An Arvada Democratic lawmaker announced her candidacy to become Colorado’s next state treasurer Wednesday morning, becoming the first state legislator to declare an intent to run for one of the statewide offices that will be vacant after 2026.
Rep. Brianna Titone, who was reelected to her fourth term in the state House in November, unveiled her candidacy in a press release. She is the Colorado legislature’s first openly transgender lawmaker, and — if elected to the treasurer position in 18 months — she said she would also be the first transgender person elected to a statewide executive office in the United States. (A Hawaiian who is transgender was previously elected to that state’s board of education.)
“I’m running for state treasurer to champion fiscal responsibility, protect PERA, invest taxpayer dollars wisely, and make the government more efficient,” Titone said in a statement. PERA is the Public Employees’ Retirement Association, which provides benefits to state workers.
“I’ve spent my career tackling complex financial and policy challenges,” she added, “and I’m ready to bring that experience to the treasurer’s office.”
The current state treasurer, fellow Democrat Dave Young, is term limited and will leave office in early 2027. Two other Democrats — John Mikos and Jerry Ditullio — have already filed paperwork to compete to replace Young. No Republicans have filed yet.
While the state treasurer doesn’t set the state budget or have a direct hand in raising or lowering taxes, he or she does oversee the state’s investments and bank accounts. The treasurer also sits on the board of PERA, which faces uncertainty amid gloomy projections and other budget-tightening proposals.
A New York native, Titone began her career as a geologist. On her website, said she would prioritize continuing Young’s efforts to return unclaimed property to Colorado taxpayers and to shore up PERA, as well as addressing “the shortcomings” of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, by “exploring reforms that allow for necessary investments in public services and infrastructure while maintaining a balanced budget.”
Amid the state’s $1 billion budget crunch, some Democrats — including House Speaker Julie McCluskie — have started to discuss potential reforms to TABOR.
Titone is unlikely to be the last Democrat to jump into the treasurer primary — or to pursue one of the three other statewide offices that will be vacant after 2026.
State Sen. Jeff Bridges, a Greenwood Village, is reportedly mulling a treasurer run. In a text to The Denver Post on Wednesday, he said that he was “focused on how to make Colorado more affordable while still cutting the $1 billion forced on us by TABOR.” Bridges chairs the powerful Joint Budget Committee, which is tasked with setting the budget.
Titone, who has backed a series of “right-to-repair” bills in the state legislature in recent years, has already secured a number of endorsements from other elected Democrats, including 12 state lawmakers and several mayors and county commissioners.
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