coffman, cynthia ag

==<div>raga ~ ccp</div><div>
</div><div>Lobbyist Sandra Solin offering to mediate a conversation between the Colorado Attorney

General’s office and a utility with more Conservative customers.

o Lobbyist Sandra Solin initially reaches out to the Coffman’s office on behalf of Platte

River Power Authority to feel out the AG's opinion on the CPP. However, it’s ultimately

the Coffman’s office that presses PRPA for their opinions on the rule. When it appears

that PRPA isn’t going to take a strong anti-CPP stance, Solin offers to put the Colorado

Deputy AG in touch with a contact at Colorado Springs Utility, which she suggests has a

more conservative constituency and would be more willing to publicly support the

lawsuit against the Clean Power Plan.</div><div></div><div><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Gov. John Hickenlooper said Monday he will seek the state Supreme Court’s opinion on the legality of Attorney General Cynthia Coffman’s <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29012701/colorado-ag-vows-fight-clean-power-plan-final" title="The suit." style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-stretch: inherit; text-decoration: none;">lawsuit to stop implementation of the Clean Power Plan</a>.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“This notion of everyone suing all the time every time you disagree with a specific remedy, a specific statute, is part of what makes people so frustrated with government,” Hickenlooper, who supports the plan, said in a meeting with The Denver Post’s editorial board.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">The Democrat says he is particularly worried about Coffman’s lawsuit because it could impede the state’s ability to develop and execute strategies to meet the emission <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/10/23/2015-22837/standards-of-performance-for-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-new-modified-and-reconstructed-stationary?utm_campaign=subscription+mailing+list&utm_medium=email&utm_source=federalregister.gov" title="Final rules published Friday. " style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-stretch: inherit; text-decoration: none;">plan’s mandates</a>. He said the Republican’s decision politicizes the issue and amounts to her trying to derail the initiative.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">The <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_28578987/clean-power-plan-wants-colorado-cut-co2-emissions?source=infinite" title="More on the plan. " style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-stretch: inherit; text-decoration: none;">Clean Power Plan</a> targets existing coal-burning power plants to cut carbon emissions nationwide by 32 percent before 2030 against 2005 levels. In Colorado, the plan calls for a 28 percent reduction in overall carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 against 2012 levels.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Federal officials contend the plan can help leverage the international adoption of similar rules. Detractors have called the initiative a “war on coal” that could have crippling economic impacts.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“Except in very rare circumstances, generally the governor is supposed to make that decision in concert with the attorney general,” Hickenlooper said of the lawsuit. “But the governor should have that final say.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Coffman says her office is one of 24 states <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_28725098/colorado-attorney-general-join-suit-obamas-clean-power" title="More on the suit. " style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-stretch: inherit; text-decoration: none;">filing a lawsuit together against</a> the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan touted by President Barack Obama as an important step against climate change. Her contention is the initiative is illegal <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_28586741/utilities-state-formulating-actions-clean-power-plan?source=pkg" title="More on the opposition." style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-stretch: inherit; text-decoration: none;">because of conflicts</a>with the Clean Air Act and that it represents overreach by the federal government.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“With (former) Attorney General (John) Suthers, we sat down pretty much every time any issue came up, and we worked through it,” Hickenlooper said, adding that Coffman did not consult him before filing the suit.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">However, Suthers did <a href="http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2012/03/19/beltway-blog-ag-suthers-supreme-court-chambers-hear-obamacare-arguments/63997/" title="On the suit. " style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-stretch: inherit; text-decoration: none;">sue to stop Obamacare</a> and defended Colorado’s <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_26139213/colorado-attorney-general-john-suthers-takes-fire-over" title="On the ban." style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-stretch: inherit; text-decoration: none;">same-sex marriage ban </a>in opposition to Hickenlooper’s views.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Hickenlooper’s office says it has not finalized how or when it will appeal to the state Supreme Court for clarification, but that the basis for its question lies in Coffman’s ability to act independently of the governor.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“The statute that we’re looking at speaks of prosecuting and defending on the request of the governor,” said Jacki Cooper Melmed, Hickenlooper’s chief legal counsel, citing Colorado’s revised statutes, title 24, article 31, part 1.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Cooper Melmed said she is worried about conflicts as some Coffman deputies work with Hickenlooper’s administration to implement the plan while others in the attorney general’s office try to quash it.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“This just gets in the way,” Cooper Melmed said of the lawsuit. “There’s no wall really high enough to allow these two things to happen out of the same office.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Coffman has repeatedly said the lawsuit will not work against the governor’s ability to meet the power plan’s requirements.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“I am disappointed to learn (Hickenlooper) is taking this course,” Coffman said in a statement Tuesday. “This is not in the best interest of Colorado or Coloradans, who elected each of us to serve different roles within our system of checks and balances.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Coffman said the governor is departing from past examples during his tenure of dealings with the attorney general’s office.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“The governor’s action is an expression of his frustration with the legal challenges I have filed against the federal government,” she added. “I am pursuing those challenges because it is my responsibility as the independently elected attorney general to serve as a check against the abusive, unlawful exercise of federal power over the lives of Colorado’s citizens.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Gale Norton, a Republican who served as Colorado’s attorney general from 1991 to 1999 under Democratic Gov. Roy Romer, said disagreements between the two government branches are typical. She said Hickenlooper’s response in this case, however, is outside the norm.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“For the governor to try to challenge in this way is unusual,” Norton said.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">In almost all cases where a governor challenges an attorney general, Norton said, rulings are in the attorney general’s favor.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“The attorney general represents the state and not the governor,” Norton said. “The attorney general is elected to provide independent representation of the state’s interest.”<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">The governor of Michigan has also said he will work to comply with the new EPA rules, even as the attorney general from his state has joined the lawsuit, The Associated Press reports.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">The disagreement sets up a deep partisan political split and face-off between the attorney general and governor after years of the two offices working closely together.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Tom Cronin, a Colorado College political science professor, said Hickenlooper worked well with former Attorney General Suthers before he left office last year. The matchup between Coffman and Hickenlooper, he says, appears much different.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">“She’s a forceful, strong person,” Cronin said.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Eric Sondermann, an independent political analyst in Denver, said that although the contention does not represent an irreparable breach for Hickenlooper and Coffman’s relationship, it could be a sign of things to come. “The two of them will have to figure out if this will be the norm — whether this is, in effect, a raised middle finger,” he said.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">The state’s big energy companies say they are well on their way to meeting — <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_28586741/utilities-state-formulating-actions-clean-power-plan?source=pkg" title="The impact." style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 52, 89); font-stretch: inherit; text-decoration: none;">and potentially exceeding</a> — targets set in the plan.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Colorado lawmakers under a Clean Air, Clean Jobs Act in 2010 required regulated utilities to develop plans for reducing air pollution. These plans launched utilities on efforts to replace coal plants with energy generated using renewable sources and natural gas.<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul<p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 28px; vertical-align: baseline; box-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; color: rgb(26, 26, 26); background-color: rgb(250, 250, 250);">24-31-101. Powers and duties of attorney general</div><div>

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper plans to ask the Colorado Supreme

Court if the state's attorney general, Cynthia Coffman, acted without

authority in joining the state to a challenge of the federal

government's "Clean Power Plan" environmental regulations. The governor

claims that the state AG can only act with his approval. Read more at <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2015/10/hickenlooper-wants-coloradosupreme-court-to-review.html">Denver Business Journal</a>.
===
https://www.hcn.org/issues/47.20/why-are-western-attorneys-general-going-rogue

When Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced in

September that the greater sage grouse would not be listed as

endangered, Nevada’s Brian Sandoval, a Republican, was one of four

Western governors on the stage, applauding.

States retained management of the

bird in what Sandoval described as a “big win” resulting from intense

negotiations. “It’s a lot easier to fight than it is to work together,”

he said. Just a month later, though, Nevada’s attorney general,

Republican Adam Laxalt, defied Sandoval, joining a lawsuit challenging

federal plans to protect grouse habitat. A public row ensued, with the

governor’s office declaring that Laxalt was acting on his own behalf,

not the state’s. Laxalt fired back with a press release calling the

governor “wrong.”

Currently, two Western attorneys

general are suing the federal government over high-profile environmental

issues against their governors’ wishes. Colorado’s Republican attorney

general, Cynthia Coffman, is suing to block President Barack Obama’s

signature climate change initiative, the Clean Power Plan, despite

Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper’s explicit objections. (Update Dec. 7:

The Colorado Supreme Court last week <a href="https://www.courts.state.co.us/Media/Opinion_Docs/2015SA296.pdf" title="" target="_blank" class="external-link">announced</a> it would not weigh in to the dispute because there is an "adequate alternative remedy.")

Both attorneys general were elected a

year ago with the support of a lot of outside money, signaling big

donors’ appreciation for the importance of these offices, as states push

back against the federal government. “There is a perception that the

(Obama) administration is  running roughshod over states’ interests,”

says Idaho Attorney General Lawrence G. Wasden, especially in Western

states, where large portions of the land and resources are owned and

managed by the federal government.

The Democrats view things

differently: “There are several attorneys general who seem to see

themselves as partisan warriors,” says Matt Lee-Ashley, director of

public lands at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

“They are so determined to boost their political profile and grab

headlines that they’re willing to undercut their own state’s

leadership.”

In Nevada and Colorado, the governors

are challenging the legitimacy of the lawsuits and the authority of

their attorneys general, who act as chief lawyers for governors and

state agencies as well as top law enforcement officials. While such

public disputes are infrequent, they’re not unheard of, because in most

states, governors and attorneys general are elected separately. In

purple states like Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, it’s not uncommon

for the two to be from different parties.-

Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper says

Coffman is exceeding her authority. “The law makes it clear that except

in limited circumstances — which don’t exist here — the attorney general

is not permitted to file such lawsuits unless directed to do so by the

governor,” Hickenlooper declared. He has said he will petition the state

Supreme Court to weigh in. Former Colorado Attorney General Ken

Salazar, who served as Obama’s first Interior secretary, says that

Colorado law requires the attorney general to support the governor

unless the governor’s position is “clearly unlawful.”

Coffman, meanwhile, says she is doing

her duty by joining 23 other states in suing the Environmental

Protection Agency over the first-ever federal greenhouse gas rules for

existing power plants. She claims that the rules will cost jobs and

usurp state authority, and that she has the power to decide what is in

her state’s interest, regardless of the governor’s stance. “The Colorado

attorney general has independent authority to initiate a legal action

on behalf of the state and its citizens,” she declared.

In Nevada, Laxalt says he is looking

out for the state’s legal interests by backing a suit filed by two

counties over a federal plan to set aside habitat for sage grouse and

also prohibit new hardrock mining across nearly 3 million acres. “It’s

my job as the elected attorney general to decide when it’s right for the

state to be in litigation,” Laxalt told KNPR radio.

Sandoval says that his fellow

Republican’s action does not represent Nevada, its governor, or state

agencies. He also -argues that only by working with the federal

government were Western states able to avoid Endangered Species Act

listings of the greater and the bi-state sage grouse. He shares his

attorney general’s concern about development restrictions on BLM lands,

but believes that collaboration, not litigation, is the best way to get

more flexible terms for the bird’s conservation.

The back-and-forth between Laxalt and

Sandoval has been especially sharp. Lawrence Wasden, Idaho’s attorney

general and chair of the Conference of Western Attorneys General, says

disputes between attorneys general and governors are often most intense

when the two belong to the same party. “There’s an expectation that the

attorneys general should get in line. When they don’t do that, that

becomes a bitter battle.”

The current divisions in the Republican Party make such internecine

battles increasingly likely. For instance, some Western Republicans want

to file lawsuits claiming federal lands for their states, while others

argue that the states agreed to the current arrangement when they joined

the union. As the struggle over the vision for federal lands and the

nation’s energy future intensifies, more disputes are sure to come.==
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29

Cynthia H. Coffman is an American lawyer and politician from the state of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a>. A member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party%28United_States%29" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican Party</a>, she is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Colorado" title="Attorney General of Colorado" class="mw-redirect">Attorney General of Colorado</a>.

<h2>Contents</h2>

</div></div><div id="toc" class="toc">

<ul><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#Early_life_and_career">1 Early life and career</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#Attorney_General_of_Colorado">2 Attorney General of Colorado</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#Personal_life">3 Personal life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#References">4 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman_%28politician%29#External_links">5 External links</a></li></ul>

</div>

<h2>Early life and career</h2>

Coffman graduated from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Missouri" title="University of Missouri">University of Missouri</a> and received her law degree from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_State_University_College_of_Law" title="Georgia State University College of Law">Georgia State University College of Law</a>. She began working in the office of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Attorney_General" title="Georgia Attorney General" class="mw-redirect">Georgia Attorney General</a> in 1993. In 1996, she became a lawyer for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Summer_Olympics" title="1996 Summer Olympics">1996 Summer Olympics</a>, held in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta" title="Atlanta">Atlanta</a>. Following the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Olympic_Park_bombing" title="Centennial Olympic Park bombing">Centennial Olympic Park bombing</a>, Coffman served as a liaison to the families of the victims.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman_%28politician%29#cite_note-villager-1">[1]</a>

Coffman moved to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a> in 1997, and worked for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislative_council#Nonpartisan_legislative_support_agency" title="Legislative council">legislative council</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Legislature" title="Colorado Legislature" class="mw-redirect">Colorado Legislature</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#cite_note-villager-1">[1]</a> She served as legal <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counsel" title="Counsel">counsel</a> for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Department_of_Public_Health_and_Environment" title="Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment">Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment</a> from 1999 through 2004. She then served as legal counsel for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Owens%28Colorado_politician%29" title="Bill Owens (Colorado politician)">Bill Owens</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Colorado" title="Governor of Colorado">Governor of Colorado</a>, from 2004 to 2005, and as chief deputy attorney general under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Suthers" title="John Suthers">John Suthers</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Colorado" title="Attorney General of Colorado" class="mw-redirect">Attorney General of Colorado</a> from 2004 through 2014.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#cite_note-post2-2">[2]</a> In 2012, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_Week_Colorado" title="Law Week Colorado">Law Week Colorado</a> named Coffman their Best Public Sector Lawyer.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#cite_note-3">[3]</a>

<h2>Attorney General of Colorado</h2>

In 2014, Coffman ran in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_elections,2014" title="Colorado elections, 2014">election</a> for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_General_of_Colorado" title="Attorney General of Colorado" class="mw-redirect">Attorney General of Colorado</a>. She faced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Waller%28politician%29" title="Mark Waller (politician)">Mark Waller</a> for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party%28United_States%29" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican Party</a> nomination. She received Suthers' endorsement.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#cite_note-post-4">[4]</a> After receiving the majority of support of Colorado delegates,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#cite_note-5">[5]</a> Waller withdrew from the race.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#cite_note-6">[6]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman%28politician%29#cite_note-7">[7]</a> Coffman defeated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party%28United_States%29" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democratic Party</a> nominee <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Don_Quick&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Don Quick (page does not exist)">Don Quick</a> 54%-40% in the general election.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman_%28politician%29#cite_note-post2-2">[2]</a>

<h2>Personal life</h2>

She is married to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Coffman" title="Mike Coffman">Mike Coffman</a>, who represents <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado%27s_6th_congressional_district" title="Colorado's 6th congressional district">Colorado's 6th congressional district</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives" title="United States House of Representatives">United States House of Representatives</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman_%28politician%29#cite_note-8">[8]</a>

<h2>References</h2>

<ol class="references"><li id="cite_note-villager-1">
</li></ol></div><div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content"><li id="cite_note-villager-1"> <cite class="citation web"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.villagerpublishing.com/chief-deputy-attorney-general-cynthia-h-coffman-tells-ccrw-why-shes-running-to-replace-her-boss/">"Chief Deputy Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman tells CCRW why she’s running to replace her boss"</a>. villagerpublishing.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACynthia+Coffman+%28politician%29&rft.atitle=Chief+Deputy+Attorney+General+Cynthia+H.+Coffman+tells+CCRW+why+she%99s+running+to+replace+her+boss&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.villagerpublishing.com%2Fchief-deputy-attorney-general-cynthia-h-coffman-tells-ccrw-why-shes-running-to-replace-her-boss%2F&rft.jtitle=villagerpublishing.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal" class="Z3988" /></li>

<li id="cite_note-post2-2">
</li><li id="cite_note-post2-2"> <cite class="citation web"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.denverpost.com/election2014/ci_26865418/coffman-winning-ags-race">"Cynthia Coffman easily wins Colorado AG's race"</a>. denverpost.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACynthia+Coffman+%28politician%29&rft.atitle=Cynthia+Coffman+easily+wins+Colorado+AG%27s+race&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.denverpost.com%2Felection2014%2Fci_26865418%2Fcoffman-winning-ags-race&rft.jtitle=denverpost.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal" class="Z3988" /></li>

<li id="cite_note-3">
</li><li id="cite_note-3"> <cite class="citation web"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/993796-cynthia-coffman-tapped-%3Fbest-public-sector-lawyer%3F">"Cynthia Coffman tapped ‘Best Public Sector Lawyer’"</a>. coloradostatesman.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACynthia+Coffman+%28politician%29&rft.atitle=Cynthia+Coffman+tapped+%98Best+Public+Sector+Lawyer%99&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coloradostatesman.com%2Fcontent%2F993796-cynthia-coffman-tapped-%253Fbest-public-sector-lawyer%253F&rft.jtitle=coloradostatesman.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal" class="Z3988" /></li>

<li id="cite_note-post-4">
</li><li id="cite_note-post-4"> <cite class="citation web"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2014/04/11/john-suthers-cynthia-coffman-ag/108033/">"John Suthers to nominate Cynthia Coffman for attorney general at state GOP assembly"</a>. The Spot. Retrieved November 6, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACynthia+Coffman+%28politician%29&rft.atitle=John+Suthers+to+nominate+Cynthia+Coffman+for+attorney+general+at+state+GOP+assembly&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.denverpost.com%2Fthespot%2F2014%2F04%2F11%2Fjohn-suthers-cynthia-coffman-ag%2F108033%2F&rft.jtitle=The+Spot&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal" class="Z3988" /></li>

<li id="cite_note-5">
</li><li id="cite_note-5"> <cite class="citation web">Kurtis Lee (April 14, 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2014/04/14/cynthia-coffman-amasses-almost-70-percent-gop-delegate-support-rep-mark-waller-just-30-percent/108145/">"Cynthia Coffman amasses 69 percent of GOP delegate support, almost keeps Mark Waller off ballot"</a>. The Denver Post. Retrieved April 30, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACynthia+Coffman+%28politician%29&rft.au=Kurtis+Lee&rft.btitle=Cynthia+Coffman+amasses+69+percent+of+GOP+delegate+support%2C+almost+keeps+Mark+Waller+off+ballot&rft.date=2014-04-14&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.denverpost.com%2Fthespot%2F2014%2F04%2F14%2Fcynthia-coffman-amasses-almost-70-percent-gop-delegate-support-rep-mark-waller-just-30-percent%2F108145%2F&rft.pub=The+Denver+Post&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook" class="Z3988" /></li>

<li id="cite_note-6">
</li><li id="cite_note-6"> <cite class="citation web">Eli Stokols (April 28, 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://kdvr.com/2014/04/28/waller-ends-campaign-for-attorney-general-calls-for-gop-to-unify-behind-coffman/">"Waller ends campaign for attorney general, calls for GOP to unify behind Coffman"</a>. KDVR. Retrieved April 30, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACynthia+Coffman+%28politician%29&rft.au=Eli+Stokols&rft.btitle=Waller+ends+campaign+for+attorney+general%2C+calls+for+GOP+to+unify+behind+Coffman&rft.date=2014-04-28&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fkdvr.com%2F2014%2F04%2F28%2Fwaller-ends-campaign-for-attorney-general-calls-for-gop-to-unify-behind-coffman%2F&rft.pub=KDVR&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook" class="Z3988" /></li>

<li id="cite_note-7">
</li><li id="cite_note-7"> <cite class="citation web">Anthony Cotton (April 28, 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2014/04/28/rep-mark-waller-citing-party-unity-withdraws-attorney-general-race/108551/">"Rep. Mark Waller, citing party unity, withdraws from attorney general race"</a>. The Denver Post. Retrieved April 30, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACynthia+Coffman+%28politician%29&rft.au=Anthony+Cotton&rft.btitle=Rep.+Mark+Waller%2C+citing+party+unity%2C+withdraws+from+attorney+general+race&rft.date=2014-04-28&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.denverpost.com%2Fthespot%2F2014%2F04%2F28%2Frep-mark-waller-citing-party-unity-withdraws-attorney-general-race%2F108551%2F&rft.pub=The+Denver+Post&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook" class="Z3988" /></li>

<li id="cite_note-8">
</li><div class="reflist" style="list-style-type: decimal;"><ol class="references"><li value="8" id="cite_note-8"> <cite class="citation web"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://atr.rollcall.com/2014-elections-cynthia-coffman-mike-coffman-tv-buy/">"2014 Elections: Republican Buy TV for Cynthia Coffman"</a>. At the Races. Retrieved November 6, 2014.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ACynthia+Coffman+%28politician%29&rft.atitle=2014+Elections%3A+Republican+Buy+TV+for+Cynthia+Coffman&rft.genre=unknown&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fatr.rollcall.com%2F2014-elections-cynthia-coffman-mike-coffman-tv-buy%2F&rft.jtitle=At+the+Races&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal" class="Z3988" /></li></ol>

</div>

<h2>External links</h2><div id="mw-content-text" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" lang="en">

<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.votesmart.org/candidate/153010">Profile</a> at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Vote_Smart" title="Project Vote Smart">Project Vote Smart</a></li></ul>

<table class="wikitable succession-box" style="margin: 0.5em auto; clear: both;"><tbody><tr><th colspan="3" style="border-top: 5px solid #DDCEF2;">Legal offices</th></tr><tr style="text-align:center;"><td style="width:30%;" rowspan="1">Preceded by

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Suthers" title="John Suthers">John Suthers</a></td><td style="width: 40%; text-align: center;" rowspan="1"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Attorney_General" title="Colorado Attorney General">Attorney General of Colorado</a>

2015–present</td><td style="width: 30%; text-align: center;" rowspan="1">Incumbent</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table id="collapsibleTable0" class="nowraplinks collapsible collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3">[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman_%28politician%29#" id="collapseButton0">show</a>]

</div>

<div>Current statewide political officials of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a></div>

</th></tr></tbody></table>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table id="collapsibleTable1" class="nowraplinks collapsible collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2">[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Coffman_%28politician%29#" id="collapseButton1">show</a>]

</div>

<div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_attorney_general" title="State attorney general">Attorneys general</a> of the United States</div>

</th></tr></tbody></table>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

</div>

    <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: </font><ul><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:20th-century_American_lawyers" title="Category:20th-century American lawyers">20th-century American lawyers</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_women_lawyers" title="Category:American women lawyers">American women lawyers</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Colorado_Attorneys_General" title="Category:Colorado Attorneys General">Colorado Attorneys General</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Colorado_lawyers" title="Category:Colorado lawyers">Colorado lawyers</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Colorado_Republicans" title="Category:Colorado Republicans">Colorado Republicans</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Georgia_State_University_College_of_Law_alumni" title="Category:Georgia State University College of Law alumni">Georgia State University College of Law alumni</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Living_people" title="Category:Living people">Living people</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Spouses_of_members_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives" title="Category:Spouses of members of the United States House of Representatives">Spouses of members of the United States House of Representatives</a></font></li><li><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:University_of_Missouri_alumni" title="Category:University of Missouri alumni">University of Missouri alumni</a></font></li></ul></div></div></div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">===<br /></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">7/14<br />http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2014/07/30/colorado-attorney-general-raga-cynthia-coffman/111212/<br /></font><p><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><b>Add Cynthia Coffman to the list of politicos whose faces who will be

dominating Colorado’s airwaves this fall: The Republican Attorneys

General Association has reserved a stunning $2.6 million TV buy to

promote her candidacy.

<div id="attachment_108732" style="width: 280px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img src="http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/files/2014/05/Cynthia-Coffman-270x180.jpg" alt="Attorney general candidate Cynthia Coffman makes her pitch to delegates at the GOP state assembly in Boulder April 12. (Coffman campaign)" class="size-medium wp-image-108732" height="180" width="270" />Attorney

general candidate Cynthia Coffman makes her pitch to delegates at the

GOP state assembly in Boulder April 12. (Coffman campaign)</div>

Coffman, currently the No. 2 in the AG’s office, faces Democrat Don

Quick in November for the open seat for attorney general. The winner

will succeed Republican John Suthers, who is term limited and has been

highly visible in recent weeks for his <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26238435/colorado-supreme-court-puts-halt-boulder-gay-marriage" target="_blank">skirmishes over gay marriage</a>.

The Republican Attorneys General Association is under fire in

Colorado and Alabama for earlier donations to political-action

committees. In Colorado, the money was used to hammer former Congressman

Tom Tancredo <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_26232785/group-gop-governors-assn-funneled-campaign-cash-hurt" target="_blank">in the governor’s primary</a>.

The $2.6 million investment for Coffman is more than four times the

amount spent by any candidate ever running for attorney general in

Colorado, Quick said, and is believed to be the first time outside money

has played a role in the race.

“I don’t think Colorado voters are going to like a group from the

outside trying to buy the attorney general’s office,” said Quick, the

former Adams County district attorney. “There may be a real estate boom

right now but the attorney general’s office isn’t up for sale.”[he was wrong]

Scott Will, the political director for RAGA, has refused to tell The

Denver Post why the organization, whose stated mission is to elect

Republicans for attorney general, played in Colorado’s four-way GOP June

24 gubernatorial primary. Will did comment on the money for Coffman.

“RAGA is investing heavily in this race because Colorado voters are

rejecting the Obama agenda and making it clear that they want leaders

like Cynthia Coffman who will rein in the federal government,” he said.

RAGA in June funneled $155,000 to a super PAC with ties to Mitt

Romney’s presidential campaign. The money paid for automated calls and a

radio ad attacking Tancredo, and a TV spot that highlighted another

gubernatorial candidate, Bob Beauprez, at Tancredo’s expense. <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/politics/ci_26232785/group-gop-governors-assn-funneled-campaign-cash-hurt" target="_blank">Beauprez beat Tancredo</a>

and two other GOP rivals in the June 24 primary. Days later, the

Republican Governors Association contributed $175,000 to RAGA.

Tancredo has demanded that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, chairman

of RGA, provide a full explanation and release communications between

his group and RAGA.

<a href="http://blog.al.com/wire/2014/05/return_to_sender_strange_campa.html" target="_blank">In Alabama, the RAGA donation</a>

to a PAC intended to benefit Luther Strange, the Republican attorney

general seeking re-election, has been called illegal because of state

campaign finance laws. Luther returned the $50,000 PAC donation after

reporters asked questions, but a complaint has been filed with the

Alabama Ethics Commission.

Luther’s RAGA donation is paltry compared to the $2.6 million for Coffman.

“I’ve been a prosecutor almost my entire career and I don’t have $2.6

million,” Quick said. “The way I’m going to respond is I’m going to

walk 2.6 miles every day — and were already doing that, talking to

people about the issues. Were trying to talk to 2.6 people a minute as

we go to parks. That’s the only way were going to combat $2.6 million.”

He pointed out the infusion came after a story <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/election2014/ci_26181616/don-quick-leads-cynthia-coffman-cash-but-outside" target="_blank">noting he was beating Coffman</a> in fundraising. 
==
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