Colorado: Lynn Bartels

A Denver lobbyist who has championed civil rights beat nine other Democratic contenders to become Colorado's newest state senator.

Pat Steadman won a vacancy committee election Wednesday night to replace Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, who resigned to move to Australia.

Veiga had endorsed Steadman, who lobbies at the state Capitol. He has said he plans to resign from his firm.

The election caused angst on two fronts:

Adams County Democrats wanted someone from their county to win the election; Senate District 31 comprises central Denver and portions of Adams County.

Others pushed for a minority to win.

"We need some color down at the statehouse," said Julia Hicks of Westminster, who is black.

Senate President Peter Groff is stepping down May 8, but the election to succeed him will be held Friday. Aurora Sen. Suzanne Williams, caucus chair for the Senate Democrats, said members decided to elect Groff's successor now "to get politics out of the way, to get this out of the way."

Groff, D-Denver, has accepted a position in President Barack Obama's administration within the Department of Education. The names mentioned most often as Groff's successor are Majority Leader Brandon Shaffer of Longmont, Abel Tapia of Pueblo, John Morse of Colorado Springs and Betty Boyd of Lakewood. Groff's Senate seat will be filled by a Democratic vacancy committee.

Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post

The Department of Education made it official Friday afternoon: Colorado Senate President Peter Groff has accepted a federal education post.

Arne Duncan, the U.S. secretary of education, announced Groff's appointment as the office's Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Center.

The Denver Post reported Thursday that Groff, a Denver Democrat and second-generation lawmaker, had accepted the position.

Groff has long been a champion of education reform, sometimes to the chagrin of teachers' unions.

"Give 'em hell, Peter," said Alex Cranberg, a Republican well known in Colorado's school-choice movement.

Groff's job will be to "help empower faith-based and community groups, enlisting them in support of the department's mission to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence for all Americans," according to the news release.

Two families struggled to hold back tears Tuesday when Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law a bill requiring the installation of carbon-monoxide alarms in most homes.

A Denver family of four died in a vacation home in Aspen on Thanksgiving, while a University of Denver student died in her apartment in January — all from carbon-monoxide poisoning.

"It is the mark of people of good character that they are able to do something from this unfathomable tragedy, and ask what good can come from it," Ritter said before signing the bill at Fire Station No. 10 in northeast Denver.

Relatives of Parker and Caroline Lofgren and their children, Owen, 10, and Sophie, 8, and of DU student Lauren Johnson, 23, pushed lawmakers to do something