Republican Rep. Patrick Neville is only serving his second term in office, but he recently rose to the highest position in his caucus — house minority leader. Rep. Neville’s appointment comes as a surprise; Rep. Polly Lawrence, who has served in the legislature since 2012, was considered the heir apparent.
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Capitol Coverage: Colorado’s House Minority Leader Previews 2017 Session KGNU News
Image: Republican Rep. Patrick Neville Credit: Bente Birkeland/Captiol Coverage
Why he wanted to be in leadership:
Neville: I think we need to be bold as Republicans, and show the people who really are, and that’s really to be champions of the people. Our goal is to empower people. Right now I think we’re in a state where the government has really gotten too large, and it’s gotten into every aspect of people’s lives, and we really want to pull that back so people are making decisions for themselves.
On what makes a successful session:
Neville: A lot of people will judge it, look at how many bills were passed. I think we should look at the quality of the different bills. Simply passing a bill even if it has great intentions doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great bill. It might have unintended consequences.
How he hopes to lead house Republicans:
Neville: We can’t just simply say over and over that we’re not the other side of the aisle. We have to show what we stand for and how we’re going to be better for the citizens of Colorado.
Capitol Coverage is a collaborative public policy reporting project, providing news and analysis to communities across Colorado for more than a decade. Fifteen public radio stations participate in Capitol Coverage from throughout Colorado.
