With his election to the U.S. House of
Representatives in 2004, John Salazar became
one of a handful of farmers serving in
Congress. From his seat on the Agriculture Committee,
Salazar used his experience as a seed-potato farmer and a
state legislator to defend his district’s interests in agriculture
and conservation. “There are only four, maybe six of us
[farmers] here in Congress,” he said. “If we can’t stand up
for farmers, we shouldn’t be here.”1
John Salazar was born July 21, 1953, in Alamosa,
Colorado, to Emma and Henry Salazar. A fifth-generation
resident of the San Luis Valley, he was raised with his seven
siblings on the 52-acre family ranch on the western slope of
the Rocky Mountains. Salazar grew up poor—his family’s
home did not have electricity until the 1980s—and he
learned to love farming by working on his father’s alfalfa
and potato farm. After three years at St. Francis Seminary
in Cincinnati, Colorado, Salazar served four years in the
U.S. Army. He went on to earn his business degree from
Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado, in 1981.2 He
married after leaving the military. Salazar and his wife, Mary
Lou, had three children: Jesus, Esteban, and Miguel.3
Salazar returned to the family ranch and began a career
as a seed-potato farmer. His success landed him on the
cover of the potato growers’ journal Spudman in 1990, and
he was named Colorado seed-potato grower of the year
from 1995 to 1996.4 While a farmer, Salazar became active
in local agricultural organizations. He served on the Rio
Grande water conservation district, where he successfully
opposed a private company’s effort to buy local water rights
to divert water to Denver’s suburbs. He was appointed to
the Colorado agricultural commission in 1999. In 2002 he
was elected to the Colorado state house of representatives,
where he continued to oppose measures to divert water out
of the region.5 “We shouldn’t develop a garden spot on the
Front Range while drying up the West Slope and the [San
Luis] Valley,” he argued.6
In November 2003, Republican U.S. Representative
Scott McInnis announced his retirement from the U.S
House of Representatives, and Salazar announced his
intent to run for the open seat in the general election the
following year.7 “Being a potato farmer, I’ve learned that
if you want to increase your harvest, you have to rotate
your crops from time to time,” he said. “Well, now it’s
time for Colorado to rotate its congressional crop, so we
can get more of a harvest out of our representatives.”8
Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District was at its largest
during that time, spanning an area that was roughly
the size of Arkansas. The district extended east of the
Front Range, including the city of Pueblo and most of
the Western Slope.9 Salazar had no opposition in the
Democratic primary. In the general election, Salazar faced
the Republican candidate, Colorado department of natural
resources director Greg Walcher.
During the campaign, Salazar highlighted his experience
as a farmer and businessman, voicing his support for
agriculture, renewable energy, health care reform, balanced
budgets, tax incentives for small businesses, and the repeal
of the federal inheritance tax. But he focused on local issues,
particularly water access.10 He highlighted his opposition
to a highly unpopular referendum—supported by Walcher
the previous year—that guaranteed up to $2 billion in
revenue bonds to fund water projects, characterizing it
as a “billion-dollar grab of the Western Slope and rural
water by the Front Range.”11 He also advocated for the
creation of a federally funded water conservation program
to keep water in the region.12 Walcher attempted to tie
Salazar to presidential candidate John Kerry and criticized
him for supporting the elimination of tax cuts for high-income
earners.13 The race was highly competitive, and
both parties spent millions.14 Salazar narrowly defeated his
opponent, with 51 percent of the vote, becoming one of
only five Democrats nationally to win a seat that had been
Republican in the previous Congress. He was re-elected
with more than 60 percent of the vote in 2006 and 2008.
His younger brother, Ken Salazar, was elected in 2004 as
the junior Senator from Colorado.15
John Salazar was sworn in as a Member of the 109th Congress (2005–2007) on January 4, 2005, and was
assigned to the Committee on Agriculture and the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.16
There he sought to protect agricultural interests, push
for renewable energy development, and improve the
infrastructure in his district. “As a lifelong farmer
and rancher, it’s my responsibility to make sure that
rural Coloradans are properly represented as Congress
develops national agriculture policy,” he said.17 In 2007
he defended his constituents’ interests against an effort
by the U.S. Army to expand one of its Colorado training
bases by displacing numerous ranchers and farmers.
Salazar and other members of the Colorado delegation
successfully sponsored an amendment to block the
military’s efforts. “No one can support the taking by force
of their constituents’ land, homes, ranches, and towns,”
he declared.18 As a member of the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee, he worked to improve local
infrastructure; as a freshman, he secured $32 million for
his district in the 2005 highway bill.19
The only veteran in the Colorado delegation during his
first two terms, Salazar was seated on the Veterans’ Affairs
Committee in the 110th Congress. As a member of the
committee, he sponsored the Stolen Valor Act, legislation
to criminalize the fraudulent receipt of a military honor,
especially the highest awards, such as the Medal of Honor
and the Distinguished Service Medals. “This piece of
legislation will make it easier for Federal law enforcement
officials to prosecute phonies and imposters and restore
the true meaning of these illustrious awards,” Salazar said
on the House Floor.20 The measure passed the House in
December 2006 and was signed into law by President
George W. Bush. “This day has been a long time coming,”
Salazar said. “The brave men and women who have earned
awards for service to our country should not have these
honors tarnished by frauds.”21 In June 2012, the U.S.
Supreme Court struck down the law as overreaching; a
revised act was quickly passed by the House.22
In the 111th Congress (2009–2011), Salazar
relinquished the committee seats he held previously
for a seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee,
where he served on the Subcommittees on Energy and
Water Development, and Related Agencies and Military
Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.
He was also selected to sit on the Select Committee on
Energy Independence and Global Warming, a position he
used to safeguard coal-fired electricity providers seeking
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.23 In the midst of
the economic crisis in 2008, Salazar opposed legislation
to stabilize the financial markets but approved loans to
the automobile industry. He also was a reliable vote for
the Democratic leadership in the House, supporting the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the American
Clean Energy and Security Act, the Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act, and the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act.24
In the 2010 midterm elections, Salazar faced state
legislator Scott Tipton, who had challenged him in
the 2006 general election. In a contest that propelled
Republicans back into the House majority, Tipton defeated
Salazar, with 50.1 percent of the vote.25 Salazar was
appointed by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to lead
the state department of agriculture on January 5, 2011.26
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
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