Colorado just made history. State Representative Jennifer Bacon won her colleagues' backing on Friday, November 6, to become the next Speaker of the Colorado House, making her the first Black woman ever to lead the chamber.
Bacon, a Democrat representing Denver, is currently the assistant majority leader. She defeated fellow Democratic state Representative Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins in the caucus vote. She will be the second 
consecutive woman to hold the speaker post, and the first Black woman to hold the powerful leadership position in the history of the state.
consecutive woman to hold the speaker post, and the first Black woman to hold the powerful leadership position in the history of the state.Her rise comes as Colorado Democrats enter the new legislative session with a newly expanded supermajority. The party won 49 of the chamber's 65 seats in the midterm elections, a decisive result that gives Democrats firm control of the House as the 76th General Assembly begins.
The House Democrats chose their full leadership team on November 6. After electing Bacon as Speaker designate, the caucus chose Representative Javier Mabrey as the next Majority Leader and Representative Jenny Willford as the next Assistant Majority Leader. Bacon will lead that team when the new session opens.
Bacon represents Denver Green Valley Ranch and Montbello neighborhoods. She is regarded as one of the more progressive members of the Democratic caucus, and her colleagues picked her to lead the chamber at a moment when the party holds its largest majority in years.
Her selection drew praise from across the state and from Black political organizations watching the milestone. For Colorado, a state where Black women have long organized, voted and run for office, Bacon taking the speaker gavel is a first that many in the community have waited years to see.
The speaker leads the House, sets the agenda for the chamber, and guides which bills reach the floor. Bacon will oversee a 49 seat Democratic supermajority, a position of real power in a state where the House has become the center of major policy fights.
Bacon has not yet announced her full agenda for the session, but her record in the House points to a focus on the communities she represents and the progressive priorities she has carried through her time in office. Her colleagues chose her to lead, and the vote on Friday made that choice official.
For The Talk Lounge, this is Black excellence in public service, a first that belongs in the history books and a leader whose next chapter will be watched far beyond Colorado.
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