Former Minority Leader Sal Pace, now a Pueblo County commissioner, received a warm welcome when he returned to the House Wednesday to memorialize a former lawmaker.
The Democrat was known for his mostly friendly jousts with then Speaker Frank McNulty, a Highlands Ranch Republican, and the two former leaders caught up on the side of the House.
“The best part of today was hearing Frank called “Rep. McNulty,’” Pace later texted.
BAM! McNulty served as speaker until Democrats won back the majority in the November election.
McNulty’s favorite part of the election? “Getting to call Republican Scott Tipton ‘congressman’ for another two years.” BAM! Pace tried to unseat Tipton in the 3rd Congressional District, but lost. Pace later was appointed to a vacancy on the county commission.
Also in the House today was former lawmaker Abel Tapia, a Pueblo Democrat now overseeing the Colorado Lottery. He and Pace helped pay tribute to former lawmaker Bob Jackson, who represented Pueblo in the House from 1967 to 1972. Jackson, an icon in Pueblo, died last year at the age of 84.