Dan Pabon

Dan Pabon (born October 18, 1977) is the current Colorado State Representative for District 4, which encompasses Northwest Denver. He was first elected on November 2, 2010, and entered office on January 12, 2011.

Biography

Pabon grew up in the same community he is now serving in the Colorado House of Representatives. Pabon attended Holy Family and then studied engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he was elected Co-Student Body President his senior year. As a law student at CU Boulder, he worked for the Legal Aid and Defenders Program. He helped the poor and disabled obtain Social Security benefits, navigated them through family law, and acted as general counselor and advocate for those most vulnerable. Also during law school, Dan served as Class President.

After earning his JD, Pabon worked at a prestigious Denver-based law firm, where he built a practice focused on real estate and green building development. He became a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and was a strong advocate for green technologies and investing in Colorado's new energy economy. Pabon later gave up his career as a lawyer to become Northwest Denver's neighborhood attorney. His clients included neighborhood small business owners, residents, and non-profit organizations.

Pabon worked on higher education issues as the vice-chair of the Auraria Higher Education Center Board; was a voice for senior citizens as a member of the Association for Senior Citizens Board; served as the Captain of the House District 4 Democrats; and worked for two months on the Obama-Biden Presidential transition team, where he helped draft the President's first executive order on transparency and ethics in government.^[1]

Legislative career

2010 campaign

The campaign kicked off in Pabon's backyard with over 150 attendees. The election required long hours and hard work, and during the ensuing months, thousands of doors were knocked and phones calls were made. The effort paid off—in the general election, Dan won over seventy-five percent of the vote.^[2]

Pabon's priorities include a healthy economy and job creation; affordable health care; transparent and accountable government; stronger protections for seniors; improved education; protection for women's reproductive rights; and full legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

2011 legislative session

Representative Pabon was prime sponsor on five pieces of legislation and co-prime sponsor on several more.

2012 election

In the 2012 General Election, Representative Pabon faced Republican challenger David W. Dobson. Pabon was elected by a wide margin of 81% to 19%.^[3][4]

Drunk Driving Conviction

Pabon was arrested for drunk driving on March 17, 2016 — St. Patrick's Day — in downtown Denver.^[5] During the course of the arrest, Pabon attempted to use his influence as an elected official to get out of the situation. He asked the Denver Police officer who pulled him over to call the city attorney or a police supervisor, but the officer refused.^[6]

In July 2016, Pabon pleaded guilty ^[7] and received a light sentence. His sentence included a year of probation, attendance at a victim-impact panel, alcohol education/treatment, monitoring of sobriety, and a small fine.^[8]

References

Current statewide political officials of Colorado
U.S. Senators	Michael Bennet Cory Gardner
State government	John Hickenlooper, Governor Donna Lynne, Lieutenant Governor Wayne Williams, Secretary of State Cynthia Coffman, Attorney General Walker Stapleton, Treasurer
Senate	Bill Cadman, President Ellen Roberts, President pro tempore Mark Scheffel, Majority Leader Morgan Carroll, Minority Leader
House	Dickey Hullinghorst, Speaker Dan Pabon, Speaker pro tempore Crisanta Duran, Majority Leader Brian DelGrosso, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Nancy Rice, Chief Justice Gregory Hobbs Nathan Coats Allison Eid Monica Márquez Brian Boatright William Hood, Associate Justices