 Born: September 6, 1956
Birth State: Colorado
Party: Democrat
Family: Married Jeannie Ritter; four children
School(s): Colorado State University; University of Colorado Law School
Address: 136 State Capitol
Denver, CO
80203
Phone: 303 866-2471
Fax: 303-866-2003
Governor's Web Site
State Web Site
Bill Ritter was born on September 6, 1956 in Colorado. He was raised on a farm east of Aurora, Colorado. He started working full time in construction at age 14 to help support his family. As a member of the local laborer's union, he continued working construction to pay his way through Colorado State University and the University of Colorado Law School. He earned his law degree in 1981 and was hired as a Denver Deputy District Attorney. In 1987, Ritter and his wife, Jeannie, began a three-year commitment to manage and expand a nutrition center in Zambia, Africa, where one-third of all children suffered from malnutrition. Returning home in 1990, Ritter worked as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office. In May 1992, Ritter returned to the District Attorney’s Office. In 1993, Governor Roy Romer appointed Ritter as Denver's District Attorney. He was elected to the position in 1994 and re-elected in 1996 and 2000. Ritter served as a vice president of the National Association of District Attorneys, Chairman of the American Prosecutors Research Institute, and on the board for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. Ritter has also served as chairman of the board of Promoting Alternatives to Violence through Education (Project PAVE), the Mile High United Way board, the Denver Foundation's Human Services Committee, and the Denver Public Schools Commission on Secondary School Reform. Ritter and his wife, who started dating when they were in high school together, now have four children. Jeannie is a long-term substitute teacher with Denver Public Schools. |
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