Sal Pace

Sal Pace (born December 14, 1976) is an American politician and marijuana advocate who served as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, where he represented House District 46, which includes western Pueblo, Colorado from 2008 to 2012.[1] During his time at the state house, Pace served as the Colorado House minority leader. In 2012, he ran against incumbent congressman Republican Scott Tipton in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, although Tipton was ultimately re-elected.[2] He then served as a County Commissioner of Pueblo County, Colorado until 2019.

Sal Pace
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 46th district
In office
January 7, 2009 – November 6, 2012
Preceded byDorothy Butcher
Succeeded byLeroy Garcia
Personal details
Born (1976-12-14) December 14, 1976
New London, Connecticut
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Marlene Valdez Pace
EducationFort Lewis College (BA)
Louisiana State University (MA)

Early life and education

Pace, the youngest of nine children, moved to Colorado when he was 18. He attended Fort Lewis College, where he majored in political science and was appointed by the State Board of Agriculture to serve on a search committee for a Fort Lewis College president. He then attended Louisiana State University, earning a master's degree in American political theory.[3]

Career

Pace taught American government at Pueblo Community College and Colorado State University–Pueblo.[4]

Pace served as a legislative aide to John Salazar in the Colorado House of Representatives, where he worked on water and health care legislation. When Salazar was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Pace continued to work for him as a District Director, Congressional staffer, and as the manager of Salazar's 2006 re-election campaign.[3][5]

2008 election

Pace was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2008, and served until 2012. During his time in the house, Pace advocated for statewide marijuana legalization.

After winning a term in the legislature in November 2008, Pace was elected Assistant Majority Caucus Chair by Colorado House Democrats. Pace sponsored legislation to create the Fountain Creek Watershed District as well as legislation to protect farmers in the Pinon Canyon area of southeastern Colorado from the illegitimate use of eminent domain by the federal government.

Following his election, Pace requested that the state auditor investigate the bidding process for a new Colorado Department of Corrections headquarters, in which Pueblo's bid was rated last of five bids, despite being the least expensive. During the 2009 legislative session, Pace served on the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the House Appropriations Committee, and the House Judiciary Committee.

Pace sponsored legislation to remove Social Security benefits and severance pay as reasons for lowering state unemployment benefits. Just prior to the start of the 2010 legislative session, Pace was named vice-chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

After Democrats lost control of the House in the 2010 elections, Pace was elected as House Minority leader by his peers, a position he held until 2012.

2010 election

In the general election, Pace defeated Republican Steven Rodriguez by a vote of 69% to 31%.

Following the 2010 election, Pace was selected by his peers as House Minority Leader. He held this post from January to November 2011. In 2011, Pace led opposition to the proposed Fiscal Year 2011-2012 state budget, which included $250 million in cuts to education, closure of the Fort Lyon Correctional Facility and the elimination of an addiction recovery program at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo. Pace announced that he would not seek reelection to the House in 2012, and would instead enter the race for Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.

In 2012, Pace sponsored a successful bill to eliminate the estate tax on farming and ranching land, and sped up the air-quality approval process for the Pueblo steel mill and cement plant when these businesses faced a backlog at the state regulatory agency. Pace resigned his position as House Minority Leader in 2012 to more fully devote his attention to his campaign for Colorado's 3rd congressional district.

In 2012, recreational marijuana use was legalized through Colorado Amendment 64. Pace has drafted and sponsored several bills related to marijuana policy, and has been credited with transforming Pueblo County, Colorado into the "Napa Valley of cannabis." Since leaving the State House, Pace continued to specialize in marijuana policy on the county level.[6][7][8] Pace serves on the national board of the Marijuana Policy Project,[9] which advocates for liberalizing marijuana laws within states. He also sits on the national advisory board at HeadCount's Cannabis Voter Project.[10] In Colorado, Pace is a Governor-appointed board member on the Institute of Cannabis Research.

2012 Congressional election

In May 2011, Pace announced plans to challenge freshman Republican Scott Tipton in Colorado’s newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District. His campaign was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, the United Steelworkers, and the Blue Dog Coalition, among others. The race was considered a toss-up, with both candidates statistically tied in early polling.

Pace's race was touted as a primary example by Time Magazine of the role that so-called SuperPacs can play in winning an election. Having gotten close in the polls near October 1, the GOP money machine targeted the seat. Without Democrats matching, Pace ultimately lost.[11]

In the 2012 General Election, Pace faced Republican Congressman Scott Tipton. Tipton won by a margin of 53% to 41%, with the remainder of the vote going to third-party candidates.[12][13][14]

After the 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election, Pace was selected to serve as a co-chair on Governor-elect Jared Polis' transition team.[15]

Pace currently consults in government affairs and cannabis policy.[16]

Pueblo County Commissioner

From 2013 until 2019, Pace served as a County Commissioner of Pueblo County, Colorado. As one of three commissioners, each elected county-wide, he represented the 165,000 residents of Pueblo County.[17]

Pace has been an advocate for passenger rail in Colorado; and chaired the Southwest Chief Passenger Rail Commission while serving as a County Commissioner. In 2016 Pace received the highest national recognition from Amtrak, the President's Safety and Service Award.[18]

As a County Commissioner, Pace promoted legislation that allowed outdoor and greenhouse cultivation of cannabis, thus continuing the transformation of Pueblo County into the "Napa Valley of Cannabis." Pace also created the Pueblo County Scholarship Fund, which draws on tax revenues from marijuana sales to fund a college scholarship for every high-school graduate in Pueblo County. In addition, he helped found the Institute of Cannabis Research (ICR) at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Sal Pace announced the establishment of the organization Leaders For Reform on January 31, 2018, with a full-page ad in the Washington Times. At the time of its formation, the group consisted of 110 local elected officials from11 states.

Pace also serves on the national board of the Marijuana Policy Project, the primary organization leading state-by-state reform efforts, including legalization campaigns in Colorado, Nevada, and Michigan. Pace has been involved in nationwide efforts to reform the federal cannabis tax code (280E), pushing back on Jeff Sessions' rescinding of the Cole Memorandum, hosting members of the Congressional Cannabis caucus, and speaking up for legalization in other states.

Other political activities

Pace is well known in Colorado political circles for activities unrelated to cannabis legislation. He was chosen by Governor-elect Jared Polis, for example, to serve as a co-chair of his Transition Committee and has also served as a delegate to the Democratic National Committee.

In addition, Pace has been a vocal advocate for passenger rail in Colorado and has chaired the Southwest Chief Passenger Rail Commission, which is credited with raising $71 million to save the Chicago-Los Angeles route on Amtrak. In recognition of his efforts to save the Southwest Chief rail line, Amtrak awarded Pace the President's Safety and Service Award. He helped establish an expanded Southwest Chief and Front Range Rail Commission, which became Colorado law in July 2017.

Life after politics

During the latter part of his political career, Pace joined the Jared Polis transition team, on which he served as co-chair, and also joined the national board of the Marijuana Policy Project, the primary sponsor of statewide ballot initiatives calling for the legalization of marijuana for both medical purposes and adult recreational use. The Pueblo Chieftain reported in December 2018 that according to Pace himself, he had been serving as a consultant to the Project “for more than a year and a half” and that in his view this did not represent a conflict of interest.

Pace has reportedly partnered with some of the largest companies involved in cannabis, including LivWell Enlightened Health. During 2018, by his own count, he served as a marijuana policy consultant to groups in a dozen states, but declined to disclose his earnings for that work. In addition, Pace is licensed to sell Grateful Dead-branded ultimate discs. He has designed ultimate "frisbee" discs with the band’s logo on them, and he and his wife have created a limited liability corporation to produce these items, which he and his family sell as Dead and Company products.

Personal life

Pace is divorced and has three children.[3][19]

References
  1. "State House District 36". COMaps. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
  2. "Denver Post - U.S. House 2012 Election Results".
  3. http://salpace.com/
  4. "The Durango Herald - Local News - Sal Pace".
  5. Garner, Joe (20 October 2006). "Salazar-financed poll shows him with big lead". Rocky Mountain News. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  6. Mitchell, Thomas (2020-08-26). "Gardner Wants USDA to Slow Down on Federal Hemp Rules". Westword. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  7. Jun 26 2017June 29, Commentary; 2017 (2017-06-26). "UPDATED — Sal Pace: The truth about Colorado". VTDigger. Retrieved 2020-08-27.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. Hillstrom, Zach. "Oregon congressman thrilled with Pueblo cannabis industry". The Pueblo Chieftain. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  9. Mitchell, Thomas (2018-10-27). "Sal Pace Is Just Fine With Being Pueblo County's "Cannabis" Commissioner". Westword. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  10. "Weed Wonks Episode 7 - Discussing the Cannabis Voter Project with Sal Pace". Vicente Sederberg LLP. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  11. ProPublica. "Dark Money Rises". ProPublica. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  12. "CO - Election Results - Colorado Secretary of State".
  13. "State House 2012 Election Results - Denver Post".
  14. "Denver Post - U.S. House 2012 Election Results".
  15. Mestas, Anthony A. "Pueblo Commissioner Pace excited to join Polis team". The Pueblo Chieftain. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  16. Politics, Dan Njegomir, Colorado. "Q&A with Sal Pace — pol, Puebloan". Colorado Politics. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  17. http://www.salpace.com
  18. Mestas, Anthony A. "Commissioner Pace wins Amtrak award; his efforts to save 'Chief' recognized". The Pueblo Chieftain. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  19. Ashby, Charles (10 January 2009). "Capitol Notes". Pueblo Chieftain. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
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