American politician from Colorado
Sonya Jaquez Lewis is an American politician serving as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 17th district. She is a member of the Democratic Party and resides in Lafayette, Colorado.[1] Previously, she served in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 12th district in Boulder County.
Early life and education
Sonya Jaquez Lewis was born to Georgia and Robert Lewis[2] in Charlotte, North Carolina,[3] in c. 1956-1957.[4]
Lewis graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in biology in 1981.[5] She was a member of Alpha Chi Sigma and on the board of directors of WXYC.[6]
Career
Local politics
Lewis was elected to the Campus Governing Council in 1977[7] and 1979.[8] She placed third in the initial round of the 1978 student president election.[9] She was appointed to Carrboro, North Carolina's town planning board in 1980.[10][11]
Lewis announced her campaign for a seat on the Carrboro Board of Aldermen on September 16, 1981,[5] but later withdrew in favor of incumbent aldermen, who were fellow members of the Carrboro Community Coalition.[12] She was appointed to the Durham County Women's Commission by the county board of commissioners in 1987,[13] and later became its chair.[14] During the 1990 senatorial election she was county coordinator for Harvey Gantt's campaign in Durham County.[15] She worked for his campaign during the 1996 election.[16]
Lewis served as an at-large delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention from Colorado[17] and from Colorado's 2nd congressional district in 2012 and 2016.[3][18][19]
State legislature
During Lewis' tenure in the state house she served on the Public Health Care and Human Services committee and as vice-chair of the State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee.[20] She is a member of the LGBTQ Caucus.[21]
