Sen. Donovan recognized for pro-growth policies
mwong@vaildaily.com
Daryl Wilson |
VAIL — Last week, Sen. Kerry Donovan was selected as one of the 13 leaders from across the country to join the NewDEAL, a national network that highlights innovative ideas from state and local elected leaders who are pro-growth progressives.
Donovan, a freshman state senator from Vail, was recognized particularly for a bill she introduced Senate Bill 36 last year, which would have offered emergency grants to small, rural communities experiencing significant job loss. The bill didn’t pass because of party politics, but Donovan said it had wide support and she plans to reintroduce it next year. In addition, she has worked for issues that include economic development in rural areas, access to quality public education, renewable energy, conservation of Colorado’s wildlife and landscape and access to public lands.
“I am proud to be recognized by the NewDEAL for my work to expand opportunity for more people by ensuring proper safety nets are provided to smaller communities during times of economic crisis,” she said.
That’s the kind of work that the NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders) cites as the reason Donovan was chosen into this year’s group, said organization leaders.
“We believe that in order to address the challenges of the 21st century, we need to look for fresh ideas at the state and local level where leaders like Kerry Donovan are developing and testing innovative solutions to help move our country forward,” said Governor Markell, honorary co-chair of the NewDEAL.
Support Local Journalism
Donovan will get the chance to attend the annual NewDEAL conference in Washington, D.C. and meet with other leaders. Other inductees for this year include Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen, Princeton (New Jersey) Mayor Liz Lempert, various city councilmembers, San Francisco City Treasurer Jose Cisneros and West Palm Beach (Florida) State Attorney Dave Aronberg, among others.
“I was astounded to be included because I’m a freshman legislator. I’ll have a lot of use out of this group and will be able to hear innovative ways of how others have solved different problems in different states,” she said.
Learn more about the NewDEAL at http://www.newdealleaders.org.
Assistant Managing Editor Melanie Wong can be reached at 970-748-2927 or at mwong@vaildaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @mwongvail.
