William F. "Bill" Owens (born October 22, 1950) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He currently serves as the 40th Governor of Colorado.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas and a practicing Catholic, Owens earned a Master's degree in public administration from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. He is an expert in Soviet affairs and writes and lectures often on Russia. He has been married for almost 30 years (though currently separated) and has three children. Before his political career, Owens worked for 20 years in the private sector as a consultant with Deloitte and Touche, with the Gates Corporation, and as director of a trade association.

Owens served as a member of Colorado state house of representatives from 1982 to 1988 and Colorado state treasurer from 1995 to 1999. Since 1999, he has served as the 40th Governor of Colorado. In the 1998 governor's race, he defeated his Democratic opponent, Gail Schoettler , in a very close election (they both received about 49% of the vote). He won the 2002 governor's race by defeating the Democratic candidate, Rollie Heath , 63%-33%, the greatest majority in Colorado history.

In 2002 he was proclaimed by the National Review, a conservative political magazine, as the "best governor in the U.S." [1] As governor, he led Colorado's largest tax relief package in history. Some of his fiscal accomplishments include $1 billion in cuts in rates of sales, personal income, and capital gains taxes, and the elimination of the marriage penalty. After these cuts, Colorado faced a downturn in the economy and struggled to maintain the same level of state services. More recently, the Colorado economy seems to on the rebound, and the state has experienced strong gains in employment. He improved academic results and reformed Colorado's schools by publicly benchmarking schools using an accountability system that included detailed, on-line school report cards. [2]

Following the retirement announcement of U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, Governor Owens briefly considered running for the open seat, but ultimately decided against it. Leading up to the 2004 primary, Owens caused some controversy in the Republican Party by announcing support for Bob Schaffer's run to replace Campbell, but then endorsing Pete Coors when Coors announced his entry into the race.

Owens has also been mentioned as a potential nominee to the Cabinet of President George W. Bush in Bush's second term. Owens has said he expects to remain governor, but he also has not categorically ruled out the possibility of accepting a Cabinet nomination. Such a nomination may be less likely after the defeat of Coors in the general election. Owens has described his politics as mostly conservative with some libertarian influences. He is widely considered to be a possible candidate for President of the United States, or a possible nominee for Vice President in 2008 or 2012.

External links

• Gov. Bill Owens website
• Colorado Governor shows us how to run a state
• Video and transcript of Owens discussing President Bush's policies
• Video: Howard Dean and Governor Bill Owens (R-CO), debate the USA PATRIOT Act, August 9, 2004 (RealPlayer required)
• Bill Owens is a superstar, by The Scotman
• America's Best Governor: For Republicans, a Rocky Mountain high - Bill Owens