THE HONORABLE SCOTT MCINNIS was born on May 9, 1953 in Glenwood Springs, CO and graduated from Glenwood Springs High School. He began his academic career at Mesa College in Grand Junction, Colorado in 1975, and received a B.A. in Business Administration from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. He then earned a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1980. In 1983, McInnis was elected to the Colorado State House of Representatives, a position he held until 1992. In his final year, he served as Majority Leader. He moved on to the U.S. House of Representatives where he represented Colorado’s 3rd District for six terms until 2005. 

During his career, Representative McInnis worked as Director of Personnel at the Holy Cross Electric Association and Director of Valley View Hospital. He also served as a police officer in Glenwood Springs, CO and as a volunteer firefighter. As of 2018, Representative McInnis serves as Mesa County Commissioner in Colorado.

Many lauded Representative McInnis’s public service. The Glenwood Post in 1999 recognized him as the “Person of the Decade” and The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel named him the “Best Local Government Official” from 1999–2003. His extensive list of awards include the following: Colorado Association of Homebuilders’ Award for Government Service, Legislator of the Year Award from the Colorado Wildlife Federation, Golden Bulldog Award from Watchdogs of the Treasury, National Security Leadership Award from the American Security Council, Sound Dollar Award from the Free Congress Foundation, Spirit of Free Enterprise Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Hero of the Taxpayer Award from the Americans for Tax Reform, Taxfighter Award from the National Tax Limitation Committee, and Friend of Farm Bureau award from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

By John Cadena, St. Mary’s University Law Fellows in Public History (2018).

References:

Mesa County, Scott McInnis, https://www.mesacounty.us/commissioners/board-members/scott-mcinnis/.

Hogan Lovells, Scott McInnis, https://web.archive.org/web/20100720071643/http://www.hoganlovells.com/scott-mcinnis/.

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Scott McInnis, (May 8, 2018, 18:34), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scott_McInnis&oldid=840256309.