After nearly four months as a Colorado state senator, Steve Ward is enjoying new friends in the Legislature, while hoping for a little more “meat-and-potatoes” in the form of floor debate.

“The camaraderie here is great, and I love a good policy debate,” said Ward, a Littleton Republican, who was appointed last December to replace former GOP Sen. Jim F. Dyer, of Centennial.

“We have so few meaningful floor debates and should do more.”

Ward, 47, represents Senate District 26, which includes Arapahoe and Jefferson

counties. He serves on three Senate committees, which include Judiciary, Local Government and Health and Human Services.

During his time outside of the Capitol, the senator works as a businessman in real estate and construction development. He is also a U.S. Marine Corps colonel in the reserves.

Ward is a veteran of balancing numerous budgets as a former Arapahoe County commissioner and a one-time mayor of Glendale. He suggested that the budget process in the Legislature is “the most democratic I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s harder to game the budget here than in municipal government,” Ward said.

Ward’s efforts on House Bill 1325 have been his most rewarding so far in the General Assembly. The bill is to provide small businesses with a larger exemption from the business personal property tax, which many believe is the single biggest deterrent to new business growth.

“This bill is important to getting manufacturing jobs in Colorado,” Ward said. “It get rids of an unfair tax that undermines job creation.”

HB 1325 is awaiting debate in the state House of Representatives.

Family life is also a love of the senator. Ward and his wife of 21 years, Susan, share two children, Justin, who attends Auburn University in Alabama, and Jessica, a sophomore in high school.

In his free time, Ward is a buff of motorcycles. He owns a Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic and a Honda Reflex.

The senator is also a fan of SCUBA diving and flying airplanes.

“When I have the time and money, I love to fly,” he said.