Cary Kennedy

Cary Kennedy is a senior advisor to Governor Polis on state fiscal issues. In this role, she has supported the governor’s successful efforts to reform the tax code, fund full-day kindergarten and universal preschool, modernize how we pay for transportation, and increase funding and equity in K-12 education. 

Cary served as the Colorado State Treasurer (2007-2011), Denver’s Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Mayor (2011-2016), and she came in second in the Democratic primary for governor in 2018. While serving as state treasurer, Cary developed the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program that has funded the renovation of hundreds of aging school buildings throughout Colorado. Earlier in her career, she served as staff to Governor Roy Romer as well as to House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. Cary has been instrumental in passing several statewide ballot measures including Amendment 23 that set minimum funding levels for education (2000), the balanced budget agreement Referendum C (2005), Amendment 35 that funded the Child Health Plan (2004), Proposition EE that funded public preschool (2020), and Amendment B that repealed the Gallagher Amendment (2020).