Elizabeth “Betty” Benavidez was the first Hispanic woman elected to the state legislature. A Democrat from Denver, she served in the state House from 1971 to 1974.
Before coming to the legislature, Representative Benavidez was a manicurist and a homemaker. While in the Colorado House, she served on the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee, the Labor and Employment Relations Committee, and on the Transportations and Highways Committee.
Rep. Benavidez was strongly committed to representing her community and those who had the least access to representation. She served on the interim committee on the Rights of Agricultural Employers and Employees. In 1971, Betty Benavidez and her husband fasted for more than a week to protest the treatment of migrant workers in the United States.
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