AURORA | A lot has happened during the two years that former state Rep. Karen Middleton left the Legislature to take a job in San Francisco. The city now has its very own congressional district; the Regional Transportation District’s plans for a light rail line through Aurora have finally gained traction; the Anschutz Medical Campus has continued to grow, and a tragedy that shocked the world happened less than five miles from Middleton’s Aurora home.
Watching the July 20 theater massacre unfold in the media, Middleton said she was full of sorrow, but also proud of how Aurora came together in the weeks and months afterward.
Just a few days before the tragedy, she had made the decision to move back to Aurora and continue her duties as president of San Francisco-based Emerge America, a national organization that trains Democratic women to run for elected office. When tragedy struck the city she had lived in since 1998, she knew she had made the right choice.
“I felt compelled to come back and be engaged,” she said. “This is my home. These are my neighbors.”
Middleton is married to former Aurora City Councilman Larry Beer, who works for AT&T in California. She has been living in their central Aurora home since October 2012, and is contemplating a move back into elected office. She said she’s encouraging strong Democratic, female candidates to enter the race in the 2014 mid-term elections for Congressional District 6, and one of those names on the list of candidates could be her own. She has yet to make an official decision on whether to run, she said.
“I think women candidates should be in the mix, and I’d be honored to be among those, but we should take some time to see what’s out there,” she said. She said she will be meeting with leaders and Aurora voters before she makes a formal decision about her candidacy for CD-6. Middleton said she doesn’t think current U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, accurately represents residents in the district. The pool of potential candidates for CD-6 has recently widened, after former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff told Politico he is also considering a run for the seat.
Coffman recently sent an email to campaign supporters urging them to donate to a 2014 campaign re-election effort amid the stories of potential 2014 challengers.
“I take every potential opponent very seriously,” Coffman told the Aurora Sentinel on Jan. 22. Whether Middleton decides to run for office or not, she will still be involved in Emerge America, training women to run for political offices at all levels of government. So far, the organization has trained 1,000 women of all ages to run for office in 10 states, with Colorado next on the list. She says there is a lack of female politicians in Colorado. Despite that, Colorado boasts more women members of its legislature than any other state.
“We only have one woman in the congressional delegation, we’ve never had a woman who has been governor or U.S. senator,” she said. So far, 19 women from all over the state, including some from Aurora, are signed up to join in an Emerge America kick-off event in late February. Some are planning to run for office as soon as this year. Middleton has had success in personally recruiting Aurora women to run for office. She motivated both Democratic state Representatives Su Ryden and Rhonda Fields to run for office.
“It doesn’t take a lot, but having those conversations and training, that helps debunk a lot of the mystery around running for office,” she said. “A lot more women should look at it than do.”
Middleton was elected to the Colorado State Board of Education in 2006 and appointed in 2008 to serve as state representative for House District 42, the seat that was vacated by former state Rep. Michael Garcia. Her priorities during her time as a state lawmaker were education issues, economic development and the welfare of veterans and military families. She helped create a statewide dropout prevention program, helped provide veterans with resources for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and helped ensure there were enough resources to help manage foreclosures.
Middleton said Aurora has been “moving forward” in many ways during the two years she was living in California. She’s excited about the potential for redevelopment on the piece of land that’s currently home to the Fan Fare building, which city officials recently decided to demolish. She’s continually impressed with the growth around the Anschutz Medical Center and she says RTD’s Interstate 225 light rail line will bring about big change for residents, and also attract more businesses.
Middleton, who moved back to Aurora with her young daughter, Zoe, says she’s glad to get away from the sometimes-stuffy nature of coastal living. She’s happy to be able to frequent her favorite restaurants, go see live performances at the Aurora Arts District and be back in the same house she left in 2010.
“I’m delighted to be back,” she said. “I didn’t realize how happy I’d be ‘til I got here. I’m happy to be home and looking forward to becoming more involved and serving the community in whatever way makes sense.”
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.