Keith King

Keith King
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 12th district
Preceded by Andy McElhany
Succeeded by Bill Cadman
Personal details
Born March 12, 1948
Tekoa, Washington
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Sandi King
Profession Educator, Small Businessman
Website Keith King for City Council District 3

Keith King (born March 12, 1948, in Tekoa, Washington) is a small businessman and former State senator from Colorado's Senate District 12 and State representative from House District 21. He is a Republican. He is currently running for Colorado Springs City Council District 3.[1]

From 1999 to 2006, King represented House District 21 in the Colorado House of Representatives. On November 7, 2002, the Republican Caucus of the House chose King to serve as their Majority Leader, a post he held during the 2003-2004 legislative session. During this session, King also filled in as Governor of Colorado for a week.[2] King was term-limited from the House at the end of 2006. King spent the first half of 2007 preparing to open Colorado Springs Early Colleges, one of the charter schools he has founded. Since classes started in August 2007, he has served as the school's administrator.[3] In 2008, King won election to the Colorado State Senate, replacing Minority Leader Andy McElhany, who was term-limited at the end of the 2007-2008 session. In 2012, Colorado redrew Legislative boundaries and placed King in the same district as Minority Leader Bill Cadman. King declined to stand for reelection.[4]

Personal life

Keith and Sandi King have been married for 43 years. They have two sons. Jeremy is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. In July, 2005 Jeremy married Shiree Howell. They have three children. Brandon completed his master's degree at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and is an electrical engineer at RT Logic! in Colorado Springs. Brandon married Sara Gerdes in August, 2008. They have one child.[1]

Career in education and business

After graduating from Colorado State University-Pueblo in 1970, King spent seven years teaching high school and coaching basketball in California and Oregon; he also earned a master's degree from Oregon State University in 1976. The following year, King moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he started "Waterbed Palace," a retail venture which grew to include 18 stores in Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia. In 1991, King was named "Retailer of the Year."[5]

He had turned from teaching to business, but King continued his work in the field of education, sitting on the Board of Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 from 1991 to 1995. The same year he relinquished his seat on the district board, he helped found Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy, and served as its president from 1995 to 1998.[5] In 1999, King took his passion for public policy to the Capitol in Denver.

In 2007, King founded a high school called Colorado Springs Early Colleges, which gives students an opportunity to earn an associate degree and high school diploma simultaneously. He currently serves as the school's administrator.

King also helped expand the range of Early Colleges in Colorado, creating Colorado Early Colleges Parker in 2014. This school subsequently led to the founding of Colorado Early Colleges Aurora, CO.

Political career

King served four terms as the State Representative from House District 21. Best known for his "charter-school and education legislation,"[3] King made contributions in many other areas as well, leading one commentator to see "his fingerprints...all over the map."[6] King was named "Legislator of the Year" in 2002 by the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and in 2003 by the Economic Development Council of Colorado. He served as Assistant Majority Leader from 2001 to 2002, Majority Leader from 2003 to 2004, and, but for the fact that the Democrats took control of the Legislature, would have become Speaker of the House in 2005.[6] In 2004, King received a prestigious presidential appointment to the National Assessment Governing Board, an organization that monitors standardized testing nationwide. He was America's only Republican state legislator chosen for the board. He was term-limited from the board in November 2008.[7] King is the president of Colorado Springs City Council Elected by District 3 [8]

Legislative awards

References

  1. 1 2 Keith King for City Council District 3 Website
  2. ↑ King for a Week, The Rocky Mountain News, 30 August 2004
  3. 1 2 Ed Sealover, Former house leader to run for senate seat, The Gazette, 17 November 2007
  4. ↑ "Statesman" King leaving Senate, ponders comeback The Gazette, 21 March 2012
  5. 1 2 A Scoring Guide for NAEP
  6. 1 2 Kyle Henley, Delegation faces turnover, The Gazette, 6 February 2006
  7. ↑ Civics Framework for the 2006 National Assessment of Educational Progress
  8. ↑ http://coloradosprings.gov/government/general-information/city-council/council-members
  9. ↑ Keith King for City Council District 3 Website
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