Last Friday morning Michael Johnston and Pat Steadman took the oath of office and officially began their service in the Colorado Senate. Johnston was elected earlier this month to succeed former President Peter Groff, who resigned to work as the Director for the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Center in the U.S. Department of Education. Steadman was separately elected earlier this month to succeed Senator Jennifer Veiga, who resigned to move to Australia with her long-time partner Bronwyn Russell to be closer with Russell’s ill mother.
Senator Michael Johnston is a high school principal at Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts in Thornton. A Colorado native, Johnston started his career teaching high school English in Greenville, Mississippi and has worked as a principal in alternative schools and detention centers in Denver. A nationally recognized education reformer, he is the author of “In the Deep Heart’s Core” and served as one of President Barack Obama’s top education advisors. Johnston holds a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from Yale and a master’s degree in education policy from Harvard.
Senator Pat Steadman has over 15 years of experience lobbying important issues at the Colorado Capitol to support public education, advance civil rights, and help working families. In 1992 Steadman worked to oppose Amendment 2, which prohibited any laws protecting gay men and lesbians from discrimination. He helped lead a successful lawsuit all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which declared Amendment 2 unconstitutional in 1996. This ruling established the first significant court precedent protecting the equal rights of GLBT Americans.
Chief Justice Mary Mullarky administers the oath of office to
Senators Michael Johnston, left, and Patrick Steadman, right,
as President Brandon Shaffer looks on.