Tracy Velazquez was the Vice Chair of the

Montana Democratic Party Montana Democratic Party (MDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Montana and one of the two major political parties in the state. The party as of 2024 is chaired by Robyn Driscoll. The National Committeeman is Jorge ...

and directed the Justice Policy Institute in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

until February 2013.

Life

Born in 1964 in Connecticut, Velazquez has a bachelor's degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and a Masters in Public Administration from

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...

. Velazquez has run for public office three times. She first ran for state legislature in 2000 against Republican incumbent

Bob Davies Robert Edris Davies (January 15, 1920 – April 22, 1990) was an American professional basketball player. Alongside Bobby Wanzer he formed one of the best backcourt duos in the National Basketball Association's early years. Davies and Wanzer le ...

. In 2004, she challenged Montana Congressman Dennis Rehberg for the state's lone seat in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

. In 2006, she again ran for the state legislature, this time losing a contested Democratic primary to Mike Phillips. She was elected Vice Chair of the

in 2005. Velazquez also owns Commonweal Consulting, which provides capacity building services. Velazquez assisted the town of

Libby, Montana Libby is a city in northwestern Montana, United States and the county seat of Lincoln County, Montana, Lincoln County. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Libby suffered from the area's contamination from nea ...

in its fight for

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

for residents sickened by

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

from the local W.R. Grace mine. In 2005, she received broad national attention by organizing a group to recommend paying for

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

relief by reducing

pork barrel ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for allocating government spending to localized projects in the representative's district or for securing direct expenditures primarily serving the sole interests of the representative. The u ...

spending, asking the Bozeman

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

to return federal earmarked money for a parking garage. Her actions were criticized by Democratic Senator

Max Baucus Maxwell Sieben Baucus ( Enke; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the long ...

, as well as Republicans Rehberg and then-Senator

Conrad Burns Conrad Ray Burns (January 25, 1935 – April 28, 2016) was an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator from Montana from 1989 to 2007. He was only the second Republican popularly elected to represent Montana in the ...

Private life

She has three children and is married to Dennis Alexander.

References

External links

Montana Democratic Party
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velazquez, Tracy 1964 births Living people People from Connecticut Harvard University alumni Montana State University alumni Politicians from Bozeman, Montana Montana Democrats Women in Montana politics 21st-century American women