Frank McNulty (Colorado politician)

Frank McNulty
Member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents from the 4th district
Assumed office
January 5, 2023
Preceded bySue Sharkey
56th Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives
In office
January 12, 2011 – January 9, 2013
Preceded byTerrance Carroll
Succeeded byMark Ferrandino
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives
from the 43rd district
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 7, 2015
Preceded byTed Harvey
Succeeded byKevin Van Winkle
Personal details
Born (1973-02-02) February 2, 1973
Blue Island, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKim Hall
EducationUniversity of Colorado Boulder
University of Denver

Frank McNulty (born February 2, 1973) is an American politician who serves on the University of Colorado Board of Regents from the 4th district. Prior to this he was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2007 to 2015, where he served as speaker from 2011 to 2013.

Early life

Frank McNulty was born in Blue Island, Illinois, on February 2, 1973, to Frank and Denise McNulty.[1] He has lived in Colorado since 1977,[2] and was raised in Jefferson County, Colorado, where he graduated from J.K. Mullen High School. In 1995, he graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor's degree.[1]

After graduating from college McNulty worked for U.S. Senator Wayne Allard. He returned in 1998 in order to attend the University of Denver and graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in 2001. A public policy advisor, he joined Governor Bill Owens' administration in 2000, and was assistant director for water for the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.[1][2][3]

Colorado House of Representatives

In 2006, McNulty won the Republican nomination for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 43rd district without opposition and defeated Democratic nominee Allen A. Dreher in the general election.[4] He was reelected in 2008,[5] 2010,[6] and 2012.[7]

During McNulty's tenure in the state house he served on the Agriculture committee.[8] In 2008, McNulty was a member of a committee that investigated Douglas Bruce to determine if the state house could punish Bruce for actions he did before taking office and what actions should be taken against him.[9] The Republicans gained control of the state house after the 2010 elections and selected McNulty to be speaker;[10] he is the most recent Republican to be speaker.[11] McNulty declined to seek a leadership position after the Republicans lost their majority in the 2012 elections and Mark Waller was selected to serve as minority leader.[12]

During the 2010 Colorado gubernatorial election McNulty was a member of a draft movement trying to get Josh Penry to seek the Republican nomination.[13] He endorsed Mitt Romney during the 2012 Republican presidential primaries.[14]

Later life

McNulty was a member of Jeb Bush's steering committee in Colorado during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries.[15] McNulty was the director of the Public Trust Institute, which filed ethics complaints against Governor John Hickenlooper.[16][17] In 2019, he co-chaired Preserve Colorado's Electoral Vote with Jack Graham in opposition to Colorado joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.[18] He was a lobbyist for Centennial Institute, a conservative think tank at Colorado Christian University.[19] McNulty was elected to the University of Colorado Board of Regents from the 4th district in the 2022 election.[20]

Personal life

McNulty married Kim Hall, with whom he had two children. They first met while working for Allard.[21][3]

Political positions

In 2007, McNulty proposed legislation to place the minimum mandatory sentencing at 15 years for people convicted of sexual offenses against children under 15.[22] He proposed legislation to require proof of citizenship in order to vote.[23] Civil unions for same-sex couples was opposed by McNulty.[24] He opposes the legalization of cannabis.[25] McNulty supports Israel and opposed peace negotiations for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2016.[26] The AFL-CIO gave McNulty a rating of 47% in 2011.[27]

Electoral history

2006 Colorado House of Representatives 43rd district election[4]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Frank McNulty 4,070 100.00%
Total votes 4,070 100.00%
General election
Republican Frank McNulty 14,813 61.27%
Democratic Allen A. Dreher 9,362 38.73%
Total votes 24,175 100.00%
2008 Colorado House of Representatives 43rd district election[5]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Frank McNulty (incumbent) 6,729 100.00%
Total votes 6,729 100.00%
General election
Republican Frank McNulty (incumbent) 27,366 63.33%
Democratic John Stevens 15,846 36.67%
Total votes 43,212 100.00%
2010 Colorado House of Representatives 43rd district election[28]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Frank McNulty (incumbent) 7,682 100.00%
Total votes 7,682 100.00%
General election
Republican Frank McNulty (incumbent) 22,416 67.14%
Democratic Gary R. Semro 10,973 32.86%
Total votes 33,389 100.00%
2012 Colorado House of Representatives 43rd district election[7]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Frank McNulty (incumbent) 4,718 100.00%
Total votes 4,718 100.00%
General election
Republican Frank McNulty (incumbent) 25,814 62.29%
Democratic Gary R. Semro 15,625 37.71%
Total votes 41,439 100.00%
2022 Regent of the University of Colorado 4th district district election[20]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Frank McNulty 97,057 100.00%
Total votes 97,057 100.00%
General election
Republican Frank McNulty 217,975 63.96%
Democratic Jack Barrington 122,805 36.04%
Total votes 340,780 100.00%

References

Works cited

Books

  • Presidents and Speakers of the Colorado General Assembly: A Biographical Portrait from 1876 (PDF). Colorado General Assembly. 2016.

Election reports

News

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Web