DENVER (KDVR) — Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis with Colorado Senate District 17 of Longmont, Lafayette and Erie announced her resignation on Tuesday. This follows an ongoing ethics investigation.
Jaquez Lewis announced her resignation on Facebook and said it was “wonderful news” as she had the opportunity to serve at a regional not-for-profit. While she didn’t name the organization, she said it “focuses on developing future women and LGBTQ+ leaders through an International lens.”
Jaquez Lewis said she was on the General Assembly for seven years and was recognized by the White House for her advocacy on topics like reproductive rights, gender-affirming care, LGBTQ+, Latino and social justice issues.
“It’s a tough job to be in the State Legislature, emotionally, physically and financially and my family and I have made great sacrifices over the last 7 years. I have accomplished more legislative goals and helped more folks in their everyday lives than I ever could have dreamed of. I am ready for some real and true time off,” said Jaquez Lewis in the Facebook post.
Her resignation comes during an ethics investigation into complaints filed in 2024. However, the meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday have since been canceled.
Ethics complaint filed against Sen. Jaquez Lewis
The complaint against Jaquez Lewis was filed in January 2024 by The Political Workers Guild of Colorado to President James Coleman with the Colorado State Senate.
The guild, which identifies as an open-model minority union, said the complaint was filed on behalf of Jaquez Lewis’ past affected staff for her alleged violation of Senate Rule 41(a.5) of the Colorado Senate Rules regarding legislative ethics and official conduct.
The 47-page complaint said that Jaquez Lewis allegedly violated several aspects of the rule, including wage theft, non-disclosure agreements, campaign financing for non-campaign related work, underreporting of campaign funds and abuse of power dynamics.
The complaint also alleged other ethics complaints were filed and the guild allegedly wasn’t the first to make a complaint.
Jaquez Lewis replied to the complaint with a 39-page response stating that these claims were untrue.
“I have been a true and passionate champion of Worker’s rights and workplace fairness and I have sponsored legislation to support workplace fairness,” Jaquez Lewis said.
She continued, “The PWG complaint, however, is full of distortions and falsehoods and should never have been assigned to an Ethics Committee. The complaint focuses almost exclusively on internal office management. The only allegations that offer even an iota of “evidence” to support them are contained in an attachment detailing the complaints of two disgruntled young men who did not get the jobs and/or hours that they demanded.”
Ethics meeting adjourned
The Senate Committee on Ethics met several times between Jan. 24 and Feb. 18. The committee had two more meetings scheduled for Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, but a spokesperson for the Senate Democrats told FOX31 the committee had adjourned on Tuesday and won’t be taking up any more business.
