1. Bill Ritter announced that he would not run for a second term due to family reasons.
17 Facts About Bill Ritter
1. 2.
Bill Ritter supported fellow Democrat John Hickenlooper, who was elected to the governorship.
3.
Bill Ritter was raised on a farm in Aurora, Colorado, with 11 brothers and sisters; he was sixth-oldest.
4.
Bill Ritter attended Gateway High School while he lived in Aurora.
5.
Bill Ritter attended St Anthony Catholic High School in San Antonio, Texas, from 1970 to 1972.
6.
Bill Ritter continued to work in the construction field prior to college.
7.
Bill Ritter enrolled in Colorado State University and completed a bachelor's degree, and then pursued a degree at the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder.
8.
In 1990, Bill Ritter took a position in the United States Attorney's office.
9.
Bill Ritter returned to the Deputy District Attorney's office two years later.
10.
Bill Ritter served on the Denver Foundation's Human Services Committee, the Mile High United Way Board, and the Denver Public Schools' Commission on Secondary School Reform.
11.
At the start of his term, Bill Ritter was relatively popular with rural Coloradans, who in the past have tended to vote for Republican candidates.
12.
Bill Ritter's popularity extended to the Democratic strongholds in Colorado: the voters of the continental divide ski resorts such as Aspen and Vail, as well as the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area.
13.
Bill Ritter staked out moderate positions on business and labor issues, vetoing legislation in 2007 that would have made it easier for workers to form unions, and, mid-term, naming moderate Republican Don Marostica his director of economic development.
14.
However, controversy surfaced regarding plea bargains Bill Ritter had made as DA that prevented the deportation of both legal and illegal immigrants who had been charged with drug, assault, and other crimes.
15.
Bill Ritter founded the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, which advocates for clean energy policy throughout the country.
16.
Bill Ritter has served on the boards of several environmentalist non-profits including The Nature Conservancy.
17.
Bill Ritter is a member of Blackhorn Venture Capital and serves as an advisor to Green Alpha and Project Canary.