Walker Stapleton

Walker Stapleton
Treasurer of Colorado
Incumbent
Assumed office January 11, 2011
Governor	John Hickenlooper
Preceded by	Cary Kennedy
Personal details
Born	April 15, 1974
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jenna Stapleton
Children	Craig Colette Olivia
Alma mater	Williams College London School of Economics Harvard University

Walker Stapleton (born April 15, 1974) is serving in his second term as Colorado's State Treasurer. He was elected on November 2, 2010 after defeating incumbent Cary Kennedy with 50.73% of the vote and reelected on November 4, 2014, defeating former Congresswoman Betsy Markey by 5%. .

Currently Treasurer Stapleton is the only two-term Republican elected official serving in a statewide elected office in Colorado.

The duties of the Colorado State Treasurer’s office include investing Colorado’s tax dollars, overseeing the unclaimed property division, which distributes property back to its lawful owners, and serving on the board of the Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) .

In 2014, Treasurer Stapleton was named one of America's top 24 rising political stars by the Aspen Institute. He received the Aspen Institute's prestigious Rodel Fellowship, a program designed to bring together elected officials who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to work responsibly across partisan divisions and bring greater civility to public discourse. ^[1]

In 2015, Walker Stapleton was selected as a Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow. The Hunt-Kean fellowship for education leadership brings together 16 of the top Statewide elected officials from around the country. The fellows discuss education reform issues with some of the leading foundations and entrepreneurs in education.

Treasurer Stapleton serves on the Harvard Business School Alumni Board as one of about 70 graduates appointed to provide expertise and input to the School's leaders.

Treasurer Stapleton is a Metro Regional Council Member of the El Pomar Foundation which gives grants to non-profits that provide basic services such as food and shelter to people in need.

Other than serving as an advocate for the Colorado pension members and taxpayers, Treasurer Stapleton wrote the law to allow County Treasurers to invest in US Treasuries after the S&P downgrade of the United States' credit rating, which has saved millions of dollars in lost revenue. He has also changed the way Colorado issues debt, making it more transparent and saving Coloradan's millions of dollars in the process.

Early life

Treasurer Stapleton is from Colorado. His family has been active in Colorado since the early 1900s. Before being sworn in as Colorado’s 43rd State Treasurer, Treasurer Stapleton served as CEO and CFO of various private and publicly traded companies.

Walker graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, and he holds a graduate degree in business economics from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is the son of diplomat Craig Roberts Stapleton. His great-grandfather Benjamin F. Stapleton, was a politician who served five terms as mayor of Denver.

Personal life

His mother, Dorothy Walker Stapleton, is a first cousin of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, making him a second cousin of former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Walker, his wife Jenna, son Craig, and daughters Colette and Olivia live in Arapahoe county. Treasurer Stapleton's community efforts include serving on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. His wife Jenna is on the Board of Advisors of ACE Scholarships. Together, on a volunteer basis, they are involved in many other Colorado charities.

Electoral history

Colorado Treasurer Republican Primary Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Walker Stapleton	181,420	50.90
Republican	J. J. Ament	174,992	49.10

Colorado Treasurer Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Walker Stapleton	866,934	50.70
Democratic	Cary Kennedy (inc.)	842,877	49.30

Colorado Treasurer Election, 2014
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Walker Stapleton (inc.)	979,281	49.87
Democratic	Betsy Markey	882,437	44.94
Libertarian	David Jurist	101,826	5.19

Notes

1. "About the Rodel Fellowship Program".

External links

• Walker Stapleton's website