Gov.-elect Phil Weiser announced four Cabinet selections on Nov. 10, including former Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt to lead rural advancement and Dominick Moreno to direct the governor’s state planning and budget office. Moreno previously accepted an appointment as deputy chief of staff to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, according to Weiser’s transition announcement.
Weiser also selected Republican Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson for agriculture commissioner and Scott Steinbrecher for senior director of water policy. Simpson will be nominated and would lead the Colorado Department of Agriculture upon confirmation, the announcement said.
The transition team said the selections fulfill a campaign commitment to make the rural advancement director and water adviser Cabinet-level positions. Steinbrecher’s role will coordinate water policy planning and implementation across state government, with attention to infrastructure and priorities shared by urban and rural communities.
Fort Collins elected Arndt mayor in 2021 and returned her to the job in 2023. Her earlier work in the state House covered District 53 between 2015 and 2021. That period included a caucus leadership position and responsibility for an agriculture, natural-resources and water committee.
According to the announcement, Arndt holds a master’s degree in geography from the University of Colorado Boulder and a master’s in special education from Purdue University.
Moreno’s earlier budget work was in the Legislature. Before this selection for the executive budget office, he twice chaired the Joint Budget Committee, which handles the Legislature’s annual balancing work. His Senate majority-leader tenure ran from February 2022 to September 2023; the Denver appointment followed.
Moreno was elected to the Commerce City council at age 24 and was its youngest member, the transition team said. He served two terms in the Colorado House before his election to the state Senate in 2016.
Simpson has represented Alamosa and southwest Colorado in the Senate since 2021 and became Senate Republican leader in 2025. He returned to the San Luis Valley with his wife in 2014 to help his father run the family’s farming and ranching operations, and has managed the Rio Grande Water Conservation District since 2016.
Steinbrecher is deputy attorney general for natural resources and environment, where he oversees 70 lawyers and staff representing agencies in two state departments. The announcement said he has advised the attorney general on water policy and litigation, represented Colorado in interstate compact negotiations and disputes, and led 15 attorneys representing state water officials.
