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DENVER, CO — State Representative Barbara McLachlan and Speaker Alec Garnett today released the following statements celebrating the life of former State Representative Mike McLachlan, who passed away on June 23.
“Mike was the smartest, funniest, kindest and most loving person I will ever know,” said Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango. “He spent his life serving, helping and advocating, and has been a true role model for me, our family and our community. I will miss him dearly.”
“Mike was a great friend, a dedicated public servant, and a man of immeasurable talent who served his country as a Vietnam Veteran, as Colorado’s Solicitor General, and as a State Representative,” said House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver. “He stood up for his community and his fellow Coloradans at every turn, going as far as the Supreme Court of the United States to speak up for what he knew was right. My heart and my thoughts are with my dear friend and colleague Barbara, who has been working tirelessly for over a year to both care for Mike and serve her district, and their children Kate and Brian.”
Michael Edward McLachlan was born on April 18, 1946. He served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and attended law school shortly after his service. He used his legal talents to serve the state of Colorado first as a prosecutor and then as Solicitor General starting in 1999. In his role as Solicitor General, he successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court in Hill v Colorado, where he protected the rights of women seeking reproductive health care. He was elected to represent House District 59 in November of 2012 and served as State Representative from 2013-14, after which he returned to his private law practice.
Former Rep. McLachlan was also a former president of the Durango Rotary Club and served on the Southern Ute Tribe-State of Colorado Environmental Control Commission. Previously, he had also served as the chairman of the Judicial Performance Commission for the Sixth Judicial District and as the chair of the Supreme Court Grievance Committee. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and his two children, Brian and Kate.