Steve Lebsock


Steve Lebsock is an American politician who represented District 34 in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. Prior to joining the State House, Lebsock served on the Thornton City Council from November 2003 to November 2011.
A longtime member of the Democratic Party, Lebsock switched his affiliation to the Republican Party immediately prior to his March 2, 2018 expulsion from the Colorado House of Representatives. Lebsock was expelled following allegations of sexual harassment. He was the first member of the Colorado House of Representatives to be expelled in 103 years.

Controversy

In November 2017, Lebsock was accused of sexual harassment by a fellow state legislator, Faith Winter. Speaker of the State House Crisanta Duran called on Lebsock to resign. Lebsock issued an apology after stating that he could not remember the night in question because he had been drinking heavily. Four other women also accused him of sexual harassment. Lebsock delivered a 28-page manifesto to his fellow lawmakers defending himself against the accusations; the document remained unpublished due to the sexually explicit allegations it contained, and Lebsock's accusers characterized the document as an effort to retaliate against them.
Prominent Colorado politicians from both parties called for Lebsock's resignation or expulsion from the legislature, including Republican Senate President Kevin Grantham and Democrats such as Governor John Hickenlooper, Speaker Duran, Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne and U.S. Representative Jared Polis. Despite the bipartisan demands, Lebsock refused to resign. He was expelled on a 52-9 vote on March 2, 2018. All 36 Democrats voted to expel Lebsock, while 16 Republicans voted for expulsion and nine other Republicans voted against expulsion. Lebsock abstained from the vote, but changed his party affiliation to Republican just before the vote was taken.
Colorado law provides that a vacancy may be filled by a "member of the same political party." Lebsock's change of party affiliation allowed the Republican Party to fill his seat for the remainder of the legislative session. In mid-March 2018, the Republican Party's House District 34 Vacancy Committee selected Alexander "Skinny" Winkler to complete Lebsock's term. Winkler was sworn in on March 29, 2018.

State Treasurer run

On March 25, 2017, Lebsock announced his candidacy for Colorado State Treasurer as a Democrat. However, the Durango Herald reported that Lebsock's recent change in party affiliation may have disqualified him from running for Treasurer in 2018.