E Martin Hatcher (September19, 1927December27, 2023) was a college professor and Democratic

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from Colorado, U.S. He served two terms in the state senate, from 1975 to 1983. Born in

Ada, Oklahoma Ada is a city in and the county seat of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 16,481 at the 2020 United States census. The city was named for Ada Reed, the daughter of an early settler, and was in ...

, he moved with his family to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

as a child, then after finishing college he moved to

Gunnison, Colorado Gunnison is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gunnison County, Colorado. The city population was 6,560 at the 2020 United States census. The city was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a ...

and began teaching at Western State College (now

Western Colorado University Western Colorado University (WCU or Western) is a public university in Gunnison, Colorado. It enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduate and 450 graduate students, with 25 percent coming from out of state. Western offers more than 100 undergradu ...

), where he taught for 44 years.

Elections

Hatcher first ran for the state senate in 1974. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, he initially faced long-term incumbent Republican Harry M. Locke, who had served in the state senate since 1951. However, Locke died in October 1974, a month after winning the Republican primary. A Republican vacancy committee appointed John B. Shawcroft to replace Locke, but the general election ballots had already been printed, forcing Shawcroft to wage a write-in campaign. Hatcher won handily. He was re-elected in 1978.

Senate leadership position

Hatcher served as the Senate Minority Caucus Chair from 1981 to 1982.

Personal life and death

Hatcher's official first name is simply the letter E, without a

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. To friends and family, he was known as Marty. He married Maxine Millikin, who predeceased him, in 1948. He held a bachelor's, a master's, and a doctoral degree from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army as a cryptographic technician in Fairbanks, Alaska and was honorably discharged in 1946. He died on December 27, 2023, in Gunnison.

References

External links

Hatcher's campaign history from the Colorado Secretary of StateLegislative Branch page about Hatcher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatcher, Martin Democratic Party Colorado state senators People from Gunnison, Colorado Western State Colorado University faculty University of Denver alumni 1927 births 2023 deaths 20th-century members of the Colorado General Assembly