Dennis J. Gallagher

Dennis Joseph Gallagher (July 1, 1939 – April 22, 2022) was an American politician.

Gallagher was born in Denver, Colorado in 1939.^[1][2] He graduated from Regis University in 1961 with a bachelor's degree and from Catholic University of America in 1967, with a master's degree.^[3][4] Gallagher also went to the Harvard Kennedy School.^[5] He served on the Denver City Council, from 1995 to 2014,^[5] in the Colorado House of Representatives, from 1970 to 1974 and the Colorado Senate from 1974 to 1994. He drafted what was known as the Gallagher Amendment, a state constitutional change that set the balance of property taxes until its repeal in 2020. He also served as the Denver City Auditor from 2003 to 2014 and was a Democrat.^[1][6]

Gallagher was of Irish descent and a co-author of the book Irish Denver in the Images of America series from Arcadia Publishing. He raised a son, Danny, and a daughter, Meaghan, who died in December 2000.^[1][6]