Born in Holyoke, Colorado on 6 September 1966, and raised on his family's farm near Wray — both small towns in rural northeastern Colorado — Brophy graduated from Wray High School, where he competed in wrestling at the Colorado state championships and was a member of the Future Farmers of America. Brophy attended Colorado State University, where he graduated in 1988 with a degree in animal sciences. He is an avid cyclist, and he would "rather be out riding my bike anytime instead of playing golf." Brophy is married; he and his wife, Angela, have three children.
Early career
After graduating from college, Brophy returned to Wray to work as a professional farm manager with Progressive Agricultural Management, Inc., a position he held until 2000. He currently manages his family's farm, growing alfalfa, beans, corn, watermelons and wheat. In Brophy's early career, he was involved in leadership of the Colorado Farm Bureau and various other farm associations. In 1995 he competed in the American Farm Bureau discussion meet, and he was the Young Farmer and Rancher Chairman in 1996 and as well as a member of the State Board of Directors. Brophy also became a board member of the Yuma County Farm Bureau in 1994. From 2000 to 2002, Brophy was an area manager for United States SenatorWayne Allard.
In 2002, Brophy was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Republican from House District 63, representing a broad section of the Colorado Eastern Plains, including Cheyenne, Crowley, Kiowa, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Morgan, Washington, and Yuma Counties, as well as portions of rural eastern Adams County. During the 2002 election, Brophy was opposed only by Libertarian Gene Leverett. During his 2004 re-election campaign, he defeated Democrat James Bowen by a 3:1 margin.
Colorado Senate
2005 Appointment
In 2005, Brophy was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Colorado State Senate for Senate District 1, consisting of a broad section of northeastern Colorado. He was selected after his predecessor Mark Hillman was appointed to serve as Colorado's State Treasurer under then-Governor Bill Owens.
2006 Election
Brophy stood for election to a full four-year Senate term in 2006, again defeating Democrat James Bowen.
For the 67th General Assembly, Brophy served on the Senate Agriculture and Finance Committees. In 2010 Senator Brophy sponsored several pieces of legislation; one of his major bills, HB10-1254, sought to put in place a requirement for high school students. This measure would have required students in public high schools to achieve a certain score on a statewide assessment prior to graduation. However, HB10-1254 was assigned to the House Education Committee where it was postponed indefinitely.
2010 Election
Brophy sought re-election to the Senate District 1 seat, facing Democrat Michael Bowman in the elections. He defeated his opponent in the general election with 77% of the vote.
2011 Legislative Session
For the 68th General Assembly-including the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions, Brophy was assigned to the Senate Finance Committee, Legal Services Committee, and served as the ranking Republican on the Senate Agricultural Committee. Brophy proposed a piece of legislation in 2011 that permitted students to possess prescription drugs in schools. This bill, SB11-012, passed successfully through both chambers with a 94-3-3 vote before being signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper. In 2011, Senator Brophy was awarded the national State Legislative Award from CropLife America regarding his dedication to agricultural initiatives and measures that protect our American farmers.
2012 Legislative Session
Brophy was honored as being part of a group of legislators awarded with the "Common Sense in the Courtroom" award for 2012. This award from the Colorado Civil Justice League focuses on stopping lawsuit abuse while maintaining a fair civil justice system.
2013 Legislative Session
For the 2013 legislative session, Senator Brophy was appointed to the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy Committee, and acts as the ranking Republican member on the committee.
In 2009 Brophy registered his displeasure with the ACLU's proposed defense of an ILVTOFU proposed license plate by saying he might seek an ACLUSUX license plate. The ACLU responded that they would defend his right to that plate, to which Brophy asked if the ACLU would defend his right to have a Ten Commandments license plate. Colorado ACLU Executive Director Cathryn Hazouri sent Rep. Brophy a letter offering her support:
If you apply for that license and are refused, please contact the ACLU because we stand ready to represent you if you want to pursue your right to have that license plate... After all, censorship is censorship and the ACLU doesn't draw any distinction between speech with which we agree and speech we may not like. That would be content discrimination and would violate one of our major principles of protecting free speech.
