Joe Rice - Colorado State Representative
State: ColoradoOffice: State Representative (HD-38)
Website: www.joericecolorado.com
Joe Rice (D-Littleton) was elected in November 2006 to represent District 38 in the Colorado State House of Representatives. House District 38 is mostly in Arapahoe County, and includes the cities of Littleton, Greenwood Village, and Englewood (generally south of Oxford), and the towns of Bow Mar and Columbine Valley.
In his first session of the legislature (2007), Representative Rice served as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Business Affairs and Labor, and was a member of the Committee on Transportation and Energy. Representative Rice was recognized as being one of the most effective representatives in the legislature, passing 18 bills in his first session. These measures included establishing a state wide Cold Case unit for unsolved homicides, and a number of measures that benefit citizens, consumers, businesses, military personnel, and veterans.
Representative Rice served as the mayor of Glendale, which is also in Arapahoe County, from 1996 to 2003. As mayor, he promoted the city’s economic development by balancing the budget, cutting taxes, and attracting quality businesses. He also tripled the amount of parks, trails, and open space in the city, and built Glendale’s first preschool and recreation center.
Representative Rice has served in the military for over 23 years, mostly in the Army Reserve, and presently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He’s served several tours on active duty, including peacekeeping in Bosnia-Herzegovina and two combat tours in Iraq. Lt. Col. Rice was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq, that included among other duties, establishing the first post-Saddam Baghdad City Council. He has also been awarded the Combat Action Badge for actions under enemy fire, and numerous other awards and decorations. Lt. Col Rice was recently selected by the Army for promotion to full Colonel, effective as early as January 2008.
Joe has over 10 years of private sector business experience, primarily as a Customer Service Supervisor, Manager, and Trainer with MCI, JDEdwards, and Wells Fargo Bank. He presently works as a consultant, mostly in the areas of management, training, meeting facilitation. Joe is also active with a number of international education and exchange organizations including Sister Cities International and the Orbis International Institute.
Joe and his wife Kendall have been married 17 years and have three young children: twins Harrison and Alexandria who are 7, and 2 year old Dalton.
Paid for VoteVets Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. VoteVets Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on behalf veterans and their families. VoteVets Political Action Committee is a federal political committee which primarily helps elect Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran candidates and educates about veterans and military issues aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election.