Mark Udall

Mark Udall
United States Senator from Colorado
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009 Serving with Michael Bennet
Preceded by	Wayne Allard
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	David Skaggs
Succeeded by	Jared Polis
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 13th District
In office 1996–1998
Preceded by	Peggy Lamm[1]
Succeeded by	Tom Plant[2]
Personal details
Born	July 18, 1950 (age 61) Tucson, Arizona
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Maggie L. Fox
Residence	Eldorado Springs, Colorado
Alma mater	Williams College (B.A.)
Occupation	teacher
Religion	Raised Presbyterian,[3] currently unspecified
Signature
Website	Senator Mark Udall

Mark Emery Udall (born July 18, 1950) 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 Colorado's 2nd congressional district. He also served a term in the Colorado House of Representatives.

Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the son of former U.S. Representative Morris "Mo" Udall. The Udall family is one of America's more prolific political families. Mark Udall graduated from Williams College in 1972 and moved to Colorado. He worked at the Colorado Outward Bound School for 20 years, including ten years as the school's executive director. He was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1996. After one term he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served five terms and worked on energy and national resources.

Udall won a competitive election for the U.S. Senate in 2008, defeating Republican challenger Bob Schaffer. He chairs the Senate Energy Subcommittee on National Parks. Udall is a prolific mountaineer and was featured in Men's Journal magazine for his athletic abilities.

Early life

Mark was born in Tucson, Arizona and is the son of Morris "Mo" Udall, a former congressman from Arizona and candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1976. He is a first cousin of Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, a second cousin of Senator Mike Lee of Utah,^[4] and a double second cousin of former Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. He is also the nephew of former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall. The Udall family is one of America's more prolific political families.

Mark Udall graduated from Canyon del Oro High School, located in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley in 1968. He graduated from Williams College in 1972 and moved to Colorado. He was an instructor, course director and program director with the Colorado Outward Bound School for 20 years, serving as a program director for 10 years from 1975–1985 and as executive director from 1985-1995.

Udall is a 5th generation Westerner and currently lives in Eldorado Springs, a suburb of Boulder, with his wife and two children, one of whom is on the women's varsity volleyball team at University of Virginia.^[5] He is an enthusiastic outdoorsman and enjoys skiing, golfing, hiking and camping. An avid mountaineer, he has climbed all 14ers (54 mountains in Colorado with peaks above 14,000 feet elevation) and attempted some of the world's most challenging peaks, including Mt. Everest.^[6] He was featured in Men's Journal Magazine, which touted his athletic abilities.

In January 2008, Udall acknowledged to the Rocky Mountain News that he had pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in 1972, and served a year's probation.^[7]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1996, Mark Udall was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, vacated by incumbent Peggy Lamm, the sister-in-law to former Governor Richard Lamm and Dottie Lamm, the 1998 Democratic U.S. Senate candidate.^[8] After only one term, Udall won the Democratic nomination for the 2nd District in 1998 after 12-year incumbent David Skaggs retired. The race was unexpectedly close, with Udall only defeating Boulder's Republican Mayor, Bob Greenlee, by 50% to 48%. He easily won reelection four times thereafter.

Tenure

He is co-chair of the Congressional Fitness Caucus, Vice President of the Democratic Freshman Class, on the Democratic Homeland Security Task Force and Co-chair of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus ^[9]

Udall has always touted his commitment to working for bipartisanship in Congress. On his campaign website, he discusses his advocacy for the environment and development of alternative fuels. He is a strong supporter of the U.S. military and military-related industries, including the development of new jobs in the aerospace field. He has also stated that he has opposed the Patriot Act since it was first initiated.

Legislative accomplishments

• In 2000, a proposal led by Democratic Congressman Mark Udall and Republican Senator Wayne Allard, proposed transforming Rocky Flats, a former nuclear weapons production site, into a wildlife refuge, setting aside 6,400 acres (25 km²) after cleanup and closure. The Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act passed in 2001.^[10]

• Amendment 37: Mark Udall championed the effort to pass Amendment 37, a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard that requires an increase in the production of energy by renewable energy sources of 20% by 2020. Voters overwhelmingly supported Amendment 37 in 2004 and it was the first RES to be passed by voters as opposed to legislators.^[11]

• Mark Udall was part of the bipartisan effort of all Colorado delegates that proposed and passed a bill to improve the ability of the government to address the problems caused by the pine beetle infestation in Colorado's forestlands. It is estimated that all mature lodgepole pines could be decimated by 2010 if action is not taken.^[12]

• Mark Udall secured $19 million in research and development funding for Colorado defense companies.
• Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.) worked together to successfully pass legislation that would provide funding to school districts to replace older diesel buses that used renewable sources of energy, such as compressed natural gas or electricity.
• Mark Udall re-introduced H.R. 595, the Stimulating Leadership in Cutting Expenditures (SLICE) Act, in January 2007 with the support of representatives including Jeff Flake and Tim Ryan. This Act would allow the President to identify specific items of federal spending that he thinks should be cut from appropriation bills and then require Congress to vote on each of those items individually. The goal would be to reduce the amount of federal money that goes to congressional earmarks.
• Mark Udall co-authored legislation with Republican Representative Frank Wolf that promoted a 'responsible' redeployment strategy in Iraq.

Committee assignments

Just prior to his election as a U.S. Senator, Udall served on the following committees in the 110th Congress:

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats
• Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• Co-chair of the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus ^[13]
• NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Previous Committee membership

• Committee on Agriculture
• Committee on Small Business

U.S. Senate

2008 election

On January 15, 2007, Senator Wayne Allard announced he would not run for a third term. Mark Udall ran unopposed in the primary election and was chosen as the Democratic nominee for the race, running against Republican former U.S. Representative Bob Schaffer. The Colorado U.S. Senate race became one of the most competitive races in the country.

As of August 28, 2008, over $10 million had been spent on so-called attack ads against Udall by political parties and independent issues group; more than any other Senate race in the US.^[14] Udall's campaign responded by creating a website that addresses the claims in those ads.^[15]

Udall's first cousin, U.S. Representative Tom Udall, ran for and won the U.S. Senate seat in New Mexico left open by the retirement of Pete Domenici (R-NM). Including their double second cousin, Senator Gordon Smith, there were three Udalls running in Senate elections in 2008. Smith in Oregon was narrowly defeated in his bid for a third term.^[16]

On September 28, 2008, Udall and Schaffer appeared on Meet the Press's Senate Debate series, discussing the proposed bailout of the U.S. financial system.^[17]

On election day, Udall defeated Schaffer by a 53% to 43% margin.^[18]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
  • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy
  • Subcommittee on National Parks (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
• Special Committee on Aging

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Fitness Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Parkinson’s Disease Caucus (co-chair)
• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus (Co-Chair)
• Sportsmen's Caucus

See also

• Udall family (political family)
• Lee-Hamblin family

References

External links

• Senator Mark Udall official U.S. Senate site
• Mark Udall for Colorado official Senate campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile at SourceWatch
• Udall Family of Arizona at the Political Graveyard
• Make It Fuller: A Conversation with Congressman Mark Udall Elephant, summer 2005 interview

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by David E. Skaggs	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 2nd congressional district 1999–2009	Succeeded by Jared Polis
United States Senate
Preceded by Wayne Allard	United States Senator (Class 2) from Colorado January 3, 2009 – present Served alongside: Ken Salazar, Michael Bennet	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Tom Strickland	Democratic Party nominee for United States Senator from Colorado (Class 2) 2008	Succeeded by Most recent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Roger Wicker R-Mississippi	United States Senators by seniority 71st	Succeeded by Tom Udall D-New Mexico