4
Republican Walker Stapleton 1,080,801 42.8
Libertarian Scott Helker 69,519 2.7
Unity Bill Hammons 25,854 1.0

References
  1. Ballotpedia. Walker Stapleton. Retrieved: 2017-03-10.
  2. Frank, John (26 June 2018). "Jared Polis, Walker Stapleton face off in a Colorado governor's race that became testy from the start". Denver Post. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  3. Bartels, Lynn (25 April 2011). "Stapleton! Everywhere you look". The Denver Post. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  4. Bunch, Joey (20 April 2014). "Jeb Bush, Walker Stapleton benefit mutually from family ties in Colorado". The Denver Post. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  5. Bianchi, Chris (14 June 2018). "Walker Stapleton Is From a Loaded Connecticut Suburb — Just Like Me". Westword. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  6. The Sentinel (14 December 2017). "Walker Stapleton celebrates the fourth too early; and a school by any other name would be better". Aurora Sentinel. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  7. "EDITORIAL: Attack on Stapleton unfair". The Gazette. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2017. He is a successful businessman with a Harvard MBA, a graduate degree from the London School of Economics and a proven record of good results.
  8. Walker Stapleton wishes his cousin George H.W. Bush “could live forever”
  9. Marcus, Peter (29 September 2014). "Treasurer candidates divided on fund for retirement". The Durango Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2017. Stapleton's family is also no stranger to numbers and public policy.
  10. "Walker R. Stapleton". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  11. "Walker Stapleton State Treasurer, State Of Colorado". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  12. "Walker R. Stapleton: Colorado treasurer". Daily Camera. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  13. Schmidt, Madeleine (April 5, 2018). "Stapleton Accused of Paying Off History Museum to Remove Family's KKK Past From Exhibit". Colorado Times Recorder. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  14. Gonzales, Manny (November 23, 1999). "Racist Group Dominated Politics in Early 1920s". Denver Rocky Mountain News. Denver, CO. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  15. Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowship Class of 2014
  16. Clark, Kyle (January 5, 2022). "Governor Polis appoints 2018 campaign rival to economic development post". 9News. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
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