Colorado Governor

Description

The Governor of Colorado is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in Colorado. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms. The governor is responsible for upholding the Colorado Constitution and for faithfully executing all laws. The governor also acts as commander in chief of the state's militia or National Guard at all times, unless it has been federalized. The governor has a veto over all bills, including appropriations, passed by the General Assembly. The legislature may override vetoes with a supermajority (66 percent or more) of both houses. In addition to appointing, with senate confirmation, all state executive offices not appointed by some other means, the governor may remove officers for malfeasance, neglect or incompetence. Whenever any elected office becomes vacant when the Senate is in recess, the Governor may make a recess appointment, provided he presents his nominee to the Senate when they next convene. Other duties and privileges of the office include: Granting pardons for all crimes, save treason. In all pardons and reprieves, he must communicate to the legislature the details of and reasons for the action; Requiring written information, given under oath, from all officers and managers of state institutions on the conditions of the offices they oversee; Providing details of the expenditures of the governor's office to the legislature; Convening extraordinary sessions of the House or the Senate (§ 9), and adjourning the Assembly when its members cannot agree to do so themselves; Making vacancy appointments to the any court of records from a list of nominees supplied by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission (Article VI, § 20(1)) and making vacancy appointments to vacant District Attorney offices; Declaring a state of emergency and issuing an executive order to move the seat of government, after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the President Pro Tem of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, and the Attorney General; Appointing all field, staff, and general military officers and commissioning the officers each company selects. The salary for this office is $90,000/year.

Application Guidelines

1) Contact the State of Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division office to confirm that your registered address qualifies you for the position you intend to run for, and that you meet other office specific qualifications. 2) Obtain and complete the required filing papers and submit the required filing papers to the Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division office. If you plan to run as an unaffiliated candidate, these filing papers include campaign finance forms and a petition format you must request from the Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division. If you plan to run as a major party candidate please contact your party headquarters. Major party candidates can gain ballot access to the primary held the last Tuesday in June either through party assemblies or by a primary petition that must be submitted to the Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division no later than 85 days before they primary election. Minor party candidates have different filing requirements and are encouraged to consult with the Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division. 3) If running as an unaffiliated candidate, circulate the petitions between 173 and 117 days before the general election held in November to appear on the ballot. Petition signature requirements vary by office. If you have any questions please contact the Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division by phone at 303-895-2000. For more information see the Colorado Secretary of State website: http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/main.html And the 2016 Colorado Election Calendar: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/calendars/2016ElectionCalendar.pdf