Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Democratic nominee for governor, on Wednesday named Jefferson County Commissioner Lesley Dahlkemper to be his lieutenant governor running mate in the general election.

Calling her “someone who can be a governing partner,” Weiser said at a news conference that Dahlkemper’s broad range of experience in local government made her an obvious choice, adding that she “will be able to make a huge impact as we confront critical challenges.”

Weiser, who is facing Republican nominee Victor Marx for the seat held by term-limited Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, introduced Dahlkemper at state Democratic Party headquarters in Denver.

A former president of the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education, Dahlkemper is nearing the end of her second four-year term on the suburban county’s board of commissioners.

Marx has yet to announce his running mate. A campaign spokesperson told Colorado Politics that he plans to declare his pick “by the deadline.” Under Colorado law, he has until July 31 — seven days after the primary election results are expected to be certified — to make the designation public.

Introducing Dahlkemper, Weiser said his ticket isn’t “getting someone who’s going to need a long learning curve.”

“We’re getting someone who is seasoned, who knows a range of issues inside and out, including wildfire risk reduction, including how we manage and conserve water, how we make housing more affordable, keep our communities safe, address the opioid crisis, support more effective early childhood education, and so much more,” Weiser said. “She’s going to be extraordinary asset to our administration.”

Weiser credited Dahlkemper’s “spirit of collaboration” with helping launch a statewide initiative to distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in opioid crisis settlement funds to local communities, money secured when Colorado and other states sued pharmaceutical companies.

“Like Phil, I take showing up, listening and getting results seriously,” Dahlkemper said.

She pointed to the commissioners’ role in 2024 in persuading Jefferson County voters to approve a ballot measure that eliminated the county’s revenue cap under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. That vote, she said, resulted in “greater long-term fiscal stability, along with critical investments in some of the very areas you heard our future governor just talk about — roads, bridges, public safety, wildfire risk reduction.”

Added Dahlkemper: “That’s exactly the type of urgent work facing Colorado, and I’m ready to take on alongside Phil as lieutenant governor.”

The Marx campaign “(wishes) Dahlkemper well,” a spokesperson told Colorado Politics, but added that “this decision highlights the choice facing Colorado.”

“Phil believes the answer is more people from inside the existing system,” said Rachael Flick in an emailed statement. “Victor believes it’s time to bring in experienced leaders from business, technology, public safety and the military to modernize state government and deliver measurable results for taxpayers.”

Early in her career, Dahlkemper was the senior education reporter for Colorado Public Radio and later ran a communications firm focused on education initiatives. She and her husband, former state Senate Minority Leader Mike Feeley, a retired attorney, live in South Jefferson County with their three rescue dogs. Their daughter attends college in California.

If elected in November, Dahlkemper will be the state’s 51st lieutenant governor and the seventh woman to occupy the office.

The job’s formal duties include filling in for the governor when they’re out of state or otherwise absent and taking over if the governor leaves office. Since Polis’ predecessor, current U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, held office from 2011-2019, however, lieutenant governors have also overseen various state offices and programs.

Dahlkemper said Wednesday that her potential future roles in the administration have yet to be determined, adding that “one of the things you’ve heard from both Phil and I is that we take listening seriously, and I think that will help shape what this role looks like moving forward.”

Weiser seconded the point.

“Leslie is so talented,” he said. “She has incredible capacity. She can do lots of different important functions, and that is an asset that we intend to fully use. How remains to be seen.”

Polis’ No. 2, former state Rep. Dianne Primavera, heads the Offices of Saving People Money on Health Care and eHealth Innovation, and chairs the Colorado Disability Funding Commission and Disability Policy, the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs, Serve Colorado and the Colorado Space Coalition.

While Colorado’s lieutenant governor used to be nominated and, until the late 1960s, even elected independently of the governor, since 2002 the state’s major-party gubernatorial nominees have chosen their running mates, as presidential nominees do with their vice presidential candidates.