Rachel Zenzinger (born 1974) is an American politician from the state of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Zenzinger is the Jefferson County Commissioner for District 1. She has also represented the 19th district of the

Colorado Senate The Colorado State Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of abou ...

beginning in 2017, she previously represented the same seat from her appointment in 2013 until 2015. Before that, Zenzinger served on the Arvada City Council.

Personal life and education

Zenzinger earned a bachelor's degree and master's degree from

Regis University Regis University ( ) is a Private university, private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1877 by the Jesuits, Society of Jesus, the university offers more than 120 degrees th ...

Career

Zenzinger was elected to the Arvada City Council in 2008. She became Mayor Pro Tem in 2011. Zenzinger was appointed to the state senate following the resignation of Evie Hudak. Zenzinger was the campaign manager of Hudak's 2012 campaign. In 2023, she played an important role in removing upzoning provisions from a major land use reform bill that Colorado Democrats were writing to address the housing crisis in Colorado. Zensinger wrote an editorial with Republican Colorado legislator Barbara Kirkmeyer that argued that the reform bill "should be amended to eliminate state control of local

land-use planning Land use planning or ''Land-use regulation'' is the process of regulating the use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient use of resources. ...

." The bill subsequently was left to languish in the Senate, preventing its passage in the 2023 legislative session. In the 2024 election, Zenzinger ran for Jefferson County commissioner to represent District 1. She won the race to succeed Tracy Kraft-Tharp and assumed office on January 2025.

References

External links

Twitter accountLegislative websiteCampaign website
21st-century American women politicians Colorado city council members Democratic Party Colorado state senators 21st-century members of the Colorado General Assembly Living people People from Arvada, Colorado Place of birth missing (living people) Women city councillors in Colorado Women state legislators in Colorado Year of birth missing (living people) {{Colorado-politician-stub