John Andrews (Colorado politician)

Andrews was born in Michigan and grew up in the Colorado mountains, taking most of his K-12 schooling in St. Louis, Missouri. He served as a US Navy submarine officer after graduating from Principia College in 1966. His wife of almost 50 years is Donna D'Evelyn of Bakersfield, California. They have three grown children and a grandson, all living in the Denver area. "I'm committed to defending the permanent things," Andrews states. "We must reassert the timeless political principles of the American founding, together with the moral and spiritual truths of our Judeo-Christian heritage."

Andrews with Mike Coffman in 2002

As a state senator from 1998 to 2005, Andrews served as minority leader 2001-2003. After leading the GOP back to majority control, he was elected as Senate President for 2003-2005. During his tenure, he helped pass bills establishing education vouchers, expanding charter schools, extending tort reform, cutting the capital gains tax, reducing union control of state employees, requiring parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion, and restoring the Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms.

He was honored as National Legislator of the Year by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and as Family Legislator of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Family Council. The Colorado Union of Taxpayers saluted him as a defender of TABOR, the state's tax limit.

Andrews' legislative achievements also included bills cutting the capital gains tax, curbing the matricula ID card for illegal immigrants, providing toll lanes to reduce traffic congestion, outlining a statewide water policy, and drawing permanent congressional districts. He put into law the School Sunshine Act to keep teacher unions accountable, the Read to Achieve program for school improvement, and Colorado's Defense of Marriage Act.

From 2009 until his retirement in 2015, Andrews was director of Centennial Institute, which sponsors events, publications, and research in public policy areas. In proclaiming "liberty throughout the land," its aim is to help Colorado Christian University (CCU) teach citizenship and to help Americans renew the spirit of 1776. The Institute was founded in 2009 by Andrews and former US Senator William L. Armstrong, late president of CCU. Through the Centennial Institute, Andrews help establish the Western Conservative Summit, which has been held every year since 2010 in Denver.

During an address to the Western Conservative Summit on July 12, 2019, Andrews delivered a fiery address that many in the audience warmly applauded but which some viewed as relying on Islamophobic tropes. He charged that organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations were engaging in "civilizational jihad" and trying to move the United States to a Sharia Law based system. He also made the claim that Muslim values are inherently antithetical to American values, saying "They will tell you that a good and faithful Muslim can also be a good and faithful American. Sorry, but I don’t see how", as well as stating that the United States was engaged in a "war to the death" with two intrinsic enemies, "The name of one is Marx. The name of the other is Mohammed.", referring to Communism and the Islamic faith. [7]

• "John Andrews". Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
• "John Andrews CV at PolicyExperts.org". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-02-11.

• Appearances on C-SPAN