his own campaign. McCluskey targeted Kefalas with a direct mail advertisement blaming Kefalas and the Democratic state legislature for high gasoline prices, a tactic Kefalas dismissed as "negative campaigning." Kefalas also condemned independent ads attacking McCluskey's legislative record as having "crossed the line of civility." The 527 group Accountability for Colorado also spent over $50,000 in support of Kefalas' re-election, including mailers attacking McCluskey's legislative record; Kefalas also expressed disapproval of these advertisements. McCluskey's bid to unseat Kefalas was endorsed by the Denver Post, while Kefalas was endorsed by the Windsor Beacon and the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Kefalas ultimately won a second term with about 59 percent of the popular vote, becoming the first Democrat to win re-election in the east Fort Collins district since 1936. 2009 legislative session For the 2009 legislative session, Kefalas was named to seats on the House Appropriations Committee, the House Finance Committee, and the House Health and Human Services Committee. Kefalas has named health care reform as his top priority and planned on introducing legislation to create a single-payer universal health care system in Colorado during the 2009 session. The bill was introduced as a proposal to create a 23-member commission to make recommendations as to how to implement a single-payer system, and was reported favorably out of a House committee. However, Kefalas was one vote short of the 33 necessary to pass the legislation out of the house, and in April, asked that the legislation be killed. Kefalas also sponsored the Colorado Innovation Investment Tax Credit, legislation to create $750,000 in tax credits for angel investors in startup companies, to increase support for job training programs, and to create a Colorado Railroad Authority to begin planning for statewide passenger rail service. Kefalas also sponsored legislation to create an Economic Opportunity/Poverty Reduction Task Force, which he chaired following the regular session. The committee's objective is to develop plans to reduce Colorado's poverty rate by half in ten years, examining a broad range of issues from economic development to education to transportation to tax policy, and it considered potential legislation on topics ranging from the earned income tax credit to rent control. Following the legislation session, Kefalas was the only male legislator honored with the Colorado Lawmakers Award by the Denver Women's Commission and the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce. 2010 election In August 2009, Kefalas announced his intention to seek a third term in