Joe Jefferson is a Colorado native who grew up in the City of Englewood. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in 2002 and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver in 2008. Judge Jefferson was admitted to the Colorado bar in 2009 and the U.S. District Court, District of Colorado in 2011. He was the Principal Attorney of the Jefferson Legal Group, P.C. in Englewood from 2009 to 2018 and his family owned and operated the Twin Dragon Restaurant, which proudly served the Englewood community for over 47 years.

Judge Jefferson served on Englewood City Council from 2007 to 2018, representing Council District 1, and served as mayor from 2015 to 2018. Mayor Jefferson was the first known Chinese American mayor in Colorado history. He was elected as Englewood’s Presiding Municipal Judge in November of 2017 as the only truly publicly elected judge in Colorado. Judge Jefferson transitioned from mayor to presiding judge in January 2018.

Joe helps mentor local youth and encourages understanding of and participation in American civics and law.