Daniel Kagan is an American politician in the U.S. state of Colorado. An attorney, Kagan was appointed by a Democratic Party vacancy committee to the Colorado House of Representatives in March 2009 to fill the vacancy caused by Anne McGihon's resignation. Subsequently, elected and re-elected in the 2010, 2012, and 2014 general elections, he represented House District 3, which encompasses south Denver. In the 2016 general election, he was elected to District 26 of the Colorado Senate, beating his Republican opponent with 53.48% of the vote. He resigned from the senate on January 11, 2019.
Biography
The son of Joseph Kagan, Baron Kagan - a man imprisoned in the UK for corruption and stripped of his knighthood - Daniel was educated at Rugby School, the University of East Anglia, George Washington University, and Yale Law School. He sponsored legislation to tighten Colorado's marijuana laws to prevent children from accidentally eating marijuana and prevent minors from purchasing marijuana. He also sponsored a bill to ensure that police officers have on-going training in high speed pursuits and firearms training. During the 2013 session Rep. Kagan sponsored a bill to allow law enforcement to quickly get cell phone location information in emergency situations. He also sponsored legislation creating a Sexual Assault Victim Emergency Payment Program to make sure that a victim of sexual assault does not have a huge hospital bill to pay. In the 2012 session Rep. Kagan sponsored the Skills for Jobs Act which directs Colorado to create more accurate workforce projections so that workforce development and training programs are teaching skills that are actually in demand in the labor market. During the 2011 session Rep. Kagan supported a bill allowing children on the Basic Children's Health Plan to visit a health clinic in their schools without a copay. Before being elected to serve in the legislature, Rep. Kagan was flight instructor, working with retired military pilots to train on civilian aircraft. On 22 January 2018, Kagan used an electronic cigarette in the Colorado State Capitol while presiding as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Vaping is not illegal in Colorado, except in schools, and Kagan, a long-time smoker, said he does it as a substitute for cigarettes.
Legislative career
2009 appointment
Rep. Anne McGihon announced that she would resign from the legislature, effective March 27, 2009 Kagan, who had already filed to run to replace the term-limited McGihon, declared his candidacy for the vacancy appointment. A vacancy committee, meeting during a spring blizzard, elected Kagan to the seat over ten other candidates after three rounds of voting; Kagan edged out blogger and legislative aideAaron Silverstein in the final round of voting to win the seat. Kagan had volunteered in McGihon's legislative office earlier during the legislative session. He was sworn into office on March 30, 2009.
Rep. Kagan supported legislation creating a Sexual Assault Victim Emergency Payment Program to ensure that victims of sexual assault are not left with a large hospital bill after receiving treatment. He also sponsored legislation enabling law enforcement to quickly get cell phone location information in emergency situations.
2014 Legislative Session
Rep. Kagan supported legislation to ensure that juveniles going through court proceedings have access to an attorney He also sponsored bills to tighten Colorado's marijuana laws to ensure that minors are not able to purchase marijuana and a bill to ensure that police officers undergo continuous training in firearm use and high speed pursuits.
Legislative harassment allegation
Between November 2017 and April 2018, six Colorado state legislators were accused of sexual harassment covering a range of allegations and circumstances. Senator Kagan was accused of using the women's restroom on "multiple occasions," prompting the Colorado State Patrol to limit the Senator's access to the women's restroom. In April 2018, Republican Senator Beth Martinez Humenik filed a workplace sexual harassment complaint against Kagan for using the women's bathroom "multiple times." Kagan admitted to being in the women's restroom, but that it only happened once. Female staffers allege he has been in the same restroom multiple times, dating back to 2017. The final 21-page investigative report confirmed Senator Martinez-Humenik's claim, finding that Senator Daniel Kagan had repeatedly engaged in this behavior, as reported by Denver CBS4 Reporter Shaun Boyd during a live broadcast on 09/20/2018 and a story posted online entitled "Investigation Reveals Male State Senator Used Women’s Bathroom Repeatedly"
