Tom Tancredo
The grandson of Italian Immigrants, 
Tom Tancredo was born in North Denver, Colorado. At sixteen he took his first job as a “sweeper” in an amusement park. He returned every summer for ten years and worked his way up to Assistant Park Manager. This job put him through the University of Northern Colorado.
Tom is a solid fiscal and social conservative, with a lifetime 99% voting rating from the American Conservative Union. In addition to immigration, Tancredo has remained vocal on a variety of issues surrounding education, energy and event the environment. He knows how government, at all levels, harms business and can make the changes needed to grow jobs in Colorado.
In 1976, while teaching civics at Drake Junior High, Tom was elected to the state legislature, and re-elected in 1978 and 1980. His first proposal was a bill limiting the number of bills any legisator could introduce. He was a leader in the conservative freshman class that won the abolition of the state’s sales tax on food and utilities, the abolition of the state’s inheritance tax, and the abolition of the auto safety inspection sticker tax.
In 1981, Tom resigned his seat in the legislature to accept an appointment in the Reagan administration. He served as the Secretary of Education’s Regional Representative and was re-appointed by President Bush. His tenure was marked by a running battle with the teacher’s unions and Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, a battle Tom won when he succeeded in downsizing the regional office from 220 employees to approximately 60, resulting in a 75% cut in the regional office budget.
In May, 1993 Tom accepted the presidency of the Independence Institute, a conservative, public policy research organization in Golden, Colorado. During his tenure, the Institute experienced dramatic growth in both revenues and visibility. The Institute’s weekly television program “Independent Thinking” is well regarded, and Tom was a regular panelist on the TV program Colorado Inside Out. Tom has been a leading spokesman for initiatives ranging from term limits to school choice and parent’s rights.
In August, 1998 Tom won the Republican Primary in a five way race for the 6th Congressional District of Colorado. During his ten years representing Colorado Tom became universally recognized by both sides of the issue as the most vocal opponent of illegal immigration in Washington.
In 1999, Tancredo founded the House Immigration Reform Caucus with a handful of Representatives; the bipartisan Caucus had over 100 members while Tom was in office. For many years, Tancredo was the only Republican to vocally oppose President Bush’s immigration policies. In 2007, a bi-partisan coalition within Congress, lead by Tom were emboldened to successfully oppose President Bush on an effort to grant amnesty to an estimated 10 to 20 million so called “un-documented workers.”
Tancredo sought the 2008 Republican nomination for President of the United States with the intention of forcing the immigration issue into the debate. With the issue prominent in the debates, he chose to exit the campaign and returned to his beloved state of Colorado.
Tancredo has been active in conservative politics for over forty years since his days as a member of the College Republicans and Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Northern Colorado.
Prior to entering the race for Colorado governor, Tom has founded two not-for-profit (501c) education organizations the Rocky Mountain Foundation and the American Legacy Alliance. He speaks frequently on cable news, talk radio, and on college campuses. His first book, In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America’s Border and Security, was published in 2006.
Tom and his wife, Jackie, have been married for 33 years. They have two sons and five grandchildren.
Pat Miller
Pat Miller was born in Peoria, Illinois, the 
second of seven children. Her father was a Captain in the US Air Force so she traveled with her family in her early years, living at the Lowery Air Force Base before moving to the farm outside of Washburn, Illinois. She graduated from high school in Washburn and when she was 19, she opened the Village Beauty Shoppe. She owned and operated the business with one employee for five years.
In 1971, Pat and her husband moved to Arvada, Colorado. She got involved in the PTA as Legislative Chairman and President at the local school, during her son’s elementary school years. Disappointed in the quality of education her son received in public school, she decided to home school in the mid 80s. Very few were teaching their children at home at that time. It was a difficult commitment, but she says they were best years of her life.
Pat took her concern over the quality of education statewide as State Director of Citizens for Excellence in Education. She then ran for Colorado State Representative, HD 27, and won the seat in 1989.
In the State Legislature, Pat was a member of the House State Affairs Committee, House Education Committee, Task Force on Family Issues, and Chairperson of the Legislative Oversight Committee. She was also a member of the Colorado Leadership Forum and the Rocky Flats Impact Initiative.
In the Legislature, she sponsored a bill that would allow school vouchers, a bill to reduce the number of bills a legislator could sponsor, the Woman’s Right to Know bill, and legislation that would have eliminated the corporate income tax over a period of five years. It was called “The Colorado Welcome Mat Bill.” It would have made it easier for businesses to operate in Colorado, eliminating whole layers of government and company bureaucracy, attracting enterprise that creates jobs, and resulting in higher rates of economic growth. She has said that taxpayers pay the corporate income tax.
Pat earned a 92% favorable rating from the National Federation of Independent Business and was awarded the Guardian of Small Business Award.
She ran as a candidate for Congress against Rep. David Skaggs in 1996 and 1998. Her conservative values didn’t line up with the values in the Second District.
Pat’s heart is centered in the pro-life movement. She was Executive Director and then President of Citizens for Responsible Government, the political arm of the Colorado pro-life movement. CRG has since closed and she now holds the position of Vice President of Colorado Citizens for Life.
She moved to Erie, Colorado, in 2000, and is currently the President of the Erie Air Park Homeowners Association. She doesn’t have her pilot’s license yet, but she has soloed. She has authored and published three novels in the past six years.
Pat and her husband, Lynn, have been married for 42 years. They have one son and two grandchildren.
