Edward Casso

Edward Casso
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 32nd district
In office January 10, 2007 – January 2013
Preceded by	Valentin Vigil
Succeeded by	Dominick Moreno
Personal details
Born	Thornton, Colorado
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Selena

Edward Casso (born 1974) is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006, Casso represented House District 32, which encompasses suburbs of Denver, Colorado in northwestern Adams County, from 2006 to 2012.

Biography

Born in Thornton, Colorado, Casso earned a bachelor's degree in political philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997. He was the first member of his family to attend college. While at CU, Casso was president of the CU College Democrats. There, he was a precinct committeeperson for the Boulder County Democratic Party and a member of the vacancy committee that appointed Ron Tupa to the Colorado State Senate.

After moving to Adams County, Casso served as a precinct committeeperson, co-captain of house district 32-D, and vice-chair and later chair of the Adams County Young Democrats. He has also served as chair of the Colorado Democratic Party Outreach Commission, and worked as an intern for Congressman David Skaggs.

Before being elected to the legislature, Casso worked as a teacher in an alternative high school during summers, and as a substitute teacher for Denver Public Schools. Casso resides in Commerce City, Colorado; he and his wife, Selena, have two children: Cecelia and Aristotle.

Legislative career

Bills Introduced in 2007 by Rep. Casso (for which Rep. Casso is the primary originating sponsor)
Bill	Title	Outcome
HB07-1052	Concerning disclosure by issue committees that support or oppose state ballot issues.	Postponed indefinitely in House committee
HB07-1077	Concerning imposition of requirements on providers of supplemental education services.	Signed by Gov. Ritter
HB07-1112	Concerning parity in health care coverage for mental illness.	Signed by Gov. Ritter
HB07-1205	Concerning the laden status of a truck trailer that is not carrying cargo.	Signed by Gov. Ritter
HB07-1284	Concerning the exception of certain students' scores from calculations of a school's academic performance.	Passed House; Postponed indefinitely in Senate committee
HB07-1287	Concerning authorization of parental choice to exempt children from participation in the Colorado Student Assessment Program.	Postponed indefinitely in House committee

2006 election

In the 2006 Colorado legislative elections, Casso defeated Republican Tracey Snyder with 57 percent of the popular vote. Casso was endorsed by the Denver Post, but not the Rocky Mountain News.

2007 legislative session

In the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Casso sat on the House Education Committee and the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee.

During the 2007 session, Casso sponsored two bills to revise the ways in which schools' CSAP test scores were reported. One, which would have exempted scores from special education students, was killed in a Senate committee; the other, which would have exempted scores for students whose parents opt the students out of the test, was killed in a House committee at Casso's request because of concerns that it would jeopardize federal school funding.

Following the legislative session, Casso was present at the Colorado State Capitol during an incident in which state troopers shot and killed a mentally ill individual gunman targeting Gov. Bill Ritter. Casso observed the dead body and afterwards supported increased security, including metal detectors, for the state capitol building. He also served on the interim legislative Health Care Task Force and the Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Reform Commission between legislative sessions.

In October 2007, Casso was honored by LARASA, the Latin American Research And Service Agency with the Lena L. Archuleta Education Service Award, for his work in the legislature, including a vote in committee that benefitted LARASA Learning Centers.

After the legislative session, Casso was elected deputy whip for the House Democratic Caucus.

2008 legislative session

Bills Introduced in 2008 by Rep. Casso (for which Rep. Casso is the primary originating sponsor)
Bill	Title	Outcome
HB08-1019	Concerning the provision of educational services for children in out-of-home placements.	Signed by Gov. Ritter
HB08-1156	Concerning juvenile parole, and [...] the codification of an improvement upon current Department of Human Services practices relating to juvenile parole [...]	(in progress)
HB08-1171	Concerning the exclusion of a federal excise tax paid on the first sale of a heavy vehicle from the purchase price of such vehicle for the purpose of determining tax liability.	(in progress)

In the 2008 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Casso sits on the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee and the House State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee.

After killing a bill he sponsored to extend a combined high school-community college program to school districts on the Ute Mountain and Southern Ute Indian Reservation, at the request of tribal leaders, Casso is expected to travel to the reservations to discuss the program following the legislative session.

2008 election

Casso sought a second term in the legislature in 2008 and faced no opposition in either the August Democratic primary or the November general election.

2009 legislative session

For the 2009 legislative session, Casso was named to a seat on the House State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee and as vice-chair of the House Business Affairs Committee. He was also nominated for the post of House Majority Caucus Whip, but lost the caucus' vote for the post to Rep. Claire Levy. Casso has also sponsored legislation to declare September 11 a state holiday.

2010 legislative session

After Casso praised Gov. Bill Ritter's decision not to run for a second term in January 2010 and harshly criticized the sitting Democratic governor, House Speaker Terrance Carroll replaced Casso as vice-chair of the House Business Affairs Committee with Rep. Sara Gagliardi.

2012 legislative session

Representative Casso announced he would not seek reelection in the 2012 General Election. Casso is succeeded by former legislative aide Dominick Moreno who was elected over his Republican opponent.

2016 Congressional election

Casso formed an exploratory committee for the 2016 election to the United States House of Representatives in Colorado's 6th congressional district.

External links

• Colorado General Assembly profile