Lawmakers took a break from their work on March 11, to pay tribute to a former legislative leader.

Members from both chambers of the General Assembly came together to remember Ken Gordon, a Denver Democrat who died of a heart attack in December at the age of 63.

Gordon, a former state public defender, served in the House from 1992 to 2000 and was House minority leader for two years before being elected to the Senate, where he became that chamber’s majority leader in his final year of office in 2008.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle lauded Gordon as an ethical and fair man and a revered party leader.

“He believed very much in what we do here under this gold dome and how it impacted the lives of everyone in this state,” said Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver.