Jared Polis
Encyclopedia
Jared Schutz Polis is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party
. Polis and his life partner, Marlon Reis, are the parents of a son, Caspian Julius, born on September 30, 2011, making Polis the only openly gay member of Congress who is a parent.
. He attended the La Jolla Country Day School
in San Diego, California
. He received a Bachelor of Arts
in political science
from Princeton University
.
, web hosting and application service provider
.
He, with his parents, also co-founded bluemountainarts.com, an online greeting card
website, which he sold to Excite@Home three years later in a deal worth $780 million. In 1998, he launched the online florist company ProFlowers
that expanded to become Provide Commerce, Inc., acquired in 2006 by Liberty Media Corporation.
s; and the semi-annual Jared Polis Foundation Education Report. Polis has also founded two charter school
s for at-risk students. In 2004, he established the New America School, which primarily serves older immigrant youth ages 16–21 and has three campuses in the Denver Metro area and one in New Mexico. Polis serves as Superintendent. In 2005, he co-founded with Urban Peak the Academy of Urban Learning in Denver to serve youth struggling with homelessness
or unstable living conditions.
Polis was named Outstanding Philanthropist for the 2006 National Philanthropy Day in Colorado. He is a recipient of many awards, including the Boulder Daily Camera’s 2007 Pacesetter Award in Education; the Kauffman Foundation Community Award; the Denver consul general of Mexico “Ohtli”; the Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Humanitarian Award; and the Anti-Defamation League’s inaugural Boulder Community Builder Award.
In 2000, Polis was elected at-large as a member of the Colorado State Board of Education, and served for a single six-year term, until January 2007. His election was one of the closest in Colorado history. He defeated incumbent Ben Alexander by 90 votes out of 1.6 million cast. Polis served as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Colorado State Board of Education during his term.
, a citizen-initiated ballot measure
to ban gifts by registered lobbyists to government officials, establish a $50 annual restriction on gift-giving from non-lobbyists, create an independent ethics commission, and establish a two-year cooling-off period before former state legislators and statewide elected officials
can begin lobbying. In November 2006, 62.3 percent of Colorado voters approved the "Ethics in Government" constitutional amendment
.
In 2007, he co-chaired the "Building for our Future" campaign that supported ballot question 3A in the Boulder Valley School District to issue $296.8 million in bonds for the improvement and modernization of aging school facilities — the largest capital construction bond issue in the district’s history and the largest school bond proposal in Colorado that year. In November 2006, 58 percent of Boulder Valley School District voters approved 3A.
man elected to the House as a freshman and the first gay parent in Congress. He declined to say whether the child was adopted
, or the result of a surrogate pregnancy. (The other openly gay male Representatives currently serving in the House are Barney Frank
, who did not make his orientation public until after he was first elected, and Rep. David Cicilline
, the second openly gay man to be elected as a freshman, who took his seat in the 112th Congress in 2011. Rep. Tammy Baldwin
, the first openly gay person elected as a freshman, took her seat in 1999.)
Polis is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
, and co-chair of the Mexico Caucus and the Nepal Caucus. He was also appointed by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi
to the Board of Visitors of the United States Air Force Academy
in Colorado Springs.
LGBTQ Equality
On April 14, 2011, Jared Polis, along with Tammy Baldwin, Jerry Nadler, Mike Honda, John Coyers, Jr, Zoe Lofgren, and Luis Gutierrez, made a speech regarding the Uniting American Families Act
. This Act would provide equal LGBTQ immigration rights and add the term ‘permanent partner’ to sections of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, which currently only focuses on heterosexual couples. The term ‘permanent partner’ describes an adult who is part of an intimate, committed, lifelong relationship with another adult. This piece of legislation would give equal immigration rights to permanent partners.
Currently only married heterosexuals have these immigration benefits, and this Act would enforce the same restrictions, standards, and punishments to ‘permanent partners.’ In Polis’ speech he claims, “This common-sense bill would end one of the worst injustices in our immigration system.” He then describes how this Act would help welcome immigrants into the United States and how our economy would grow as a result. Jared Polis and The Fearless Campaign have 100% approval ratings from the interest group entitled “The Human Rights Campaign.”
According to Polis, The Uniting American Families Act would not only encourage a new sense of family unity, but would begin to address the flaws in our current immigration system. More than 25 other countries already allow residents to have gay and lesbian permanent partners through the immigration process, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Polis won a heavily-contested primary election
, which virtually assured him of victory in this heavily Democratic district. In the general election
held on November 4, 2008, he won comfortably and took office on January 3, 2009, succeeding Mark Udall
.
2010
Polis won re-election to the House of Representatives on November 2, 2010.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Polis and his life partner, Marlon Reis, are the parents of a son, Caspian Julius, born on September 30, 2011, making Polis the only openly gay member of Congress who is a parent.
Early life, education and career
Polis is the son of Stephen Schutz and Susan Polis SchutzSusan Polis Schutz
Susan Polis Schutz is an American poet and producer of greeting cards and the mother of U.S. Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado....
. He attended the La Jolla Country Day School
La Jolla Country Day School
La Jolla Country Day School is a highly selective private school in La Jolla, a community of San Diego, California. It was founded as the Balmer School by Louise C. Balmer in 1926. The school contains a lower school , a middle school , and an upper school...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. He received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
Business career
Polis has founded a number of companies and is one of the 10 richest members of the United States Congress estimated to be worth at least $65.91 million. He founded American Information Systems, an internet accessInternet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
, web hosting and application service provider
Application service provider
An application service provider is a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network. Software offered using an ASP model is also sometimes called On-demand software or software as a service ....
.
He, with his parents, also co-founded bluemountainarts.com, an online greeting card
Greeting card
A greeting card is an illustrated, folded card featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feeling. Greeting cards,...
website, which he sold to Excite@Home three years later in a deal worth $780 million. In 1998, he launched the online florist company ProFlowers
ProFlowers
ProFlowers is a major flower retailer in the United States. It is an e-commerce company that sells products shipped from growers, suppliers and its own distribution facilities to consumers. ProFlowers is headquartered in San Diego, California...
that expanded to become Provide Commerce, Inc., acquired in 2006 by Liberty Media Corporation.
Philanthropy
In 2000, Polis founded the Jared Polis Foundation, whose mission "is to create opportunities for success through education and access to technology." Its main programs are the annual Teacher Recognition Awards; the Community Computer Connection program, which refurbishes and donates more than 3,500 computers a year to schools and non-profit organizationNon-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
s; and the semi-annual Jared Polis Foundation Education Report. Polis has also founded two charter school
Charter school
Charter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s for at-risk students. In 2004, he established the New America School, which primarily serves older immigrant youth ages 16–21 and has three campuses in the Denver Metro area and one in New Mexico. Polis serves as Superintendent. In 2005, he co-founded with Urban Peak the Academy of Urban Learning in Denver to serve youth struggling with homelessness
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
or unstable living conditions.
Polis was named Outstanding Philanthropist for the 2006 National Philanthropy Day in Colorado. He is a recipient of many awards, including the Boulder Daily Camera’s 2007 Pacesetter Award in Education; the Kauffman Foundation Community Award; the Denver consul general of Mexico “Ohtli”; the Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Humanitarian Award; and the Anti-Defamation League’s inaugural Boulder Community Builder Award.
State Board of Education
Ballot measures
In 2006, Polis served as co-chair of Coloradans for Clean Government, a committee that supported Amendment 41Colorado Amendment 41 (2006)
Amendment 41 is a citizen initiative adopted by Colorado voters in the 2006 general election.Amendment 41 places new restrictions on gifts, broadly defined, given to Colorado public officials, government employees, and their immediate family members. Such persons are prohibited from receiving...
, a citizen-initiated ballot measure
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to ban gifts by registered lobbyists to government officials, establish a $50 annual restriction on gift-giving from non-lobbyists, create an independent ethics commission, and establish a two-year cooling-off period before former state legislators and statewide elected officials
Official
An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority .A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public...
can begin lobbying. In November 2006, 62.3 percent of Colorado voters approved the "Ethics in Government" constitutional amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
.
In 2007, he co-chaired the "Building for our Future" campaign that supported ballot question 3A in the Boulder Valley School District to issue $296.8 million in bonds for the improvement and modernization of aging school facilities — the largest capital construction bond issue in the district’s history and the largest school bond proposal in Colorado that year. In November 2006, 58 percent of Boulder Valley School District voters approved 3A.
U.S. House of Representatives
Polis is the first openly gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
man elected to the House as a freshman and the first gay parent in Congress. He declined to say whether the child was adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, or the result of a surrogate pregnancy. (The other openly gay male Representatives currently serving in the House are Barney Frank
Barney Frank
Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
, who did not make his orientation public until after he was first elected, and Rep. David Cicilline
David Cicilline
David Nicola Cicilline is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is formerly the Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, and was the first openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital.-Early life, education, and career:...
, the second openly gay man to be elected as a freshman, who took his seat in the 112th Congress in 2011. Rep. Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin is the U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district, serving since 1999. She is a member of the Democratic Party. In September 2011, Baldwin announced she would be a candidate in the 2012 U.S...
, the first openly gay person elected as a freshman, took her seat in 1999.)
Polis is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus
The Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in the United States Congress with 83 declared members, and works to advance progressive issues and positions....
, and co-chair of the Mexico Caucus and the Nepal Caucus. He was also appointed by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
to the Board of Visitors of the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...
in Colorado Springs.
The Fearless Campaign
While serving in the House, in early 2011, Polis launched The Fearless Campaign, an effort to empower "political leaders with the moral courage it takes to vote fearlessly on the politically charged issues of today, regardless of the perceived political risk." The campaign is active on six issues: LGBTQ equality, drug policy, education reform, immigration reform, net neutrality and food policy.LGBTQ Equality
On April 14, 2011, Jared Polis, along with Tammy Baldwin, Jerry Nadler, Mike Honda, John Coyers, Jr, Zoe Lofgren, and Luis Gutierrez, made a speech regarding the Uniting American Families Act
Uniting American Families Act
The Uniting American Families Act is a U.S. bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate discrimination in the immigration laws by permitting permanent partners of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the same manner...
. This Act would provide equal LGBTQ immigration rights and add the term ‘permanent partner’ to sections of the Immigration and Naturalization Act, which currently only focuses on heterosexual couples. The term ‘permanent partner’ describes an adult who is part of an intimate, committed, lifelong relationship with another adult. This piece of legislation would give equal immigration rights to permanent partners.
Currently only married heterosexuals have these immigration benefits, and this Act would enforce the same restrictions, standards, and punishments to ‘permanent partners.’ In Polis’ speech he claims, “This common-sense bill would end one of the worst injustices in our immigration system.” He then describes how this Act would help welcome immigrants into the United States and how our economy would grow as a result. Jared Polis and The Fearless Campaign have 100% approval ratings from the interest group entitled “The Human Rights Campaign.”
According to Polis, The Uniting American Families Act would not only encourage a new sense of family unity, but would begin to address the flaws in our current immigration system. More than 25 other countries already allow residents to have gay and lesbian permanent partners through the immigration process, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Elections
2008Polis won a heavily-contested primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, which virtually assured him of victory in this heavily Democratic district. In the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
held on November 4, 2008, he won comfortably and took office on January 3, 2009, succeeding Mark Udall
Mark Udall
Mark Emery Udall is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party. From 1999 to 2009, Udall served in the United States House of Representatives, representing . He also served a term in the Colorado House of Representatives.Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the...
.
2010
Polis won re-election to the House of Representatives on November 2, 2010.
Committee assignments
- Committee on RulesUnited States House Committee on RulesThe Committee on Rules, or Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. Rather than being responsible for a specific area of policy, as most other committees are, it is in charge of determining under what rule other bills will come to the floor...
- Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget ProcessUnited States House Rules Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget ProcessThe Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process is a subcommittee within the House Rules CommitteeAccording to the Committee rules, this Subcommittee has general responsibility for measures or matters related to relations between the Congress and the Executive Branch.-Members, 112th...
- Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process
- House Democratic Steering and Policy CommitteeSteering and Policy Committee of the United States House of RepresentativesIn the United States House of Representatives, the House Democratic Caucus includes a Steering and Policy Committee. Its primary purpose is to assign fellow party members to other House committees, and it also advises party leaders on policy...
(known as the "committee on committees")
External links
- Congressman Jared Polis official U.S. House website
- Jared Polis for Congress official campaign website
- The Fearless Campaign
- Jared Polis Foundation