Dennis Gallagher, the Colorado politico and eponym of the Gallagher Amendment whose political career spanned five decades, has died at age 82.
Gallagher was known as a warm social butterfly who had a genuine interest in helping the communities he was elected to serve.
He understood "you can be successful alone, but it's so much more rewarding to be successful in a community," said Gallagher's son, Danny, in an interview Saturday.
"Truly in his heart, he wanted to make people's lives better. He didn't care what side of the aisle you were on."
He died in his sleep Friday night, his family confirmed. Gallagher's longtime friend Tom Noel wrote in an obituary Gallagher had been struggling with heart problems.
He served two terms in Colorado's House of Representatives after his election in 1970, followed by 20 years in the Senate.
Gov. John Hickenlooper, right, and former state Sen. Dennis Gallagher, D-Denver, watch as Gallagher is roasted by longtime friends at an event celebrating his decades in public service on July 21, 2015, at the Sons of Italy hall in Wheat Ridge. (Ernest Luning/Colorado Politics)
Gallagher represented District One on Denver City Council for two terms from 1995 to 2003 before being elected as the city auditor in 2003.
Those close to Gallagher praised him for his deep involvement with the communities he was connected to and his care for marginalized people.
"Those of us who rarely, if ever, hear from or see our representatives can only envy the residents of Northwest and Central Denver. They have been represented by one of the biggest and most visible legislators of all," reads the obituary by Noel, a historian and professor at CU Denver, which he provided to The Denver Gazette.
Former Denver mayoral candidate Penfield Tate, left, speaks with Dennis Gallagher, former Denver city auditor and city councilman, during the watch party for Denver mayoral runoff candidate Jamie Giellis at Ophelia's Electric Soapbox on June 4, 2019 in Denver. Photo by Andy Colwell, special to Colorado Politics
Noel said in an interview that Gallagher had a genuine interest in reaching out to marginalized populations, such as people of color, immigrants and low-income people, without an expectation that they would benefit his political campaigns financially.
"He said the main thing about being in office is you just have to listen to people. ... Many people he helped weren't in a position to ever give him any contributions."
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock tweeted that Gallagher was a "large presence" in the city.
"For decades, his public service was reflected every day -- not just for his beloved Northside -- but for the benefit of our entire city. ... We've lost a storied Denver public servant."
Dennis Gallagher was a large presence in Denver. For decades, his public service was reflected every day — not just for his beloved Northside, — but for the benefit of our entire city. He possessed a sharp wit that was quick with an Irish phrase in any situation. (1/2)
— Michael B. Hancock (@MayorHancock) April 23, 2022
In 2019 Gallagher chaired the campaign of Jamie Giellis, who sought to unseat Hancock. She tweeted Saturday that Denver "lost a giant, a champion for good, and an incredibly kind soul. ... Thank you for letting me stand on your shoulders."
Mayoral candidate Jamie Giellis supporters Dennis Gallagher and Rob Hernandez, both former Democratic state senators from Denver, discuss the impending run-off between Giellis and two-term Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, at the Ramble Hotel in Denver's Upper Larimer Neighborhood.
As auditor Gallagher wrote a letter to the director of the Colorado Department of Transportation in 2014 blasting the controversial expansion of Interstate 70 through North Denver. Gallagher said in the letter spending money on the project that he argued would become obsolete as environmental and social factors shifted people away from reliance on cars and trucks for transportation was a "wasteful expenditure" of tax dollars.
He also wrote the demolition of dozens of homes required for the project echoed the original I-70 construction's treatment of residents in Denver's Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods -- which the construction of the highway split apart -- as "second class citizens."
Noel said Gallagher never wavered in his opposition to the I-70 expansion.
"He thought the irony of it was the city keeps talking about housing for the poor, and that's exactly what you had there being erased. Those were low-income homeowners, in many cases."
"He was fighting to say, we don't always need to build a highway," Danny Gallagher said. "Sometimes we just need to let people live next to one another."
Perhaps Gallagher's most visible political legacy is his sponsorship of the Gallagher Amendment, a voter-approved change to the Colorado Constitution enacted in 1982.The amendment changed how property taxes are assessed by mandating that 45% of statewide property tax collections had to come from residential property, and 55% of revenue came from non-residential property.
The amendment was intended to lessen the burden of property taxes on homeowners at the time.
"That was his real sincere interest in ordinary folks," Noel said.
But over the years the Gallagher Amendment had an unplanned effect of strapping local governments for funds, especially for schools, as it intersected with the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. It required the state legislature to lower the assessment rate for residential property to keep revenue in line with the Gallagher Amendment's ratio, and the TABOR provision that requires voters to approve tax increases meant the assessment rate couldn't be raised again without a vote.
Voters repealed the Gallagher Amendment in 2020.
Noel said Gallagher was sorry for the unintended impacts of the amendment. Though Gallagher wasn't surprised at the repeal, he felt there there could have been alternative solutions.
Gallagher stayed involved outside his political career with the communities he was connected to. He taught at his alma mater Regis University for more than four decades.
He also celebrated his Irish heritage, serving as Grand Marshal of Denver's St. Patrick's Day Parade. He took his students on summer trips to Ireland, using his political connections to introduce them to high-ranking officials in the country.
Dennis Gallagher with the James Joyce Society float in a St. Patrick's Day Parade.
"He had that Irish disrespect, shall we say, for the English," Noel joked.
Danny Gallagher said his father's heritage influenced his desire to help marginalized people because of the discrimination and hardships people of Irish descent still faced in the U.S. when he was young.
"They think about Irish culture and heritage differently, because throughout history it's been taken away. .. Those struggles can inform who you become," Danny said.
Remembrances poured in on social media.
"Dennis was such a wealth of knowledge, humor and stories. He was brilliant and kind," wrote former Colorado Rep. Joe Salazar on the Facebook post announcing Gallagher's death.
"A true Denver original, with a heart as big as the world," another comment read.
"His knowledge and love for Denver inspired me my entire life," tweeted current District One Councilmember Amanda Sandoval.
"With Dennis gone, who will enlighten city council and legislative journals with quotations from poets such as William Shakespeare and Gerard Manly Hopkins?" Noel wrote. "To those who think no politician can be honest, Dennis Gallagher was the answer."
Dennis Gallagher with his then-wife JoAnne, daughter Meaghan and son Danny.
Gallagher had two children, Danny and Meaghan, with his former wife JoAnne. Meaghan Gallagher previously passed away at age 19.
He is also survived by his brother, Tim.
Danny Gallagher said he's comforted by knowing his father is joining Meaghan and his own parents, William and Nellie.
"It's nice to know he's joining some friends and family on the other side."
