Wes McKinley

By ED SEALOVER

Legislator to know
Rep. Wes McKinley is the cowboy of the Capitol.

A rancher whose district encompassing six southeastern Colorado counties is one of the state’s largest, the Democrat can be spotted easily in the House as the only man wearing a cowboy hat and bandana around his neck. His political views also tend toward those of a maverick, as he’s known to break frequently from his party and push or back measures that sometimes get little support from either party.

McKinley grabbed the spotlight last year when he passed a bill removing Colorado’s standing permission to the federal government to take land for military use, a debate that centered on the Army’s proposed expansion of Fort Carson’s Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. This week he returns with a more ambitious plan that would remove consent for the national government to condemn land for its use for any reason.