COLORADO LEGISLATORS PAST AND PRESENT

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Dorothy "Dottie" Stonecipher   Wham

Chamber:House,Senate
Political Party:Republican
Occupation:State Director of ACTION (Colo/Wyo)

House
Years Served House:1985; 1986; 1987
District #:11 (1985 - 1987)
Number of Years:2 yrs. 10 mo.
General Assembly #:55th; 56th
Counties:Arapahoe; Denver
Senate
Years Served:1987; 1988; 1989; 1990; 1991; 1992; 1993; 1994; 1995; 1996; 1997; 1998; 1999; 2000
District #:35 (1988 - 2000)
Number of Years:13 yrs 2 mos
General Assembly #:56th; 57th; 58th; 59th; 60th; 61st; 62nd
Counties:Arapahoe; Denver
Notes About Member's Term:11/1987 -- Appointed to fill Senate vacancy of Cliff Dodge; replaced by Jeff Shoemaker.
Gender:Female
Birth year and Place:1925
Centralia, IL

City of Residence:Denver
Date of Death:10/20/2019
Place of Death:Denver, CO
Memorial:
Notes:
Husband Robert also served in the Colorado General Assembly. https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/former-state-sen-dottie-wham-passes-away-a ge/article_ba18ed38-f526-11e9-9762-a77b8b8535f6.html Text of article here: Former state Sen. Dottie Wham of Denver passed away on Sunday at the age of 94. “The grande dame” of the legislature, as former Republican state Sen. Norma Anderson of Lakewood called her, was the last Republican to represent Denver in the General Assembly, and among the first to be ousted by term limits, approved by voters in 1990. A memorial service for Wham is scheduled for 1 p.m. Nov. 15 at Mayflower Congregational Church United Church of Christ at 3001 South Acoma St. in Englewood. Born Dorothy Stonecipher in Centralia, Ill., on Jan. 5, 1925, she attended MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1946 and a master of arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1949. She married Bob Wham, her high school sweetheart, on Jan. 26, 1947. He earned his law degree from Illinois not long after they moved to Colorado in 1950, where her husband joined a law practice in Montrose. The family moved to Denver in 1953, when Bob joined the staff of the Attorney General's Office. Dottie first got interested in politics when they were in Montrose, according to a 2001 interview conducted by former House Clerk Lee Bahrych, who also coordinated a series of oral histories from former lawmakers. Bahrych served as treasurer for Wham's Senate campaigns. Wham said she started in politics in working for Eisenhower's presidential campaign, collecting contributions, which irritated both her family and Bob's, as they were backers of the more conservative Robert Taft of Ohio, Eisenhower's challenger in 1952. Wham also took an interest in the immunization rates for diphtheria and typhoid in Montrose, Delta and Mesa counties. “Children were getting those diseases who shouldn’t have,” she said, and she helped organize immunization drives in those counties. After they moved to Denver, she sat out a while on politics -- she worked for a federal agency for about 10 years -- but continued her interest in health issues. She also served on the Colorado Civil Rights Commission from 1972 to 1980, as well as on the boards of several metro area mental health organizations. It was her husband who first got involved in southeast Denver politics, winning election to the state Senate in 1976, where he served one term and then went back to law practice. And then it was Dottie Wham’s turn at the state Capitol. And what a turn it was, according to those who knew her. Dottie was first elected to the Colorado House in 1984. When Sen. Cliff Dodge stepped down in November 1987 to take a job as chief lobbyist for the city and county of Denver, she was appointed to finish out his unexpired term. She won election to the state Senate the following year, and handily won re-election twice more after that. Wham was term-limited in 2000 and was succeeded by the late Sen. Ken Gordon, a Denver Democrat. Wham chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from the 1989 session through 2000. Her legislative passion was for health policy, including mental health. She was one of the first state lawmakers to carry legislation requiring reporting of HIV and AIDs in Colorado, as well as how to help those afflicted with the disease. Senate Bill 157 in 1990 stated that an HIV or AIDS infection should not serve as the basis for discrimination or prevention of access to services. The rights of people with disabilities to bring along service dogs? That was a Dottie Wham measure in 1986. She carried measures on breast cancer screening, ethnic intimidation, trauma care, improving access to voting places for the disabled, and help for pregnant women with substance abuse issues. The Whams were both known as fiscal conservatives but social moderates, backing abortion rights, for example. In a 2008 recollection in the Denver Post, Dottie said the GOP’s push to the far right drove the party down. “I wish we could go back to what the Republicans used to be,” she said. “We used to value the intellectual.” In that 2001 interview, when asked what she would repeal if she had the chance? Term limits and the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, Wham replied. After her time in the General Assembly was over, the Whams spent time at a Frisco vacation home they had owned since the 1960s. Bob passed away in 2011, ending their 65-year love story. “I loved Dottie Wham,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Arvada, who served in the state Senate with Wham from 1995 to 2000. “She was one of the smartest, toughest, shrewdest and kindest people I ever met. “Her service to Colorado and its citizens was unparalleled. She was focused and so effective. She never shied away from a tough challenge. She was so competent at everything she did. Her romance with her beloved Bob lasted decades and decades. The two were as powerful, sensible and serviced-oriented a duo as I’ve ever known.” Former Democratic state Sen. Dorothy Rupert of Boulder said Wham led with "courage and intelligence and fairness." The two served together in both the House and Senate for many years, Rupert said, while the Republicans held the majority the entire time. "She chaired my most active committee and was my most favorite leader across the aisle," Rupert said. "I loved her dearly." Rupert and Wham stayed in touch after their days in the legislature ended, often meeting up at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts for events. "I will miss her and will always hold her in my heart," Rupert said. "Thank you, Dottie Wham, for all you gave to all of us in Colorado." Charles Ashby of the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, a longtime Capitol reporter, first met Wham in the late 90s, when she was chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "She ruled that panel with an even temper and, at times, a heavy gavel," he said. "She always made sure people got their say, regardless of political persuasion. She seemed to appreciate the role of the Capitol Press Corps, but no doubt there were times when she didn't." When former Rep. Gayle Berry of Grand Junction faced a Republican primary challenge in 2002, in her last run for the House, she got a call from Wham, who said, “You have a primary on your hands. I’ve scheduled a meeting,” with a date and time. “When Dottie Wham told you where to be, you showed up and didn’t ask questions,” Berry said. The meeting was a group of women who were all centrist Republicans, who supported women candidates who were getting primaried by far-right Republicans, Berry said. At the end of that meeting, Wham introduced Berry to the group and said, “We have to help or she’ll lose.” They got out their checkbooks and continued to help Berry throughout the campaign season. The best advice Dottie gave her, Berry said, was “don’t be nice” when she’s attacked with ads that aren’t true. “If you’re nice, you’ll lose, no matter how hard you work or how good you are,” Wham said, according to Berry. “I have always had a special place in my heart [for Dottie] because of that,” Berry said. “She was tough and hard and a lot of people who didn’t get to know her were afraid of her, perhaps rightly so, but she had a good soul for doing what was right.” Former Democratic state Sen. Rob Hernandez of Denver also recalled the way Wham worked in the General Assembly. She was very professional and a very thoughtful conservative, he said. “She might not have agreed with you, but she always respected your opinion. I learned a lot from her.” Hernandez said Wham embodied Senate courtesy, once giving him an opportunity to continue working on a bill that was slated to be killed by her judiciary committee. Rather than voting it down, she tabled it to give Hernandez a chance to work on it. “She embodied what a good senator should be: reflective, courteous and never excoriating” other members in the Senate well. She is "in my top 10 of great state lawmakers," tweeted Sam Mamet, former executive director of the Colorado Municipal League. "Smart, savvy, precise, tough and nonpartisan. Iconic indeed." Dottie talked about why she first ran for office in the 2016 documentary "Strong Sisters: Elected Women in Colorado," written and directed by now-Rep. Meg Froelich and Laura Hoeppner. “I was better than [the men representing the district] were,” she said. “You have to know more, learn the rules and then do it better than the men. That sounds, I don’t know what, but it’s true.” At a 2016 showing of the film at the Breckenridge Film Festival, Froelich recounted that one audience member said they had traveled from Morrison just to thank Wham for her service and for being a role model. “We really need more public servants like her," Froelich said. Dottie Wham’s memory for voting records is legendary. Former Democratic state Rep. Gil Romero of Pueblo once walked past her at the funeral service for former Democratic state Sen. Pat Steadman’s partner, Dave Misner. Berry recalled how Steadman said hello to Wham, who didn’t respond. But moments later, she shouted out to him. “Gil Romero, you voted against me!” on one of her bills. “She never forgets anything," Berry said. Anderson called Wham one of the wisest people to serve in the General Assembly. “She understood everything that was going on," she said. "She knew the legislative body, and what should and shouldn’t be done.” She added, “It wasn’t politics that moved her. It was the people.” Anderson said. Wham is survived by her three children, Nancy Mitchell and husband Rohn, daughter Jeanne Ryan and husband Brent; son Robert S. II and his wife, Jamie Shaffer; five grandchildren, numerous nieces, nephews and friends. She is also survived by brother Ernest Joseph Stonecipher Jr. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to go to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains or to OutRunDiabetes.org.

Committees
House Standing1985 -- Judiciary; Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1986 -- Judiciary; Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1987 -- Transportation & Energy (Vice-chair); House Services; Judiciary


Senate Standing1988 -- Judiciary (Vice-chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions; Appropriations
1989 -- Judiciary (Chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1990 -- Judiciary (Chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1991 -- Judiciary (Chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1992 -- Judiciary (Chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1993 -- Judiciary (Chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1994 -- Judiciary (Chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions; Finance
1995 -- Judiciary (Chair); Appropriations; Finance; Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1996 -- Judiciary (Chair); Appropriations; Finance; Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1997 -- Judiciary (Chair); Appropriations; Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1998 -- Judiciary (Chair); Appropriations; Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
1999 -- Judiciary (Chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions
2000 -- Judiciary (Chair); Health Environment Welfare & Institutions


Joint/Statutory1985 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.)
1986 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.)  
1987 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.)
1988 -- Capital Development (Vice-chair) (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); Long-term Health Care Needs (Chair) (HB 1046)
1989 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.)
1990 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.)
1991 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); Legal Services (2-3-502, C.R.S.); Colorado Commission on School Finance (22-53-201, C.R.S.)
1992 -- Capital Development (Chair) (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); State Capitol Building Advisory (24-82-108, C.R.S.); Legal Services (Vice-chair) (2-3-502, C.R.S.)
1993 -- Capital Development (Vice-chair) (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); State Capitol Building Advisory (24-82-108, C.R.S); Legal Services (Chair) (2-3-502, C.R.S.)
1994 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); State Capitol Building Advisory (24-82-108, C.R.S); Legal Services (Chair) (2-3-502, C.R.S.)
1995 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); State Capitol Building Advisory (24-82-108, C.R.S); Legal Services (2-3-501, C.R.S.)
1996 -- Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.) ; State Capitol Building Advisory (24-82-108, C.R.S); Legal Services (2-3-501, C.R.S.)
1997 -- Legal Services (2-3-501, C.R.S.); Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.)
1998 -- Capital Development (Chair) (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); State Capitol Building Advisory (24-82-108, C.R.S); Legal Services (Vice-chair) (2-3-501, C.R.S.)
1999 -- Legal Services (2-3-501, C.R.S.); Capital Development (Vice-chair) (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); State Capitol Building Advisory (Chair) (24-82-108, C.R.S.); Welfare Oversight (26-2-722, C.R.S.)
2000 -- Legal Services (2-3-501, C.R.S.); Capital Development (2-3-1302, C.R.S.); State Capitol Building Advisory (Chair) (24-82-108, C.R.S.); Welfare Oversight (26-2-722, C.R.S.)


Interim1987 -- Long-term Health Care Needs (HJR 1032)
1989 -- Criminal Justice (Vice-chair) (HJR 90-1030)
1990 -- Family Issues & Rights (Vice-chair) (HJR 90-1033)
1991 -- Joint Health Environment Welfare & Institutions Committee (SJR 91-032); Joint Judiciary Committee (SJR 91-032)
1993 -- School Finance (2-3-303.3, C.R.S.); Restructuring Oversight (24-1.7-104, C.R.S.)
1994 -- Recodification of Children's Code (19-1.5-101-106, C.R.S.; Restructuring Oversight (24-1.7-104, C.R.S.)
1995 -- Recodification of Children's Code (19-1.5-10 -106, C.R.S.); Restructuring Oversight Health and Human Services (24-1.7-104, C.R.S.); Block Grants & Welfare Reform (Chair) - Executive Committee study resolution; State Capitol Centennial Celebration (HJR 95-1026)
1996 -- Interdisciplinary Task Force on Intractable Pain (HJR 96-1023)
1998 -- Health Care (Vice-chair) - Executive Committee resolution; Welfare Oversight; Children's Information Management
1999 -- Child Care in Colorado (Chair) (SJR 99-034); Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System (HJR 99-1042)


Bill Sponsorship
wham pie chart bills.wpd
WHAMbillsponsor.wpd
Wham,D.pdf
Oral History Library
Wham, Dottie.pdf
Wham, Dottie.mp3