On August 29, 2005, Gigi Dennis was appointed by Governor Bill Owens to fill the vacancy created when the previous Secretary resigned to take a federal appointment. Secretary Dennis serves as Colorado’s 34th Secretary of State and is one of only five women to serve as the State’s chief election official. She will serve until January 8, 2007 when the term expires.

In her capacity as Secretary of State, Gigi Dennis leads an agency of 120 employees involved in elections, campaign finance, business entity and Uniform Commercial Code filings, commissioning notaries public, registering charitable organizations, and licensing of bingo/raffle organizations. The agency operates a $31 million budget and has earned respect nationwide for the developing online searching and filing capabilities. In addition, to managing the Secretary of State’s office she also serves on the Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA) Board and the Information Management Commission (IMC).

Prior to serving as the Colorado Secretary of State, Gigi Dennis was appointed by President George W. Bush as the State Director of Rural Development in 2001. Under her leadership, Colorado has received over $308 million dollars in housing funds and over $1.2 billion in business, community, and electric utilities program funds. During her tenure at Rural Development, her focus has been to improve the quality of life and economic opportunity for Colorado residents by providing affordable housing, business and community development, and infrastructure grants and loans. She developed and implemented a major reorganization resulting in more readily available customer services to the citizens.

Secretary Dennis was the first woman to be elected to the state Senate from Pueblo County, serving from 1995 to 2001. Senate District 5 encompassed ten counties in southern Colorado. She served as the Caucus Chairman for the Senate Majority, and was a member of the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Committees. She served as Chairman of the Local Government Committee and Judiciary Committee, and as Vice Chairman of the Transportation Committee. Additionally, she served and held leadership positions on several national committees representing Colorado.

Secretary Dennis has devoted much of her professional life to serving the citizens of the State of Colorado, but her first love is her family. Whenever possible Gigi spends time with her husband, Dean, and their two dogs.