State Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, one of the top Democrats in the Colorado legislature, will resign her seat on Friday.
Michaelson Jenet, of Commerce City, the Senate’s president pro tem, announced her resignation plan on Tuesday. She is leaving to serve as director of the David and Laura Merage Foundation for Confronting Antisemitism, an Englewood-based organization.
“I always aspire to serve with joy, humility, and guided by the will of my constituents,” Michaelson Jenet said in a statement. “I am so thankful to the people of Senate District 21 for their trust, to my colleagues in the House and Senate for their partnership on legislation both big and small, and to my family for their perseverance and grace at every step of this journey.”
In her announcement, Michaelson Jenet highlighted her work creating the I Matter program that provides youth mental health support and the Healthy School Meals for All program, which voters approved in 2022.
Calling herself “a proud representative and leader within Colorado’s Jewish community,” she also noted that she helped pass legislation guaranteeing that Holocaust studies are part of Colorado’s public school curriculum.
Michaelson Jenet was first elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2016. She was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Senate in 2023 and won election to the seat the following year. She serves as the body’s president pro tempore, or the temporary replacement if President James Coleman is unavailable.
“Senator Michaelson Jenet has been a valued member and leader of the Senate Democrats,” Coleman said in a statement. “She has been a steadfast champion for Colorado’s youth, survivors of abuse and violence, and an important voice for Colorado’s Jewish community. I will miss her partnership and friendship in the Senate, but I know that she will continue to do great things for the state of Colorado beyond the Capitol.”
Michaelson Jenet’s replacement will be appointed via a vacancy committee in coming weeks. Democrats hold a nearly 2-to-1 majority in the Senate.
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