Su Ryden – Lynn Bartels on SOS.state.co.us

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, flanked by Denver elections director Amber McReynolds and Rep. Su Ryden, at the Colorado Social Legislation Committee lunch Monday. (SOS photo)

By Keara Brosnan

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams outlined his legislative agenda, explained why he supports a presidential primary bill and discussed the selection of Dominion as the state’s new voting vendor when he spoke this week to the Colorado Social Legislation Committee.

This topic at the CSLC week’s lunch concerned elections; the other two panelists were Amber McReynolds, Denver’s elections director, and Rep. Su Ryden, D-Aurora, who chairs the committee that hears most election measures.

Williams said he was warned before the 2016 session it would be difficult to get bills through a divided legislature in an election year. But so far things have gone well, he said, and one measure last week passed the Democratic-controlled House 65-0 and the Republican-controlled Senate 34-0.

“We’ve actually got some things done that needed to get done,” he said.

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, second from left, tells lawmakers from the House and Senate State Affairs committees about the agency's operation. With him are Tim Griesmer, Chief of Staff Gary Zimmerman and Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert. — Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, second from left, tells lawmakers from the House and Senate State Affairs committees about the agency’s operation. With him are legislative director Tim Griesmer, Chief of Staff Gary Zimmerman and Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert.

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams told lawmakers Tuesday that when he took office in January he inherited a cutting-edge operation that other states are looking to emulate.

He credited previous secretaries of state — Williams is the sixth person in 10 years to hold the office — for the staffers they hired and the programs they instituted for creating an operation that has won several prestigious awards.

The awards are nice, Williams said, but said “the real goal is serving the people of Colorado.”