governor

Jared Polis

Jared Polis (D) is the 43rd governor of the state of Colorado who also served as a Colorado State Board of Education member and a U.S. Representative from Colorado’s 2nd district.

Associations:

Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region

Humane Society Legislative Fund

Human Rights Campaign

National Education Association

party

Democrat

jurisdiction

State of Colorado

service dates

January 8, 2019 - Present

gender

Male

Personal Moments

1975

Jared Schultz (later Polis) is born in Boulder, Colorado

Schultz was born to parents Stephen and Susan Polis Schultz, co-founders of book publisher Blue Mountain Arts.

1996

Graduates from Princeton University

With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Jared Polis graduated from Princeton University.

1998

Establishes online florist company

An entrepreneur from the start, Polis founded a virtual florist company, ProFlowers, in La Jolla, California.

1999

Family Business

Jared and his parents sold their online greeting card site, BlueMountainArts, for an estimated $780 million with Jared taking $160 million.

2005

Sells ProFlowers

Polis sold ProFlowers for $477 million in 2005.

2003

Wins education award

Due to his education reform efforts as a member of the Colorado Board of Education, Jared Polis won the Pacesetter Award in Education.

2020

Engaged to Long Term Partner

Polis gets engaged to his long term partner, Marlon Reis, and becomes the first U.S. Governor to be engaged to a same-sex partner.

2021

Gets Married

Polis and Marlon Reis get married.

Campaign History

2000

Polis elected to Board of Education

Marking the beginning of his political career, Jared Polis was elected to the Colorado Board of Education, where he served until 2007.

2006

Begins campaign finance reform advocacy

Polis served as a co-chair of the Coloradans for Clean Government working to pass an amendment that would restrict lobby funding to politicians.

2007

Polis advocates for school infrastructure improvements

Jared Polis served as a co-chair for the Building for Our Future campaign that helped raise funds and awareness to improve Colorado’s aging educational infrastructure.

2008

Elected to U.S. House of Representatives

Polis became the U.S. representative for Colorado’s second district after competitive primary and general elections.

2018

Polis elected as governor of Colorado

Elected with 52% of the vote, Polis was elected the 43rd governor of Colorado, becoming the first openly gay governor elected in the country.

2022

Running for re-election and wins

Polis is running for re-election in Colorado and his largest campaign contributor was himself, allocating some $11,138,000.00 for political purposes. Polis wins the general election and remains governor of Colorado.

Position on Key Issues

Environment

As governor of a natural resource-rich state, Jared Polis is greatly concerned with combating climate change. One of his largest promises made as governor so far is to transform Colorado’s energy grid to be made of completely renewable energy sources by 2040.

critical race theory in schools
Education

As a former Board of Education member, one of Polis’ main concerns as governor has been the state’s education system. Polis signed a bill in 2020 ensuring free full-day Kindergarten for all students in Colorado in hopes to help bridge academic gaps between richer and poorer students.

Healthcare

Polis and his administration have made accessible healthcare a priority during his tenure as governor. Governor Polis passed a bill in 2020 ensuring that all Colorado residents can take paid medical and family leave in an attempt to encourage Coloradans to obtain the care they need without fear of losing pay while sick.

Key Issues:

Environment

Education

Healthcare