Term expires: Dec. 31, 2027
Committee assignments: Evaluation, Academic and Student Affairs, CSU Foundation Liaison
Senator Polly Baca served in both the Colorado House of Representatives (1975-1978) and the Colorado Senate (1979-1986). She was the first woman elected to chair the Democratic Caucus of the Colorado House (1977), the first woman of color and first Hispanic woman elected to the Colorado State Senate (1978-1986), the first Hispanic woman in the U.S. to be nominated by a major political party for the U.S. Congress (1980 Democratic Party Congressional nominee), and the first Hispanic woman to co-chair two National Democratic Conventions (1980 and 1984). Sen. Baca was also the first person of color to be elected to the Colorado State Legislature from Adams County (1974). She served as Vice Chair of the National Democratic Party for eight years, from 1981 to 1989.
Sen. Baca has worked for three Presidents of the United States. She was a Public Information Officer for a White House Agency during the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration, was the Rocky Mountain States Coordinator for President Jimmy Carter’s 1980 Presidential campaign, and was Special Assistant to President Bill Clinton for Consumer Affairs and Director of the United States Office of Consumer Affairs. Sen. Baca served as a National Co-Chair of Catholics for Obama in 2012 and National Co-Chair of Catholics for Biden/Harris in 2020. At the 2016 National Democratic Convention, Sen. Baca served as the Colorado Whip Captain for the Hillary Clinton for President campaign.
Recognition received by Sen. Baca includes being inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, the Colorado Latino Hall of Fame, and the National Hispanic Hall of Fame, being listed in the World Who’s Who of Women, Who’s Who in American Politics, and Who’s Who in the West. She is a recipient of the 2020 Colorado Governor’s Citizenship Vanguard Legacy Medal.
Four organizations have named awards in honor of Polly. In 2020, Cong. Joe Neguse announced an award in Congressional District 2 named the Polly Baca Raices Fuertes Community Service Award and the Colorado Latino Leadership and Research Organization (CLLARO) announced the Polly Baca Social Justice Award. In 2023, the Denver Democratic Party announced the Polly Baca Democrat of the Year Award and the Latino Coalition of Weld County announced the Polly Baca Leadership Award.
Sen. Baca received a B.A. degree in political science from Colorado State University, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Northern Colorado and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa. In April 2012, the Denver Post listed Sen. Baca as one of the 75 Most Influential Women of Colorado.
Sen. Baca had two children, Monica Barragan Perez and Miguel Baca Barragan, and grandchildren: Eduardo Manuel Perez, Jr., Elicia Monica Perez, Elianna Mila Perez, step-granddaughter Dr. Rhiannon Garcia, and step-grandson-in-law Sergio Garcia. Her daughter, Monica, is a mental health clinician, and her son, Miguel, was a radio talk show host before he passed in January 2022.