Shannon Bird

Shannon Bird earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Colorado Boulder, an M.S. in finance and M.B.A. from the University of Colorado Denver, and a J.D. from the University of Denver. Bird's career experience included working as an attorney and serving on Westminster City Council from 2015 to 2019. She served as the board chair of the Five Star Education Foundation and as the vice chair of the Adams County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.[1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Raised by a single mother and a grandmother who struggled to make ends meet, Shannon Bird knows how hard it is for families to get by, and she knows Donald Trump is making things so much worse.

Shannon’s mother worked as a clerk for an insurance company, and her grandmother was a blackjack dealer. They taught her how to work hard, give back, and fight for what’s right.

After working in public finance, commercial and corporate law, Shannon became a volunteer in her children’s school and served as the citizen chair for a school district bond campaign.

She later co-founded an organization dedicated to empowering students, parents, teachers, and community members to create a more equitable learning environment in local schools.

Shannon’s love of public service led her to run first for the Westminster City Council and eventually for the State House, where she served from 2019 to 2026.

In the legislature, Shannon fought to create and protect jobs, support our small businesses, protect abortion rights, get dangerous weapons out of the hands of criminals, combat climate change, lower the cost of housing, and help make sure retirees get the benefits they’ve earned.

Now, Shannon is running for Congress to stop Donald Trump’s assault on our democracy and way of life, and to make sure Colorado remains a place where everyone can achieve their dreams.

Shannon lives in Westminster with her husband, two children, and the cats they adopted from local shelters.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Lowering Costs: The cost of everything – housing, health care, groceries, utilities – is too high. Everywhere I go, this is the top issue on people’s minds, and I’ll do everything in my power to lower costs. In the legislature, I focused on affordability – authoring laws to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, build more housing that middle class families can afford, and funding community health care clinics.

To bring costs down, I will work to pass a middle class tax cut, repeal Trump's tariffs, reverse Gabe Evans’ cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, lower energy bills, increase federal funding for childcare, and provide down payment assistance to middle-income first-time home buyers.Holding ICE Accountable: Gabe Evans and Donald Trump promised that they would go after criminals. Instead, they’re assaulting and profiling citizens and spreading fear in our communities.

I’m proud to be the first candidate in this race to release a plan to overhaul ICE, because violent, untrained, masked agents have no place in our communities. We need to mandate body cameras, require judicial warrants for arrests, and ban ICE from schools, courthouses, hospitals and places of worship nationwide.

I’m also proud to have the longest pro-immigrant track record in this race. In the State House, I co-sponsored the law to ban ICE from courthouses, and as chair of the budget committee, I fully funded Colorado’s Immigration Legal Defense Fund.Protecting Our Health Care & Reproductive Rights: Gabe Evans has relentlessly attacked our healthcare. He voted for steep cuts to Medicaid and did nothing as health insurance costs skyrocketed.

I know what it’s like to be uninsured, which is why in the legislature, I expanded Medicaid and took on the big insurance companies and passed a law that required them to authorize care for patients right away, instead of delaying care.

In Congress, I’ll work to reverse the steep Medicare and Medicaid cuts in Gabe Evans’ budget law, add vision, dental, and hearing coverage to Medicare, and expand the government’s ability to negotiate prescription drug prices under Medicare. I’ll also work to restore federal protections for abortion rights.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Growing up in a low-income family, I know the value of a public education, a strong economy, and a good paying job. That’s why in the legislature, I’ve focused on lowering costs and making sure everyone has the opportunity to succeed. I’m proud to have passed the law that fully funded Colorado’s public schools for the first time in over a decade. I also passed the law that made community college and the first two years of Colorado public universities free for families who earn less than $90k a year, and expanded access to apprenticeships and trade education.

In Congress, I’ll continue to work to lower healthcare costs, create jobs, and ensure every child has a world-class education.

Campaign websiteBird's campaign website stated the following:Lowering Costs The cost of everything – housing, health care, groceries, utilities – is too high. Everywhere I go, this is the top issue on people’s minds, and I’ll do everything in my power to lower costs. In the legislature, I focused on affordability – authoring laws to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, build more housing that middle class families can afford, and funding community health care clinics. Unfortunately, my Republican opponent Gabe Evans is making things worse. He voted to rip away Medicaid and food assistance and raise utility costs to give tax breaks to billionaires. And Evans supports Trump’s tariffs that are raising the price of just about everything. Here’s what I’ll do to bring costs down:Pass a middle class tax cut.Repeal Trump's tariff taxes.Lower energy bills by cutting red tape that makes it harder for energy projects – like wind and solar – to connect to the grid. Our district is home to many solar and oil and gas producers, and we need to make sure that we harness all of these energy sources to lower costs and preserve and create jobs, while doing so in a way that protects the environment.Increase federal funding for childcare, so that parents don’t have to pay the equivalent of a month’s rent or mortgage for childcare and early learning.Provide down payment assistance to middle-income first-time home buyers.Reverse Gabe Evans’ and Donald Trump’s cruel cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and the Low Income Energy Assistance Program.Ease our housing crisis by increasing funding for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit so we can build more housing in Colorado.Holding ICE AccountableA Note from ShannonAs a mom and an American, I am heartbroken by the images we are seeing coming out of Minneapolis and across the country. And I know you are too. Gabe Evans and Donald Trump promised that they would go after criminals. But instead, they’re assaulting and profiling American citizens and spreading fear in our communities. They’re spending our taxpayer dollars on this lawlessness and cruelty while at the same time cutting Medicaid and sending health insurance premiums through the roof. Gabe Evans has voted for this every step of the way. We’re going to fire him for this cruelty, and we are going to fix this broken system.IntroductionICE is acting as a lawless agency that is terrorizing our communities. We need a fundamental overhaul. Allowing violent, masked, and untrained agents to act with impunity is dangerous and un-American. Reform must start immediately, and it starts with banning masks, requiring body cameras with publicly accessible footage, and restoring schools, churches, and courthouses as protected areas again. And it means that agents who break the law must be held accountable.The Colorado ImpactDisruption at Schools and at HomeThere have been reports about attendance in schools throughout Adams County, Denver Public Schools, and surrounding districts dropping when rumors of raids circulate.Federal agents left behind “death cards” after capturing immigrantsICE agents dropped customized ace of spades playing cards, which have been used by white supremacist groups.ICE arrests are accelerating in Colorado even though we do not make the nightly news. This is happening here, particularly in Adams County.I am hearing from parents who are sending their children to school with birth certificates and passports, and of restaurants losing employees and customers for fear of racial profiling. This is not who we are as Americans.ICE arrested more than 3,500 people in Colorado in 2025 — including babies and the elderly.Shannon’s Plan:Universal body camerasMandate that all field agents wear body cameras.Body camera footage needs to be readily available to the public and must not be used for surveillance of Americans.Identifiable and vetted officersAll officers wear badges with identifying numbers.Require clear identification by eliminating the use of face masks.Clear uniform standards for identification.All vehicles are clearly marked as ICE.Implement thorough background checks on ICE personnel.Privacy and protected areasRequire a judicial warrant for arrests.Stop ICE from purchasing or accessing commercial license plate reader data without a warrant.Reinstate protected areas at schools, hospitals, places of worship, court houses, and playgrounds.Require changes to ICE training and operations Pass The Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act. This bill would:Set clear use-of-force standards by limiting deadly force to situations where there is “no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative.”Require federal immigration personnel to intervene and report if they witness other personnel using excessive force.Strengthen mandatory training, update agencies’ use-of-force policies, de-escalation guidance, and camera compliance protocols, and mandate annual training on use-of-force, de-escalation, First and Fourth Amendment rights, preventing racial profiling, and duties to render medical aid.Restrict the use of certain prohibited equipment such as tear gas, flash-bangs, and pepper balls.Ban the smashing of car windows.Require body-worn and vehicle cameras for immigration law enforcement.Establish a biannual requirement for DHS and DOJ to report on force incidents, assaults, mask/uniform use, and impersonations, and create DHS databases documenting use of force, significant incidents, civil rights allegations, and training/certification for restricted equipment.Ensure accountability and coordination by requiring DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the DHS Office of Inspector General, and DOJ Office of the Inspector General to investigate policy violations and by requiring advance notice to state and local authorities before operations for coordination and public safety response.Preventing inhumane conditions at detention facilitiesEnsure the right to legal counselHold officials accountable for detention center abuses.New leadership and accountabilityShannon called for Kristi Noem to be fired in January, but just because Noem is gone, Shannon knows the work to hold ICE accountable every day doesn’t stop.Fire Tom Homan.Put someone in charge with a police background, not a politician.Protecting Our Health Care & Reproductive RightsGabe Evans and Donald Trump have relentlessly attacked our healthcare and our freedoms. Evans even said that he supports a federal abortion ban that would override our rights here in Colorado. And he voted for steep cuts to Medicaid, stood by and did nothing as health insurance costs skyrocketed, and voted to defund Planned Parenthood.Thanks to Evans, nearly 30,000 people in our area will lose healthcare coverage. That’s just wrong. Unlike Gabe Evans, I’ve voted to protect and expand access to health care. In the Colorado legislature, I took on the big insurance companies and passed a law that required them to authorize care for patients right away, instead of delaying care and access to critical prescription medications for weeks by burying you and your doctor under mountains of paperwork.I’ve also voted to protect and expand care by capping insulin costs, ensuring community health centers have the funding they need, and supporting our rural hospitals and doctors. And I have a 100% pro-choice voting record and will always defend your freedom to choose when and whether you want to start or grow your family.Here’s how I’ll protect and expand health care in Congress:Work to reverse the steep Medicare and Medicaid cuts in Gabe Evans’ budget law, which may force nursing homes to close and make it harder for Medicare providers, especially in rural areas, to provide care.Add vision, dental, and hearing coverage to Medicare.Expand the government’s ability to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.Lower health care premiums on the Connect for Colorado Health Exchange.Restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood.Restore federal protections for abortion rights and fight back against Republican attempts to restrict abortion and birth control access.Increase reimbursement rates for Medicare providers, allowing providers to stay open.Reverse Trump’s cuts – which Gabe Evans has stayed silent on – to federally-funded research for serious diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and more.Require insurers to fully cover childbirth.Creating Good-Paying JobsGrowing up in a low-income family, I know the value of a strong economy and a good paying job, and I’m proud to be one of the most labor-endorsed congressional candidates in the nation. That’s why I’ve worked to boost job training here in Colorado, so that everyone has the opportunity to get ahead. In the legislature, I’ve brought together labor and business to increase funding for apprenticeship programs and support emerging industries in our state, and I also authored a law to make it easier for military spouses to find jobs. In Congress, I’ll continue this work by:Increasing apprenticeship programs and trade education at community colleges.Restoring the clean energy tax credits that Gabe Evans repealed so that clean energy facilities and factories open in our district.Supporting our small businesses by modernizing the Small Business Administration so that the SBA actually works for our communities. Ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.Boost funding for our federal antitrust agencies so that large corporate players play by the rules and don’t squeeze Main Street.Passing the PRO Act.Protecting our farmers and ag industry by repealing Trump’s tariffs that have devastated export markets.Supporting Our SeniorsSocial Security and Medicare are a sacred promise for every American. Gabe Evans’s budget law cut $500 million from Medicare, and put nursing homes in jeopardy of closing with steep Medicaid cuts. That is completely unacceptable. In Congress, I will work to:Reverse the steep Medicare and Medicaid cuts in Gabe Evans’ budget law, which may force nursing homes to close and make it harder for Medicare providers, especially in rural areas, to provide care.Add vision, dental, and hearing coverage to Medicare.Expand the government’s ability to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.Increase reimbursement rates for Medicare providers, allowing providers to stay open.Safeguard Social Security for generations to come by shoring up the trust fund. Under no circumstances should we be cutting Social Security.Strengthening Our Education SystemGrowing up in a working class family, I know that a strong education is transformative for our kids and families. The promise my teachers saw in me led me to become the first person in my immediate family to graduate from college. I got my start in public service by volunteering in my kids’ classrooms in the Adams 12 Five Star School District, and in the legislature, I passed the law that fully funded Colorado’s public schools for the first time in over a decade. I also passed the law that made community college and the first two years of Colorado public universities free for families who earn less than $90k a year, and expanded access to apprenticeships and trade education.In Congress, I’ll continue to strengthen our schools, from Pre-K to higher education. That’s why I’ll work to:Ensure Colorado gets our fair share of federal education dollars. When the Trump administration temporarily froze $70 million in education funding to Colorado, Gabe Evans stayed silent. I’ll always fight for Colorado taxpayers and bring your hard-earned dollars home.Expand funding for early childhood education programs like Head Start.Increase Pell Grant funding, and allow student loan borrowers to refinance their loans.Reverse the Trump Administration's new limitations on student loans for critical professions so that students from all income levels can have the opportunity to earn the necessary credentials and compete for these jobs.Reverse the Trump Administration’s wind down of the Department of Education. Reforming Our Broken Immigration SystemOur immigration system is broken and in need of serious reform. We are both a nation of laws and of immigrants. Many immigrant communities call our district home, and many are living in fear right now. It’s heartbreaking and horrifying to hear frequent stories from constituents who send their kids to school with passports or birth certificates, and from small businesses that are hurting because their customers are afraid of being racially profiled. Gabe Evans told us he supported deporting criminals – but he’s doing nothing as ICE enforcement sweeps up U.S. citizens and grandmas and as ICE shoots and kills law-abiding citizens.Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community, and we need to ensure that we have an orderly system that allows people who want to work and contribute to our communities to come here legally while preventing those who wish harm on Americans from entering. To do that, we need to shore up our southern border to prevent human trafficking, the flow of drugs and weapons. The following principles should be key to our immigration reform efforts:Passing the DREAM Act to provide a pathway to citizenship for people who were brought to the U.S. as children.Ending abusive immigration enforcement practices that are sweeping up American citizens and creating fear across our district, instead of targeting violent offenders and making communities safer. Read my plan to keep our communities safe and bring accountability to ICE here.Reforming the U.S. asylum system to, among other things, expedite processing of asylum claims, prevent fraud and deter false claims.Fully securing our southern border, including funding border agents and using technological enhancements to detect fentanyl, weapons, human smuggling, and other illicit activities. Increasing funding for immigration judges so we can rapidly process asylum claims.Making it easier for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers to immigrate to the U.S. to ease our rural healthcare provider shortage.Protecting Our Democracy & Ending Government CorruptionToo many elected officials view public service as a way to enrich themselves, not to serve their communities. We need to reform the system to rebuild trust in our government. I don’t take contributions from corporate PACs, because I want to be accountable to the people I serve, not large corporations. I’ve taken the Unrig Washington pledge to tackle corruption. To make the system work better for all of us, I support:Banning members of Congress and their spouses from owning or trading individual stocks.Enacting meaningful campaign finance reform to get big money out of politics.Passing a federal law to ban gerrymandering.Requiring federal judges to abide by a binding code of ethics.Increasing fines for violations of campaign finance and ethics laws.— Shannon Bird's campaign website (April 29, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Shannon Bird did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Shannon Bird did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Shannon Bird is the Colorado State House Representative running for re-election in the new House District 29 serving Westminster communities in both Adams and Jefferson Counties. Shannon grew up in Nevada and came to Colorado to study economics at CU Boulder. After graduation, Shannon attended CU Denver obtaining a masters degree in Finance and an MBA, and then law school at Denver University. Shannon has a strong professional background in finance having practiced corporate, commercial and public finance law. She served on the Westminster City Council for three years and has become known at the state capitol for her work on supporting small businesses, affordable housing, public safety, retirement and pension programs (PERA), and K-12 education.

In the 2022 Colorado State Legislature, Representative Bird sponsored bills on issues ranging from the theft of catalytic converters and saving for retirement, to housing tax credits and decreasing fees for small business owners. The focus of Representative Bird’s legislation this past session included work on public safety, education and Colorado’s economy and jobs.

Representative Bird currently serves as the Chair of the House Finance Committee, serves on the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee, the Tax Policy Oversight Interim Committee, the Pension Review Commission and Pension Review Subcommittee.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Rep. Shannon Bird has worked hard to cut government red tape, create jobs and help grow a thriving business economy here in Colorado. That’s why Shannon created the Small Business Recovery Loan Program and the Innovative Industries Workforce Development Grant to help Colorado businesses and removed red tape from credentialing programs so people can get out into the workforce faster.Rep. Shannon Bird has a common-sense record on public safety; supporting strict police accountability, requiring safe gun storage, school safety regulations, and making sure law enforcement has the resources and support necessary to do their jobs.Rep. Shannon Bird knows that everything starts in the classroom and believes that every child deserves access to a high quality public education. This includes access to pre-k and investment in both college prep as well as education in the trades. Her legislative work has boosted mental health services for students and new investments in teacher supports.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public education is a policy area that I am personally passionate about. My service to the community began when I volunteered in my children's kindergarten classrooms. I grew my service to become the citizen chair for a school district bond campaign. With a group of dedicated volunteers and friends, we later co-founded the Adams 12 Community Action Network (CAN). Recently in the legislature I passed a law to prevent local taxation of school construction materials, which will save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars on school construction and maintenance. I also passed a law to require a first ever audit of all of the standardized tests that the state requires K-12 students to take - to determine whether the tests are actually helping kids and making public education better.

I have been a strong supporter of public education and was awarded the Colorado Association of School Boards Legislative Excellence Award, the Colorado Association of School Executives CASEY Award and have twice been given the Public Education Champion Award by the Colorado Education Association.

Shannon Bird did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.