Off To The Races
June 28 Primaries Will Usher In New Era
By Cara DeGette, Editor, GPHN
On June 28, voters will elect one of three Democrats running to replace Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, who has held the office for 12 years.
The district attorney serves as Denver’s chief law enforcement officer, and is responsible for the criminal prosecution of violations of Colorado laws from gang and family violence to economic crime. There are currently 75 attorneys in the DAs office and 125 support staff, handing about 6,000 felony and 17,000 misdemeanor prosecutions every year.
Who will be Denver’s next top cop?
Kenneth Boyd, Michael Carrigan and Beth McCann are all vying for the job in the heavily Democratic district. Boyd currently works as a prosecutor in the white-collar crime division of the DA’s office. Carrigan is a former deputy district attorney and University of Colorado Regent. McCann, who was term limited this year from the state House of Representatives, is also a former manager of public safety in Denver. Whoever wins the June 28 primary will run against Helen Morgan, an independent candidate, in the November general election.
This month, the Greater Park Hill News asked the three Democrats to weigh in on a series of questions about the race, their priorities and their style of leadership. Those interviews appear on this page, through page 14.
Several other primary races are of note to be decided on June 28. Democrats Aaron Goldhamer and Leslie Herod are vying to replace Beth McCann in House District 8, which includes much of Park Hill.
Democratic State Rep. Angela Williams, who currently represents House District 7 – which also includes a portion of Park Hill – is also term-limited from office this year. She is running for the state senate, to replace departing state Sen. Mike Johnston. Her Democratic opponent is Jon Biggerstaff.
Three Democrats are in the race to replace Williams in District 7, including Michele Wheeler, Elet Valentine and James Rashad Coleman.
As all of these races are taking place in heavily-Democratic districts, it is likely that those who win the June primary will go on to sweep the general election in November. The candidates’ websites and contact information are on page 15.
Michael Carrigan
Current occupation: Partner – Holland & Hart LLP and CU Regent
Website: www.michaelcarrigan.com
Most important or meaningful endorsements: Mayor Hancock, Mayor Webb, Cary Kennedy, Ken Salazar, Rosemary Marshall, Gloria Tanner
Greater Park Hill News: What is your stump speech, in 98 words?
Carrigan: As Denver’s next District Attorney I will make criminal justice reform my number one priority. Now is the time for a transformative leader who will build a criminal justice system that focuses on youth diversion programs and mental services and is one that we can all be proud of. As a former prosecutor and defense attorney, I know what is at stake for those in the criminal justice system. I also know what is broken in the system and I have a clear vision on how to fix it. That is my goal and my promise to you.
GPHN: What is your campaign (or life) motto?
Carrigan: “One person can make a difference, and every person should try.”
– John F. Kennedy
GPHN: What 7 personal traits and characteristics makes you best qualified to run the office?
Carrigan:
1. I believe in getting the job done, whether its installing better youth diversion programs or reinventing mental health initiatives, regardless of how much effort the goal takes to accomplish.
2. I am collaborative. I will make sure the community not only receives information but has meaningful avenues to provide input into the DA’s office.
3. My experience in the area of criminal law is balanced, relevant and recent. I am the only candidate with experience as a prosecutor and defense attorney.
4. I am a change-agent leader, tough enough to tackle criminal justice reform.
5. I am the only candidate with a consistent position on the death penalty. Not only do I support repeal, but I will not seek the death penalty if elected – it’s expensive, inefficient, and a tool of the past.
6. As a CU Regent, and former Board of Regents Chair, I have overseen Colorado’s third-largest employer, with a budget of $3.5 billion.
7. As DA, I will ensure the office is focused on equal justice for all, and not just on getting convictions.
GPHN: Do you believe the DA has a role in reducing mass incarceration? If so, what is that role?
Carrigan: The District Attorney has an important role in reducing mass incarceration. The role of DA is to lead the way in modernizing our criminal justice system, breaking the school-to-jail pipeline, and initiating mental health programs, all in an effort to bring the focus onto those who are truly a threat to public safety, rather than on those individuals targeted because of race or poverty. I will require every prosecutor in the Denver DA’s office to show a commitment to restorative justice and to resist assigning punishment for punishment’s sake. The United States must stop being the world leader in locking up its own citizens.
GPHN: What are your priorities to explore alternatives to incarceration?
Carrigan: If elected, I will focus, like no other DA before me, on breaking the school-to-jail pipeline. I will inform and work with the public on how we are improving public safety when we offer youth after-school programs and weekend activities. Also, for juveniles who enter the criminal justice system, I will expand diversion programs, to give kids a second chance. For first-time, young adult offenders, I will partner with unions and community colleges to make job training and education a condition of their probation. The leading cause of crime is poverty and a lack of education, and I will work to break that cycle.
GPHN: If elected, will you make plea bargaining policies transparent and available to the public?
Carrigan: As the only candidate who has experience both as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I know how important it is that the public understands how and why plea offers are made. Over 95 percent of cases in Denver are resolved without a trial, and the public should understand how the incredible power the prosecution has is administered through plea offers. If elected, I will publish the general guidelines on the office’s website.
GPHN: There is widespread perception that Denver police have escaped prosecution in cases involving criminal wrongdoing in recent years. How will you address this issue with the community, and with the City, as the new DA?
Carrigan: As a former prosecutor and as a defense attorney and litigator who takes on big interests, standing up to the powerful is what I have been doing my entire legal career. The truth is the vast majority of Denver police are good and hardworking, and the best thing we can do for them it to prosecute those who violate the honor of the badge by using excessive force. I will prosecute those who violate the law and, when a case can’t be charged, make sure the public understands why, through public forums and conversations.
GPHN: Do you have an outreach plan for community groups that have been critical of the current DA’s office, including the NAACP, Latino Community Forum, the Ministerial Alliance, Black Lives Matter, and others? If so, please elaborate.
Carrigan: If elected, I will start with strong support from these community organizations. I have the formal endorsement of the Ministerial Alliance and received the majority of the membership votes of the Colorado Latino Forum. Thus, I have already earned the trust of leaders in communities of color. This existing trust and confidence will give me an advantage in setting up advisory groups and community liaisons to have open and ongoing dialogue about the operations and decisions of the Denver DA’s office.
Beth McCann
Current occupation: State Representative
Website: www.mccannfordenverda.com
Most important or meaningful endorsements: EMILY’s List, BlueFlower Fund, Maggie Fox, Congresswoman Betsy Markey, Dan Ritchie, House Majority Leader Crisanta Duran, Rep. Rhonda Fields, Sen. Irene Aguilar, Sen. Linda Newell, City Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman, City Councilman Albus Brooks, The Hon. Polly Baca, The Hon. Marcia Johnson, The Hon. Pat Pascoe, The Hon. Dottie Lamm, Ruben Valdez, Anna Jo Haynes, The Hon. Dottie Lamm, Mary Ricketson, Jose Silva, Laurie Diamond, Sister Lydia Pena, Cisco Gallardo, retired DPD officer Mike Anderson
Greater Park Hill News: What is your stump speech, in 133 words?
McCann: Denver should be at the forefront of criminal justice reform, and I am uniquely qualified to lead the office in that direction. I have spent my career working to improve the criminal justice system. I am the only candidate who has prosecuted the law as a chief deputy DA, supervised lawyers at the Attorney General’s office, managed a large city office as Manager of Safety, and made the law as a state representative. I will work to rebuild trust between the community and law enforcement. I will improve the juvenile justice system, and reduce mass incarceration, particularly of people of color. I will prioritize prosecution of sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking, domestic violence, and elder abuse. I will be the District Attorney who provides justice for all and keeps our city safe.
GPHN: Your campaign (or life) motto:
McCann: I stand up for what matters most: equal justice and keeping Denver families safe.
GPHN: What 7 personal traits and characteristics makes you best qualified to run the office?
McCann:
• Tenacity/Diligence/Hard worker
• Personal Integrity
• Honesty/transparency
• Fairness
• Courage to stand up for what I believe in
• Compassion
• Experience/Accomplishments
GPHN: Do you believe the DA has a role in reducing mass incarceration? If so, what is that role?
McCann: The DA absolutely has a role in reducing mass incarceration. The DA makes the decisions about whether to bring a charge, what charge to bring, what plea bargain to offer, and what sentence to recommend. I will provide more alternatives to incarceration through outside programs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, restorative justice, and a veterans’ court. I will bring in a national group that evaluates the ways in which DA offices are handling lower level crimes, particularly drug offenses, and makes recommendations for changes to reduce incarceration rates. I also will keep data in the office to track any racial, gender and sexual orientation discrepancies in the way people are treated. If I find evidence of implicit or unconscious bias, we will address it immediately with training and evaluation.
GPHN: What are your priorities to explore alternatives to incarceration?
McCann: I have supported legislation to provide funding for restorative justice programs and will strive to get funding for these programs in the Denver DA’s office. In addition, I will seek grants and city funding for more diversion programs for both juveniles and adults, particularly for those suffering from mental health and addiction problems. Some people must be incarcerated because they are dangerous or will not stop committing crimes. However, there are others who deserve a second chance. We are not putting enough resources into prevention – keeping kids out of jail and prison. We are also not doing enough to help those who are getting out of prison stay out of prison. Currently we have a recidivism rate of 50 percent within three years! I sponsored two bills this session to help those re-entering society find jobs and housing. One bill, signed by the governor, changes the purposes of parole to be more rehabilitative and not just punitive. The other bill would have “banned the box” that asks about criminal history on an initial application.
GPHN: If elected, will you make plea bargaining policies transparent and available to the public?
McCann: Yes. Transparency will be one of my first priorities. I believe in allowing the deputy district attorneys discretion in analyzing individual cases so I will have guidelines for plea-bargaining rather than hard and fast policies. These will be available to the public, as will other office policies.
GPHN: There is widespread perception that Denver police have escaped prosecution in cases involving criminal wrongdoing in recent years. How will you address this issue with the community, and with the City, as the new DA?
McCann: I am the only candidate who has actually prosecuted, convicted, and sent a Denver police officer to prison for a felony committed on duty. If members of law enforcement break the law, I will prosecute them. I will approach each case objectively and with fairness to all involved: victims, families, and law enforcement officers. I plan to consult with others, such as the Independent Monitor’s office, in making this crucial decision. I will also have an internal review process to ensure the decisions I make are fair and just. I will meet with the public to discuss my conclusion and answer questions if charges are not brought. If I felt that I could not be objective in a given case, I would ask for a special prosecutor to be appointed. In certain situations, use of a grand jury might be appropriate.
GPHN: Do you have an outreach plan for community groups that have been critical of the current DA’s office, including the NAACP, Latino Community Forum, the Ministerial Alliance, Black Lives Matter, and others? If so, please elaborate.
McCann: I plan to have community advisors from these groups with whom I will meet, talk, and consult about office procedures and decisions. In my administration, the District Attorney and the deputies will go to neighborhood meetings, listen to concerns of the community, and discuss the decisions and actions of the office. We will be transparent when decisions are made about charges against law enforcement officers.
Kenneth Boyd
Current occupation: Senior Deputy District Attorney in the Denver District Attorney’s Office assigned to the Economic Crime Unit specializing in cases involving white-collar crime and the financial exploitation of seniors.
Website: www.KennethBoydDA.com
Most important or meaningful endorsements: Former Colorado Governor and former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter Jr.; Denver District Attorney Mitchell Morrissey; State Sen. Michael Johnston
Greater Park Hill News: What is your stump speech in 97 words?
Boyd: I am running for DA because I know the work, I know the people, and I want to take us in a new direction. I am the only Democrat who has tried cases in every unit of the DA’s Office and prosecuted crimes using cutting-edge technology such as DNA. As DA, I will rebuild trust by establishing a public fact-finding review in officer involved fatalities, expand the use of technology and forensic science to protect the innocent and ensure justice for victims, and create a mental health court to provide treatment for those suffering from mental illness.
GPHN: What is your campaign/life motto?
Boyd: Seek justice, Love mercy, and Walk humbly. Your example is far more influential and inspiring than any words.
GPHC: What 7 personal traits and characteristics makes you best qualified to run the office?
Boyd: Experience, integrity, personable, great listener, compassionate, hard working, and intuitive.
GPHC: Do you believe the DA has a role in reducing mass incarceration? If so, what is that role?
Boyd: The policy that we could incarcerate our way out of drug addiction was a failed policy. The Denver DA’s Office was one of the first offices in the nation to recognize that fact, and as a result, was one of the first in the nation to start a treatment-based court for those addicted to drugs. Everyone, including the DA, should be doing everything they can to reduce incarceration rates. Determining who to incarcerate is the most important, and most difficult, challenge faced by judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and probation and parole officers on a daily basis.
GPHN: What are your priorities to explore alternatives to incarceration?
Boyd: Working in Denver’s drug court reaffirmed my commitment to continuing treatment-based courts, and I will establish a mental health court in Denver.
• As the only Democrat in the race that has actually used the evidence based risk assessment tool in Denver to argue bond in court, I am committed to making the bond reform project that is going on in Denver right now a long-term success.
• As the only Democrat in the race that has actually prosecuted cases involving technology and forensic science such as DNA, I am committed to utilizing cutting edge technology and forensic science to bring a more targeted approach to law enforcement which reduces the need for generalized sweeps into the system, protects the innocent, and provides justice for victims.
• As the only Democrat in the race that has actually sent juveniles out of the system and into a diversion program, I am committed to expanding our juvenile diversion program to adults.
• I am the only candidate committed to data collection in the Denver DA’s Office and applied research done by an independent institute or university to help us evaluate the use of prosecutorial discretion in Denver.
• I am the only candidate committed to a top down review of all DA grant programs to make sure the grant programs are not financially incentivizing mass incarceration.
GPHN: If elected, would you make plea bargaining policies transparent and open to the public?
Boyd: As a general matter, my deputies will not have many plea bargaining guidelines in place because I believe that guidelines stifle the ability of prosecutors to consider mitigation and aggravation, look for creative solutions while plea bargaining, and assure that the outcome is fair and just in every case. I will make the policies surrounding who is eligible for treatment-based courts, and the offers that they can expect to receive, open to the public. Publication of policies that compromise the legal protections afforded the deputies’ “work product” would not be made public, however, there will always be an open door policy for all defense attorneys to speak with me about pleas being offered.
GPHN: There is a widespread perception that Denver Police have escaped prosecution in cases involving criminal wrongdoing in recent years. How will you address this issue with the community, and with the City, as the new DA?
Boyd: Whenever an officer commits a crime and the evidence meets the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, I will file charges against that officer. I am the only candidate who is committed to increasing trust in our decision-making through increased transparency by instituting a public fact-finding review in cases where anyone dies at the hands of the police, before my decision about whether or not to prosecute becomes final. Further, I am open to expanding this process to include cases involving the use of excessive force.
GPHN: Do you have an outreach plan for community groups that have been critical of the current DA’s office, including the NAACP, Latino Community Forum, the Ministerial Alliance, Black Lives Matter, and others? If so, please elaborate.
Boyd: Outreach will start with me being available to community groups throughout the city. I will bring back Bill Ritter’s community prosecution program which involved assigning senior level deputies to different neighborhoods around the city so that they can get to know the government, community, and faith-based leaders in their assigned neighborhoods. Through this outreach effort, I envision the development of meaningful relationships between myself and my staff with community groups throughout the city.
Just Vote!
June 28 Is Primary Election Day
The following candidates are vying in primary races on June 28, to represent Park Hill and surrounding areas.
For additional information on how and where to vote, to register, and for district maps, check out the elections section of the Colorado Secretary of State’s website, at sos.state.co.us
U.S Senate (Republican)
• Robert Blaha — blahaforcolorado.com
• Ryan Frazier — frazierforcolorado.com
• Darryl Glenn — electdarrylglenn.com
• Jack Graham — jackgraham2016.com
• Jon Keyser — jonkeyser.com
1st Congressional District (Democratic)
• Diana DeGette — degette.com
• Charles “Chuck” Norris — cnorris4cd1.org
CU Regent – District 1 (Democratic)
• Jack Kroll — krollforcolorado.com
• Lucky Vidmar — vidmarforcolorado.com
State Senate – District 33 (Democratic)
• Jon Biggerstaff – jonforcolorado.com
• Angela Williams — angela4colo.com
State House District 7 (Democratic)
• James Rashad Coleman — colemanforcolorado.com
• Elet Valentine — evalentineforstaterep.com
• Michele Wheeler — wheelerforcolorado.com
State House District 8 (Democratic)
• Aaron Goldhamer – aarongoldhamer.org
• Leslie Herod — leslieherodforcolorado.com
Denver District Attorney (Democratic)
• Kenneth Boyd — kennethboydda.com
• Michael Carrigan — michaelcarrigan.com
• Beth McCann – mccannfordenverda.com