And now you can call Rep. Frank McNulty by another name — Daddy.
The Highlands Ranch Republican and his wife Shannon are the oh-so-proud parents of a baby girl, Victoria Marie, born at 7:17 p.m. Monday night. The baby weighed 7 pounds and 13 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.
Shannon McNulty, a lobbyist, was one of a number of pregnant women at the Gold Dome, the second time in two years the Capitol has been on baby watch.
“Can I just say I spend more time talking in the Capitol bathroom with pregnant women than I do in my prenatal yoga class,” said Colorado Public Radio reporter Megan Verlee, who is due with her first child, a girl, on July 15. “It’s ridiculous.”
In addition to McNulty and Verlee, here are some of the other Capitol folks who are expecting in the next few weeks or months:
Bente Birkland, Rocky Mountain Public Radio, due April 12 with her second child, a boy.
Elizabeth Burger, Legislative Council staffer, due April 22 with her first child, a boy.
Julia Jackson, Legislative Council staffer, due June 13, with her first child, a boy.
Rachel Lee, lobbyist, due June 2 with her second child, a boy.
Heidi Wagner Morgan, lobbyist, due Aug. 7, with her second child, a boy.
Susanna Morris, lobbyist, due Sept. 10, with her first. “We’re not finding out if it is a boy or a girl,” she said.
Melissa Osse, lobbyist, due April 15 with her second child, a boy.
Jenn Penn, lobbyist, due May 30th with her first child, a girl.
Amy Robertson, lobbyist, due Aug. 26 with her first child. She isn’t finding out the sex.
Kirsten Schuchman, lobbyist, due Sept. 2 with her second child. She doesn’t know the sex.
Ethnie Treick, lobbyist, due May 11 with her second child, a boy.
Garin Vorthmann, lobbyist, due Aug. 17 with her first child. She doesn’t want to know the sex but her husband does. No decision yet on whether to take a look.
And check out this story from 2001. It’s amazing how many of the women in this article still work under the Gold Dome.
By Lynn Bartels
Rocky Mountain NewsAnd baby makes – a quorum?
The hottest topic at the Capitol these days is growth, yes, but a special kind of growth.
Pregnant lobbyists, pregnant staffers, pregnant lawmakers, pregnant wives of lawmakers, it seems like they’re everywhere.
“People keep saying there must be something in the water,” said lobbyist Jennifer Miles, who is expecting her first child, a girl, in July.
Rep. Todd Saliman, D-Boulder, saw his wife’s April 19 due date come and go.
Saliman sits on the Joint Budget Committee, and lawmakers joked that his wife, Michelle, planned to hold off until the budget passed. Lawmakers approved the budget Monday, clearing the decks for Saliman’s first child.
JBC staffer Eric Kurtz’s wife, Jeannette Chapman, also missed her April 19 due date. Chapman, who works for the legislative council, said she’s not surprised because their first baby was six days late.
Another JBC staffer, Wendi Mahoney is due in July, while legislative economist Natalie Mullis’ due date is September. Other pregnant lobbyists include Ruth Aponte and Julie McKenna, who are due in June, and Mary Kay Hogan, with a September date.
Jeani Frickey Saito, who lobbies for Colorado’s farmers and ranchers, said it’s wonderful to have so much company. She is expecting her second child, a girl, on July 30. She recalls being one of the few – if not the only – pregnant woman at the Capitol two years ago.
Rep. Pam Rhodes, R-Thornton, who is expecting Ryan David or Abigail Jo in October, is just now beginning to show. But she said her colleagues are already poking fun of how she’ll look when the legislature meets for a special session in September.
“I’ll be so hot I’ll have to have a fan on my desk the whole time,” she said.
Lobbyist Fofi Mendez beat the heat. She delivered Ayla Marie Schulv on April 12. The baby’s grandmother, lobbyist Flo Mendez, reports mother and daughter are fine.
Sen. Bill Thiebaut, D-Pueblo, who knows a little something about a baby boom, is happy for everyone, but he wants to make one thing clear:
“Let it be known that we are not pregnant,” said Thiebaut, the father of 15.
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lbartels@denverpost.com