Colorado House Minority Leader, Hugh McKean, dies suddenly of a heart attack at 55
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado House of Representatives announced the passing of Minority Leader Hugh McKean Sunday morning. According to our news partners in Denver (KUSA), McKean died of a heart attack.
Colleagues on both sides of the aisle are remembering McKean for his compassion and grace as a leader, a legislator who genuinely cared for the state of Colorado.
Kristi Burton Brown, Chairwoman of the Colorado GOP, tells KRDO she was with McKean Saturday Night, as he spoke to a crowd at a rally in his home town of Loveland.
"He seemed just like he always does," said Burton Brown, "really upbeat and positive. I would never have guessed there was anything, anything different."
It made the news of the 55-year-old legislator's death Sunday morning, a shock. One felt deeply by those on both sides of the aisle, including House Majority Leader Daneya Esgar, who served alongside McKean for six years.
"He was just a guy who really wanted to do right and wanted to make Colorado a better place," said Esgar. "And though we might have disagreed on how we got there, we both shared that philosophy. That's just who he was, and that's how he'll be remembered."
House Speaker Alec Garnett said in a statement, "We will miss his kindness, the joy that he brought to the capitol every day, and the care that he showed every person he ever met. Hugh was the very definition of a statesman – a genuinely nice guy who always wanted the best for our state and his constituents."
