Governor Polis Announces Chief of Staff Transition

DENVER - Today, Governor Polis announced Alec Garnett will be stepping down as Chief of Staff effective on Friday, September 13th, and David Oppenheim, current Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative and Policy Affairs will step into the role.

"I thank Alec Garnett for his incredible leadership and hard work for the people of Colorado, culminating in a historic special session that successfully cut the property tax rate for every homeowner and small business. During his time as our Chief of Staff, we have cut the income tax, taken major steps to make housing more affordable for Coloradans, expanded transit in our state, and continued our nation-leading work to improve air quality. Alec has committed his career to public service, from his time in the General Assembly, as Speaker of the House, and as Chief of Staff in the Governor's Office, his work has made life better for Coloradans. Alec will be missed, but I'm excited to congratulate and welcome David Oppenheim into this role and look forward to his leadership helping us make Colorado even more livable, affordable, safe, and sustainable," said Governor Jared Polis.

Alec Garnett is the former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives representing House District 2, central Denver. During his time serving in the legislature, he championed solutions centered on affordable housing, investments in public education, gun violence prevention, and economic opportunity for all. Garnett has passed bills to provide universal preschool to all Coloradans and created a commonsense red flag law in Colorado to prevent gun violence.

"It's been an incredible opportunity to serve Colorado in this role and I'm proud of the work we've accomplished for our state under Governor Polis's leadership. From historic work to lower property taxes, reduce housing costs, make our air cleaner, save people money on education, and improve public safety, I know this work is making Colorado better for everyone and I know the amazing accomplishments will continue under David's leadership," said Alec Garnett.

David Oppenheim joined the Governor's Office in 2019 when Governor Polis took office as the Governor's Legislative Director, a role he served for four years. In May of 2022, Oppenheim moved into the role of Director of Operations and Cabinet Affairs and was promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative and Policy Affairs at the start of the following year.

"Since day one, Governor Polis has been focused on making Colorado a better place for everyone to live and I'm excited to continue this work as Chief of Staff. The Governor's team helped deliver free kindergarten and preschool, lower taxes, achieve bold climate goals, increase access to housing people can afford, and more. Our work isn't done for the people of Colorado and we will continue to move our state forward," said David Oppenheim.

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