Gail Schwartz
Colorado State Senate, District 5
...about Gail...
Gail Schwartz, a leading education proponent and rural economic development advocate, currently serves as a Democrat in State Senate for the 5th District. Her district extends over 11 counties from the Elk Mountain Range through the upper Arkansas River Valley down to the San Luis Valley.
Gail Schwartz's State Senate committee responsibilities include a second term as Vice-Chair of the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Energy Committee and the Local Government Committee. Again, she serves on the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee and was recently appointed to the Capital Development Committee and concluded her term on the Legislative Audit Committee.
Senator Schwartz’s other appointments include the Colorado Heritage Tourism Committee, serving as a liaison to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, and the Senate Select Committee on Renewable Energy. She was awarded the "Legislator of the Year" from the Independent Bankers of America for the 2006 session.
"Rural Colorado has unique needs. I am committed to protecting the environment we have been so blessed with. I will fight to keep our water on the land and in our streams by vigorously opposing water speculation and further diversions to the front-range urban areas.”
Elected in 2000 to serve on the CU Board of Regents by the 3rd Congressional District of 36 counties, Gail's educational activism began in the Roaring Fork Valley where she helped improve education in local schools and spearheaded a $4 million bond election which introduced technology in the public schools. Her work was recognized when she was nominated for the Community Foundation's "Local Hero" award and the Aspen School District's "Outstanding Service Award". Governor Roy Romer recognized Schwartz's education expertise by appointing her to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education as the Western Slope representative, in which capacity she served from 1995 to 1998.
Education has not been Gail Schwartz's only interest. She has been equally committed to organizations preserving Colorado's environment, protecting the state's water, natural resources and agricultural lands. As Director of Development, and later Acting Director of the Pitkin County Housing Authority, Gail planned and built hundreds of units of affordable housing for her community's senior citizens and working families.
Gail Schwartz is practical, diligent and forthright. In addition to her professional and volunteer efforts on behalf of socially beneficial causes, Schwartz has significant experience in the business world. She acted as a real estate and marketing consultant with banking institutions and developers for seven years as an executive with Sno-Engineering, Inc., a nationally recognized planning firm specializing in ski industry and resort/community development work. In this career she directed economic and financial feasibility studies concerning the impacts of growth on communities presented by new and/or expanding resort developments. She coordinated closely with governmental agencies at every level and qualified as an expert witness before various commissions.
Born and raised in Chicago, Gail Sheridan Schwartz has lived in Colorado since 1967. Having lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for over 35 years, she resides in Snowmass Village with her husband of 23 years, Alan E. Schwartz an attorney. They have three daughters, Brendan Ash, Aime and Rachel. She holds a B.S. Business Degree in Marketing from the University of Colorado.
"I will advocate for innovative techniques and solutions to strengthen and expand healthcare, education and economic opportunities throughout the district. It is critical to our future economic viability that more of our high school graduates are able to attend college or the professional training of their choice. I have the experience, energy and vision to represent the citizens of the 5th Senate District. I look forward to meeting the people of each community in the district and hearing directly about the issues that concern them most. Working together, I am confident we can achieve great things."
