Larry Liston Explained

Larry Liston
State Senate:Colorado
District:10th
Term Start:January 13, 2021
Predecessor:Owen Hill
State House2:Colorado
District2:16th
Term Start2:January 11, 2017
Term End2:January 13, 2021
Predecessor2:Janak Joshi
Successor2:Andres G. Pico
Term Start3:January 12, 2005
Term End3:January 9, 2013
Predecessor3:Bill Sinclair
Successor3:Janak Joshi
Party:Republican
Spouse:Mary Ann
Children:1
Education:Colorado State University (BSBA)
Signature:Larry Liston signature.svg

Lawrence G. Liston (born 1952) is an American politician who serves in the Colorado Senate from the 10th district as a member of the Republican Party. He served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 16th district from 2005 to 2013, and 2017 to 2021.

Liston was educated at Wasson High School and Colorado State University. His activities in the Republican Party started as a precinct leader and then as a district leader before becoming the vice-chair of the Colorado Republican Party. He was elected to the state house in 2004, and served until he lost in the Republican primary for a seat in the state senate to Owen Hill. He returned to the state house after defeating Representative Janak Joshi in the Republican primary and served until his election to the state senate in the 2020 election.

Liston has been criticized for his actions towards women, and has struggled with the chair of the El Paso County Republican Party, including getting into a fight with her husband.

Early life and education

Lawrence G. Liston graduated from Wasson High School and from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and minored in political science in 1975. He started his work for the Royal Bank of Canada as a financial consultant and later became vice-president in his firm. He married Mary Ann, with whom he had one child.[1] [2] [3]

Career

Republican Party

Liston served as the leader of the Republicans in Precinct 217 from 1984 to 1996, and as the leader in the 16th Colorado House of Representatives district from 1997 to 2004. Liston served on the highway advisory board in El Paso County from 1995 to 1999. He served as the vice-chair of the Colorado Republican Party from 2001 to 2003. Liston served as the chair of Bill Owens gubernatorial campaign in El Paso County in the 1998 and 2002 elections. He served as the co-chair of George W. Bush's presidential campaign in El Paso County during the 2000 presidential election and attended the Republican National Convention as a delegate for Bush.

Colorado General Assembly

Elections

Liston ran for a seat in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 16th district with the Republican nomination and defeated Democratic nominee Mary F. Hafner and Libertarian nominee Scott Paul Graves.[4] He won reelection without opposition in the 2006 election.[5] He defeated Democratic nominee Richard M. Flores in the 2008 election.[6] He won reelection in the 2010 election against Democratic nominee Janet Tanner.[7] He ran for the Republican nomination for a seat in the Colorado Senate from the 10th district during the 2012 election, but was defeated in the primary by Owen Hill.[8] [9] He won the Republican nomination in the 16th district in the 2016 election against incumbent Janak Joshi and defeated Libertarian nominee John C. Hjersman in the general election.[10] [11] He defeated Democratic nominee Andrew Smith and Libertarian nominee Hjersman in the 2018 election.[12] [13]

During the 2020 election Liston was the only candidate placed onto the Republican primary ballot due to him being the only one to receive at least 30% of the assembly support. Eli Bremer claimed that Liston had defeated David Stiver in the assembly vote with 76% to 24%, but Stiver claimed in a lawsuit that there were numerous irregularities in the election and claimed that the rules were constantly changed, the number of credentialed delegates changed, and that the email account set up to receive the ballots was hacked. The Colorado Republican state committee ordered that Stiver be added to the ballot as it was too late to hold another assembly vote and maintained it ruling on appeal by a vote of 98 to 90.[14] Scott Gessler and Wayne W. Williams, who had both previously served as the Secretary of State of Colorado, opposed allowing Stiver onto the ballot.[15] Judge Michael A. Martinez ruled that Stiver could not be placed onto the ballot.[16] He won in the general election to succeed Hill, who was term-limited, against Democratic nominee Randi McCallian and Libertarian nominee Heather Johnson.[17] [18] [19]

Tenure

During Liston's tenure in the state house he served on the Public Healthcare and Human Services, and Energy and Environment committees.[20] He voted to expel Representative Steve Lebsock in 2018.[21]

In 2011, Sarah Anderson, the secretary of the El Paso County Republican Party, resigned and accused Liston of being misogynistic and that she was warned when she was fourteen to never be alone in a room with him.[22] He signed a letter calling for Vickie Tonkins, the chair of the El Paso County Republican Party, to apologize and possibly resign after she posted "Do you believe that the Coronavirus is a PSYOP (Psychological Operation)? Post your answer…" on Facebook.[23] [24] In 2021, Tonkins criticized Liston, Kay Rendleman, and Karl Schneider in an email for blocking her version of a school board candidate survey which included questions on support for an audit of the 2020 election.[25] Liston and Rex Tonkins, Vickie's husband, got into a fight at a county Republican executive committee meeting. Liston called Tonkins a thug three times although Liston claims that he stated that after an aggressive encounter with Tonkins.[26]

Political positions

Liston received an F rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America.[27] Liston voted against repealing the death penalty in 2009, and he, Dave Williams, Terri Carver, Richard Holtorf, and Lori Saine attempted to stall another vote on legislation to repeal it in 2020.[28] [29] He stated that he would not take the COVID-19 vaccine.[30] He supports a constitutional amendment to enact term limits on member of the United States Congress.[31] In 2008, he apologized twice, first to Representative Stella Garza-Hicks and then in a general statement, for referring to unwed teenage parents as sluts.[32]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: March 27, 1975 . 610 earn CSU degrees . 24 . . live . https://archive.today/20220110202158/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92295762/fort-collins-coloradoan/ . January 10, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: June 24, 2019 . Q&A with Larry Liston . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110201738/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/q-a-with-larry-liston-optimism-sells-socialism-will-be-a-turnoff/article_dd1cd242-9237-11e9-9eb9-3b659c2cc5b8.html . January 10, 2022.
  3. News: About Larry Liston . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110201933/https://www.friendsoflarryliston.com/about-larry . January 10, 2022.
  4. News: Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2003 Coordinated 2004 Primary 2004 General . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201018213320/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/pdf/2000-2099/2004AbstractBook.pdf . October 18, 2020.
  5. News: Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2005 Coordinated 2006 Primary 2006 General . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210401005901/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/pdf/2000-2099/2006AbsractBook.pdf . April 1, 2021.
  6. News: Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2005 Coordinated 2006 Primary 2006 General . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210408203510/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/pdf/2000-2099/2008AbstractBook.pdf . April 8, 2021.
  7. News: Official Publication of the Abstract of Votes Cast for the 2010 Primary 2010 General . Secretary of State of Colorado . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210407025004/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/pdf/2000-2099/2010AbstractBook.pdf . April 7, 2021.
  8. News: January 4, 2013 . Outgoing lawmakers transition into 'civilian' life . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110224229/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/outgoing-lawmakers-transition-into-civilian-life/article_e82eae4c-d1d9-5243-9056-b98bbdc1f9e3.html . January 10, 2022.
  9. News: 2012 Primary Election Results - Republican Party Ballot . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150307021428/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/2012/primary/republican/stateSenate.html . March 7, 2015.
  10. News: 2016 Primary Election Results - Republican Party Ballot . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210627173914/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/2016/primary/republican/stateRepresentatives.html . June 27, 2021.
  11. News: 2016 General Election Results . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210627173914/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/2016/general/stateRepresentatives.html . June 27, 2021.
  12. News: 2018 Primary Election Results - Republican Party Ballot . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220112152123/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/2018/primary/republican/stateRepresentatives.html . January 12, 2022.
  13. News: 2018 General Election Results . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211206131547/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/2018/general/stateRepresentatives.html . December 6, 2021.
  14. News: April 18, 2018 . Colorado Republicans mired in dispute over El Paso County Senate primary . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110222655/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/colorado-republicans-mired-in-dispute-over-el-paso-county-senate-primary/article_9ec0670a-8108-11ea-b44d-bbb175973b29.html . January 10, 2022.
  15. News: April 18, 2018 . Colorado Republicans mired in dispute over El Paso County Senate primary . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110222956/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2020-election/former-gop-election-officials-ask-judge-to-keep-candidate-off-el-paso-county-senate-primary/article_c3c095d8-7d42-532c-9689-0c81b786f900.html . January 10, 2022.
  16. News: May 4, 2020 . Judge: Colorado GOP can't order official to add candidate to El Paso County legislative primary . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110223254/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/judge-colorado-gop-cant-order-official-to-add-candidate-to-el-paso-county-legislative-primary/article_9d7fd588-8e5f-11ea-a558-5bd8198f4ea7.html . January 10, 2022.
  17. News: January 17, 2021 . The transfers: Members who moved from one chamber to the other . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110224053/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/the-transfers-members-who-moved-from-one-chamber-to-the-other/article_c1539668-5900-11eb-b209-bf06db262131.html . January 10, 2022.
  18. News: 2020 Primary Election Results - Republican Party Ballot . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220112154021/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/2020/primary/republican/stateSenate.html . January 12, 2022.
  19. News: 2020 General Election Results . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211126223252/https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Results/Abstract/2020/general/stateSenate.html . November 26, 2021.
  20. News: January 9, 2020 . House Republicans announce 2020 committee assignments . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110220256/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/house-republicans-announce-2020-committee-assignments/article_a26f3aaa-3272-11ea-889f-775827e63ac2.html . January 10, 2022.
  21. News: March 6, 2018 . El Paso County delegation almost unanimous in vote to expel Rep. Steve Lebsock . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110220829/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/hot-sheet/el-paso-county-delegation-almost-unanimous-in-vote-to-expel-rep-steve-lebsock/article_2c3bec91-b085-5b79-b3c0-ee827efb6127.html . January 10, 2022.
  22. News: October 3, 2011 . Controversial El Paso County GOP official quits . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110220607/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/controversial-el-paso-county-gop-official-quits/article_106dd566-ab99-595f-8419-9b3983b57beb.html . January 10, 2022.
  23. News: April 3, 2020 . Republicans call on El Paso County party chair to resign over controversial coronavirus comments . . live . https://archive.today/20220110225503/https://www.denverpost.com/2020/04/03/republicans-el-paso-county-coronavirus/ . January 10, 2022.
  24. News: April 4, 2020 . GOP officials call on El Paso County chair to apologize, consider resigning over COVID-19 post . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110223624/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/coronavirus/gop-officials-call-on-el-paso-county-chair-to-apologize-consider-resigning-over-covid-19/article_7d1c7720-7554-11ea-97c7-93333f74f15e.html . January 10, 2022.
  25. News: November 2, 2021 . El Paso County GOP's vice chairman calls on Vickie Tonkins to resign . Colorado Politics . live . https://archive.today/20220110221455/https://www.coloradopolitics.com/elections/el-paso-county-gops-vice-chairman-calls-on-vickie-tonkins-to-resign/article_0fe84fd2-3b58-11ec-9136-f3cc5a054ff1.html . January 10, 2022.
  26. News: December 7, 2021 . Police looking into altercation at El Paso County GOP meeting . . live . https://archive.today/20220110230734/https://krdo.com/news/local-news/2021/12/07/police-looking-into-altercation-at-el-paso-county-gop-meeting/ . January 10, 2022.
  27. News: Larry Liston . . live . https://archive.today/20220110200714/https://naralcolorado.org/legislator/larry-liston/ . January 10, 2022.
  28. News: April 21, 2009 . Death penalty dealt blow . . live . https://archive.today/20220110230943/https://www.denverpost.com/2009/04/21/death-penalty-dealt-blow/ . January 10, 2022.
  29. News: February 25, 2020 . Colorado lawmakers vote for death penalty repeal in the middle of the night . . live . https://archive.today/20220110225639/https://www.denverpost.com/2020/02/25/colorado-repeals-death-penalty-bill-passed/ . January 10, 2022.
  30. News: December 16, 2020 . This ER Nurse And Colorado Representative Is The First State Lawmaker To Get The Coronavirus Vaccine . . live . https://archive.today/20220110230525/https://www.cpr.org/2020/12/16/this-er-nurse-and-colorado-representative-is-the-first-state-lawmaker-to-get-the-coronavirus-vaccine/ . January 10, 2022.
  31. News: May 26, 2020 . LARRY LISTON PLEDGES TO SUPPORT CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS . . live . https://archive.today/20220112025215/https://www.termlimits.com/larry-liston-supports-term-limits/ . January 12, 2022.
  32. News: February 8, 2008 . Liston apologizes for "sluts" comment on floor . . live . https://archive.today/20220112040736/https://www.denverpost.com/2008/02/08/liston-apologizes-for-sluts-comment-on-floor/ . January 12, 2022.

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