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DENVER (KDVR) — State lawmakers are back at the Capitol, kicking off the first session of the 74th General Assembly.

With a new session comes new leadership and of course, the session could not start without a little bit of drama.

Leadership elections already took place and were laid out by members of each party before lawmakers gaveled in Monday, but some new members tried to shake things up at the last minute. It did not work out.

Rep. Julie McCluskie addressed House members as speaker on the first day of the session, but it did not come without some opposition. Republican newcomers nominated newly-minted Rep. Scott Bottoms to lead the House despite Democrats already tapping McCluskie for the role and Republicans selecting Rep. Mike Lynch to serve as minority leader.

“We feel good that the leadership has given us an olive branch to say they will allow our voice to be heard and we are going to hold them to that. And if they don’t, well they will still hear our voice through the floor as we demonstrated today,” Lynch told reporters at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Republicans barely make up a third of Capitol seats, but some returning Republicans say they plan to work with Democrats on shared concerns.

“Even in my last two years, working with the other side of the aisle is something that I have constantly done and absolutely reached across for. All of my bills were bipartisan. Every bill I passed was bipartisan. So, I have some great friends over there. We don’t see eye to eye on everything but it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends and get good things done for the state of Colorado,” Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer said.

Women are now seated in 51 of the 100 seats and the House assistant majority leader and Senate president pro tempore are both African American.

“What comes with this experience is certainly having to know many languages, learning how to build relationships, learning how to really advocate from a place where most people may not know that experience. So, doing that for years has put me in the position to be able to look at a plethora of issues with a lens of inclusion,” said House Assistant Majority Leader and former Denver School Board member Jennifer Bacon.

Late Sunday night on the eve of the session, one woman did step down from the Capitol. Former Boulder County Rep. Tracey Bernett resigned over concerns about her residency. No word on if a vacancy committee will look to fill her seat with a woman or not.