Colorado lawmaker abruptly announces her resignation, citing “sensationalistic and vitriolic” political environment

State Rep. Ruby Dickson abruptly announced on Friday that she will resign from the legislature Dec. 11, citing the “sensationalistic and vitriolic nature of the current political environment.”

The Greenwood Village Democrat, who represents House District 37, wrote in a brief letter to legislative leadership that the environment “is not healthy for me or my family.” 

“I am stepping aside now to allow someone more suited for the rigors of the current moment to step in,” she said.

Dickson was elected in November 2022 and was sworn into office in early January 2023. She had served during just one regular legislative session and during the special lawmaking term on property tax and other financial relief that wrapped up just before Thanksgiving.

Dickson was the prime sponsor of five House and two Senate bills in her sole regular legislative session, all of which passed and were signed into law. She was the prime sponsor of a Senate bill during the special session that passed and was signed into law.

A state-level super PAC named Building a Better Colorado spent more than $24,000 to support her 2022 primary campaign. Dickson received 56% of the vote in her general election contest against Republican Paul Archer, who received 44% of the vote. 

House District 37 had a 7-percentage-point Democratic lean in 2022 according to analysis by nonpartisan staff for Colorado’s Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission. She is part of a Democratic supermajority in the House.

Dickson had filed in July to run for reelection in 2024.

Dickson is an economist by training. She received a graduate degree from the University of Oxford in England. She previously served as a policy research analyst for then-U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, who is now Colorado’s governor. 

Dickson’s resignation means at least 28 of the 100 lawmakers serving at the Colorado Capitol next year will have landed a seat in the legislature thanks to a vacancy committee. The committees are made up of a few dozen partisan activists. 

A Democratic vacancy committee in House District 37 will convene in the coming weeks to select Dickson’s replacement. 

A 2024 ballot measure being pursued by Kent Thiry, the wealthy former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita, would eliminate legislative vacancy committees starting in 2026 and require that special elections be called to replace state lawmakers who resign, are expelled or die in the middle of their terms.

Dickson didn’t return a Colorado Sun message seeking comment on Friday.

In a written statement, House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, called Dickson “a brilliant champion for working families.”

“I know Rep. Dickson will continue to drive positive change in her community and throughout Colorado,” McCluskie added.

Colorado Politics first reported Dickson’s resignation. The news outlet reports Dickson is 28, making her one of the youngest lawmakers in the General Assembly.

Colorado Sun staff writer Sandra Fish contributed to this report.