Brian Colón
Brian S. Colón is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as the New Mexico State Auditor since 2019. He is the former Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. In 2010, he ran for and lost his bid for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico. He has chaired Popejoy Hall's Board of Directors and has served with the Board of Trustees for the Albuquerque Community Foundation. On November 6, 2018, he defeated Republican Wayne Johnson in the general election for New Mexico State Auditor.[1]
Brian Colón | |
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28th Auditor of New Mexico | |
Assumed office January 1, 2019 | |
Governor | Michelle Lujan Grisham |
Preceded by | Wayne Johnson |
Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico | |
In office April 28, 2007 – August 8, 2009 | |
Preceded by | John Wertheim |
Succeeded by | Annadelle Sanchez (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | 1970 (age 49–50) New York City, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | New Mexico State University (BS) University of New Mexico (JD) |
Website | Government website |
School and early life
Colón is of Puerto Rican descent. He was born in New York City and came to Valencia County, New Mexico as a small child. He later grew up in Valencia County with one brother and one sister.
He was the first in his family to attend college and graduated from New Mexico State University in 1998 after spending 10 years taking courses and starting a number of small businesses to pay his way through school. He then immediately entered the University of New Mexico School of Law and graduated in 2001.
Career
In 2004, Colón was named Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year by the State Bar of New Mexico and one of New Mexico's Forty Under 40 Power Brokers by the New Mexico Business Weekly. Colón has served on the New Mexico Hispanic Bar Association's Board of Directors since 2001[2] and is currently a member of the American Inns of Court. Colón has also served on the State Bar of New Mexico’s Committee on Diversity since 2003, and is a Board Member for the New Mexico College Success Network. He has been a Board Member for the New Mexico State University Alumni Association, is active in Aggies for Legislation, and has twice been appointed by Governor Richardson as a Commissioner for the Judicial Selection Commission.
Colón is a partner at Robles, Rael & Anaya, P.C. Colón's civil practice is in the areas of transactional negotiations, personal injury, medical malpractice, inadequate security, products liability, insurance bad faith, and corporate transactions. Colón also has extensive experience in working with local, state and federal elected officials in order to assist individuals and organizations with their various agendas.[3]
Political career
Brian Colón was the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor of New Mexico in 2010, running alongside gubernatorial candidate and former Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish. Denish and Colón lost to Susana Martinez and John Sanchez, respectively, each by approximately seven percent of the total vote. Prior to his run for lieutenant governor, he served as Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, resigning in October 2009 after serving two and a half years. During his term as Chairman, Democrats picked up two Congressional seats, a United States Senate seat, six seats in the New Mexico State Legislature, and a majority of the popular vote in New Mexico in 2008 for Barack Obama. On January 25, 2017, Colón announced his campaign for Mayor of the City of Albuquerque. He was defeated in the general election on October 3, 2017.
On November 6, 2018, Colón was elect as the New Mexico State Auditor in the general election after advancing from the primary on June 5, 2018.
References
- "New Mexico's newly elected public officials are sworn in". Albuquerque Journal. December 31, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
- Young Lawyers Division, State Bar of New Mexico Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
- Robles, Rael & Anaya Archived February 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brian Colón. |
Party political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by John Wertheim |
Chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party 2007–2009 |
Succeeded by Annadelle Sanchez Acting |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Wayne Johnson |
Auditor of New Mexico 2019–present |
Incumbent |