State Board of Education
Middleton first sought elected office in 2002, campaigning for an elected post on the University of Colorado Board of Regents. She lost the race to represent Colorado's 7th Congressional district to Republican Patricia Hayes, earning 49 percent of the popular vote.
In November 2004, following the resignation of Colorado State Board of Education member Christine Baca, a Democratic Party vacancy committee appointed Middleton to the board's 7th district seat She was elected to serve for the final two years of the unexpired term in November 2006, defeating Republican Lee Kunz with 55 percent of the popular vote.
After having criticized Colorado Education Commissioner William Moloney, chastising him as "ineffective," and calling for his resignation, in 2006, Middleton was involved in the selection of his replacement, Fountain, Colorado School Superintendent Dwight Jones, in 2007. While on the board, she also cast votes against the use of quotas as a means of fostering diversity in charter schools, advocated for the creation of a state online education coordinator, and proposed a motion to allow state funding for "fifth year" high school programs designed to help students earn associate's degrees.
In 2005, Middleton was appointed to the board of the Alliance for Quality Teaching, the advisory board of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, and the Colorado General Assembly's Interim School Finance Task Force. In 2006, she was named to the State Advisory Committee for Gifted and Talented Education. Middleton also served on the Government Affairs Committee for the National Association for State Boards of Education in 2007.
Increasingly prominent in Democratic Party circles, Middleton received the "Rising Star" Award from the Colorado Democratic Party in 2006 and was named one of The Colorado Statesman's "Movers and Shakers" in 2007.
Read more about this topic: Karen Middleton (Colorado Legislator)
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