Mark Waller (politician)

Mark Waller (born 1969) is a Colorado county commissioner as well as a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado and county level assistant district attorney. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican in 2008, Waller represented House District 15, which encompasses portions of northeastern Colorado Springs, Colorado.[4] Waller also served in the US Air Force from 1993 until 2000, joining the Air Force Reserves in 2001[5], and following his graduation from the University of Denver Law School, he worked as an attorney prosecuting insurgents during the Iraq War; he was deployed in 2006.[6]

Mark Waller
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 15th district
In office
January 7, 2009[1] – January 2015
Preceded byDouglas Bruce
Succeeded byGordon Klingenschmitt
El Paso County Commissioner
from the 2nd district
In office
June 19, 2016[2] – January 2021
Preceded byAmy Lathen
Personal details
Born1969[3]
Macomb, Illinois[3]
Political partyRepublican
ChildrenTruman
Camille
ResidenceColorado Springs, Colorado
Alma materUniversity of Denver
University of North Dakota
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
OccupationAttorney

Legislative career

2008 election

Mark Waller defeated incumbent Rep. Douglas Bruce in the contested Republican primary in August, taking 52 percent of votes cast.[7]

Waller faced Democrat Leslie Maksimowicz in the November 2008 general election. Waller's candidacy was endorsed by the Denver Post and the Colorado Springs Independent, [8] and he won election to the legislature with 66 percent of votes cast.[9]

2009 legislative session

For the 2009 legislative session, Waller was named to seats on the House Education Committee and the House Judiciary Committee.[10]

Waller sponsored legislation to require disclosure on clothes collection bins operated by for-profit companies, to include a new derivative of methamphetamine to Colorado's list of banned drugs, and to exclude dry-ice bombs from a felony list of explosives, and to allow homeschooled students to enroll in college classes.[11]

2010 legislative session

During the 2010 legislative session, Waller concentrated on criminal-justice related bills.[12] A bill based on Governor Bill Ritter's criminal justice commission addressed reforming possession-related drug offenses, reducing some of the felonies and redirecting money toward treatment and recidivism reduction. Waller also worked to stop House Bill 1205, a military exclusion bill that Waller viewed as unfair in regards to private property rights; he sought to reconcile interests of both military installations and private property owners, particularly in terms of the prevalence of both within his district.

2010 election

Waller defeated Democrat Marcus Cimino with 74.7% of the 26,229 votes cast in the 2010 Midterm Election.[13]

2011 legislative session

2012 legislative session

2012 election

In the 2012 General Election, Representative Waller faced Libertarian challenger Larry Reedy. Waller was reelected by a margin of 73% to 15% with other third-party candidates garnering the remainder of the vote.[14][15]

2013 legislative session

Waller served as House Minority leader during the 2013 legislative session. A bipartisan effort with Democrat Pete Lee passed legislation that moved forward the state's restorative justice programs, albeit with compromises acknowledged on Waller's part.[16]

Post-legislative career

2014 election

When John Suthers left the position to run in the 2015 Colorado Springs mayoral election, Waller declared his candidacy for Colorado Attorney General. Following a low performance in the primary on June 24, Waller withdrew from the race and endorsed Cynthia Coffman, who went on to win the November election.[17]

2016 election

Following a defeat of his primary opponent Tim Geitner, Waller was sworn in as El Paso County Commissioner for District 2, which encompasses the eastern side of Colorado Springs and the eastern edges of El Paso County. Waller took his seat early due to his predecessor, Amy Lathen, exiting her position for another job in June of 2016. Waller's four year term began on January 11, 2017 following his win in the November 2016 General Election.[18]

Mark Waller, 2019

2020 election

Waller declared his candidacy for the position of District Attorney in the 4th Judicial District in June of 2019.[19] He faced Senior Deputy District Attorney Michael Allen in the GOP primary, held June 30, 2020.[20] Both Waller and Allen secured multiple endorsements early in the contest; Waller's included El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder, while Allen was endorsed by John Suthers [21] Allen won the race on June 30 by around 8,000 votes. Waller's term as county commissioner ended after 2020.[22]

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References
  1. "House Journal - January 7, 2009" (pdf). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  2. "Waller is new District 2 county commissioner". Colorado Springs Independent. 2016-06-19. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  3. "About Me". Mark Waller For HD 15. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
  4. "State House District 15". COMaps. Archived from the original on 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  5. "On the Spot: Rep. Mark Waller". The Denver Post. 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  6. "Mark Waller to run for district attorney for Colorado's El Paso, Teller counties". Colorado Politics. 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  7. "Colorado Statewide Cumulative Report - 2008 Primary Election". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  8. Norris, Wendy; Bob Spencer (3 November 2008). "State candidate endorsement watch". Colorado Independent. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  9. "Colorado Statewide Cumulative Report - 2008 General Election". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  10. "House Republican Committee Assignments Announced" (Press release). Colorado House Democrats. 18 November 2008. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  11. Toda, Dean (2 January 2009). "Freshman lawmaker does his best to grasp his homework". Colorado Springs Gazette. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  12. "On the Spot: Rep. Mark Waller". The Denver Post. 2010-04-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  13. "Colorado State House 2010 General Election Results - Denver Post".
  14. "CO - Election Results - Colorado Secretary of State". Archived from the original on 2017-03-14.
  15. "State House 2012 Election Results - Denver Post".
  16. "Restoration period". Colorado Springs Independent. 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  17. "Rep. Mark Waller, citing party unity, withdraws from attorney general race". The Denver Post. 2014-04-28. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  18. "Waller is new District 2 county commissioner". Colorado Springs Independent. 2016-06-19. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  19. "Mark Waller first to announce bid for 4th Judicial District DA". Colorado Springs Gazette. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  20. "Senior prosecutor Michael Allen to announce bid for 4th Judicial District DA". Colorado Springs Gazette. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  21. "El Paso County's 4th Judicial District Attorney's race about to get more crowded". Colorado Politics. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  22. "Michael Allen to become the next 4th Judicial District Attorney". KRDO. 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
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