Angie Paccione
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Angela Veronica Paccione (born 21 February 1960) is a former Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives. In the 2006 U.S. Election, State Rep. Angie Paccione was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress in Colorado's 4th Congressional district, ultimately losing to two-term incumbent Republican Marilyn Musgrave.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Born in the South Bronx in New York City, Paccione attended Stanford University on a basketball scholarship, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree and honors in political science in 1983. After playing professional basketball for two years in the defunct Women's American Basketball Association, she moved to Colorado, where she worked with troubled youth before earning her teaching license from the University of Denver. Paccione then taught at Smoky Hill High School in Aurora, Colorado for eight years. AT SHHS Paccione became the first and only woman in the history of Colorado to coach a high school boy's varsity sport in the large school classification.
Paccione then began graduate work in education at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado; she worked with Project Promise, a teacher-preparation program. After earning her Ph.D. in 1998, she was hired by Colorado State as an Assistant Professor of Teacher Education and Diversity.
[edit] State Legislative career
In 2002, Paccione was elected to the Republican-controlled Colorado House of Representatives from House District 53, representing western Fort Collins; re-elected to a second term in 2004 by a wide margin, she rose to become Majority Caucus Chair after Democrats gained control of the assembly.
[edit] 2006 Congressional campaign
In September 2005, Paccione announced her intention to challenge two-term incumbent Republican Marilyn Musgrave for Colorado's Fourth Congressional District, in what evolved into a highly competitive battle the Cook Report rated a "toss up" race for the historically Republican seat.
The heated multi-million dollar race was targeted nationally by both major parties. Paccione ultimately lost to Musgrave by 3% of votes cast--or about 7,000 votes out of roughly 200,000--bringing the race closer than previous Democratic challenger Stan Matsunaka. In a three-way race that included Reform Party candidate Eric Eidsness, Musgrave garnered 46% to Paccione's 43%, and Eidsness 11% of the vote.
