DENVER — As the regular 2025 Colorado legislative session winds down for the year, it appears that “mean girls” behavior — as one female state representative calls it — is on full display with a pair of majority Democrat state senators trying to kick two GOP state representatives out of a recent contentious Senate hearing.
In a video obtained by Complete Colorado, Denver Democrat Sen. Julie Gonzales, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told El Paso County Republican Rep. Rebecca Keltie, that she should go back to her own chamber.
Although Gonzales starts out with a comment that appears to be welcoming by saying “I know and appreciate that we are being joined by a member of the House,” her demeanor changes quickly.
“Doesn’t the House have House things to go House about,” she said while making a “shooing” motion with her hand. “Can you please send over our bills? Thank you. Bye!”
Keltie told Complete Colorado, she felt completely disrespected by Gonzales and after her comments, which Keltie called “extremely condescending,” Democrats in the room began laughing and disrupting the proceedings to the point that the Sergeant at Arms had to go quiet them down.
“They come to ours all of the time,” Keltie said. “Gonzales is in and out of the Joint Budget Committee. At first, I looked at her and thought she was joking, but there was no smile and the flick of her hand just got to me.”
Keltie who is a freshman legislator and one of three Republicans to win back seats held previously by Democrats — the very seats that ended a Democrat super-majority in the House — immediately went and found the Assistant Minority Leader, Southern Colorado Republican Ty Winter, to find out if she did something wrong.
“I’m a freshman legislator,” she said. “I didn’t know if maybe I missed a rule that said I couldn’t be in there.”
There are no rules that prohibit a legislator from one chamber from being present in the other chamber. In fact, the House had concluded its business for the day and Keltie went into the House Bill 25-1312 committee hearing because a friend of hers was waiting to testify on House Bill 1312, that prior to amendments would have given courts the ability to remove children from their homes if parents did not support a child’s wishes to transition to another gender.
More than 700 people signed up to testify on the bill, including Keltie’s friend.
“I went over there to take her some snacks,” Keltie said. “She had been sitting there all day.”
After Keltie questioned Winter about the policy, the two went back to the Senate hearing, where, according to Keltie, Sen. Faith Winter, D-Adams County, then attempted to kick Ty Winter out as well.
Keltie said this was not the first time she has felt like she was being targeted by majority Democrats, calling it the “mean girls” attitude.
Keltie said she is just ashamed by the actions of Democrats in the final weeks of the session.
“I’m so grateful that one of the individuals was recording it, otherwise no one would have believed me this could happen,” Keltie said. “I didn’t do anything wrong. It was embarrassing. I was there because these are my people, and I’m not going to turn my back on them. I have every right to be here.”
Complete Colorado has reached out to both Gonzales and Senate Majority Leader James Coleman for comment, but had not heard back at press time. We will update the story as necessary.
