Sal is the youngest of nine children.  He grew up in a family of small business owners, learning to operate a cash register at his mother’s toy store and his father’s repair shop before he could ride a bike.  He has lived in Colorado his entire adult life, having moved to southwestern Colorado after driving cross-country to visit his brother with his father.  When it was time to leave, Sal realized Colorado was the place he wanted to live and he decided to stay.  A graduate from Fort Lewis College, Sal spent eight years living in Durango where he was engaged in various community organizations and civic engagements.

Sal followed his Bachelor’s degree by attending graduate school at LSU, where he received a Master’s Degree in American Political Theory. Sal paid for his school costs by tutoring students and being a teaching assistant.

Sal worked on behalf of Southern Colorado for close to decade before becoming a state Representative.  Before running for office himself, Sal served as Director of U.S. Congressman John Salazar’s district offices across the state. In that capacity Sal Pace managed issues dear to rural Colorado, including water, education, health care, job creation, transportation, renewable energy and economic development.  Of all the issues he worked on, Sal is most proud of his work to protect landowners.  Sal held stakeholder meetings and helped Congressman Salazar institute an annual funding ban on the Army's Pinon Canyon maneuver site.  Before joining John Salazar in his Congressional office, Sal served as his Legislative Aide in the Colorado House of Representatives.

Sal currently represents HD-46, Pueblo, in the Colorado State House of Representatives.  Since being elected in 2008, Sal has worked in a bi-partisan fashion to fight for good paying jobs, stimulate the economy and bring accountability and transparency to government.

Sal sponsored and passed several significant bills in his first session, including, HB 1317 the Pinon Canyon Protection Act , which placed new protections for the ranchers in Southeastern Colorado who fear forced removal off their ranches for the Army’s expansion plans.  Sal also sponsored two substantial water bills, including SB 141 creating the Fountain Creek Watershed District , to address flood control and water quality.  Sal also passed the largest reform of Colorado’s unemployment insurance laws, extending benefits & training programs – all paid for from the Federal stimulus.  In one bill, Sal created a pool of $15 million to give additional unemployment benefits to workers who get trained in high demand and green energy jobs.

In 2011, Sal introduced a bill that would limit excessive government spending by state-chartered entities after Colorado’s workers’ compensation provider spent over $300,000 on a golf outing for board members and their spouses.  Sal was also able to limit government red tape and help create jobs in Colorado.  SB 235 reduces backlog at the state health department's permitting process, allows companies to move forward with their projects and hire new employees.

Sal is happily married to Marlene Valdez Pace. Both sides of Marlene’s family have lived in Southeastern Colorado for over a century, making Sal and Marlene’s kids at least 6th generation Southeastern Colorado natives.  Sal and Marlene live with their two small sons, Wyatt and Carlo, and a baby girl, Alana, in central Pueblo.