A Democratic House District 31 vacancy committee on Thursday selected Julia Marvin of Thornton to replace former Democratic Rep. Said Sharbini.

Sharbini, who served one year in the House after being elected to his first term in 2022, resigned in December, citing financial pressures and the toxic environment of the state House.

The 17-member vacancy committee drew 16 participants on Thursday, including Sharbini.

Two candidates competed for the HD31 seat: Julia Marvin and Jacqueline Phillips. Both have filed to run for the seat for the 2024 election.

Marvin won on the first ballot with 9 votes. 

Phillips and Marvin are both from Thornton and both have served on the Thornton City Council. Marvin won a seat on the council in 2019 and ran for mayor, unsuccessfully, last year. She earned a degree in news broadcasting and political science from the University of Colorado Boulder and has worked as a legislative aide at the state Capitol.

She currently works in marketing and public outreach.

Phillips, an attorney, specializes in special education law. She earned her law degree from the University of Denver and a doctorate in special education, focused on emotional and behavioral disorders, from the University of Northern Colorado. She’s also taught special education at several colleges, both in Colorado and Hawaii.

Phillips served on the council from 2015 to 2022, but was removed by the council in 2022 for failure to meet residency requirements, which she claims was politically motivated by a “bully bloc” on the council.

She told Colorado Politics she had a one-year contract in Alamosa but that she maintained her residence in Thornton. 

The Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel reported in December that she had purchased a home in Alamosa for the duration of that contract, and that led to the 5-3 decision to remove her from the council.

During a candidates’ forum prior to the election, the candidates were asked about how they would deal with people with whom they disagree. Both Marvin and Phillips noted the contentious nature of the Thornton City Council. They also spoke about the community’s need for multi-family affordable housing.

Phillips noted the issue of local control, which was a key provision in the 2023 legislation that failed at the end of the 2023 session. Marvin pointed out that transit-oriented development isn’t quite ready for her community without the completion of light rail and other transit projects for the north metro area. 

Dani Dawes Cox nominated Marvin, with Roberta Ayala seconding the nomination.

Phillips’ nomination was presented by Darlene Olguin, with a second from Seyed Kalantar. 

Once sworn in, Marvin will become the 29th current lawmaker initially selected by a vacancy committee for the state legislature instead of being elected by district voters. Each district represents about 77,000 Coloradans.