The Race For DA
Q&As With Candidates Leora Joseph And John Walsh
Compiled by Cara DeGette
Editor, GPHN
The Greater Park Hill News asked Joseph and Walsh to weigh in on why they believe they are better qualified to become Denver’s next District Attorney. Here’s what they had to say.
Leora Joseph

leorafordistrictattorney.com
Greater Park Hill News: What experience do you have to be DA?
Leora Joseph: I love Denver, and we are at a pivotal moment. I have spent 25 years working in district attorney’s offices, in court and handling the most serious cases that affect public safety in the communities I have served. I have brought change to those offices as a manager, including starting one of the country’s first human trafficking units and creating programs that focus on victims, because I believe victims should receive specialized attention. Currently, in my role in Gov. Jared Polis’ administration, I oversee the state’s largest behavioral health office with 1,800 employees and a $300 million budget, focused on changing how the criminal justice system handles severe mental illness and drug addiction.
GPHN: What differentiates you from your opponent?
LJ: It’s an honor to be considered by Denver’s voters alongside other attorneys. I am the only candidate who has worked in district attorney’s offices, and I’m the only candidate who has professional behavioral health experience. Additionally, I am the only candidate with extensive management experience, both in district attorney’s offices and in other parts of the legal and criminal justice systems. I am running for office on change, not on the status quo — and this is the first and will be the only public office that I ever seek.
GPHN: What are your top three priorities as DA?
LJ: My first priority is that we must start holding people accountable for crimes they commit. This includes gun violence, fentanyl distribution, and auto theft. We must stop ignoring crime.
I plan to create real pathways for people suffering from severe mental illness and addiction, to get people off of our streets, out of our jails, into treatment, and out of the cycle of recidivism.
I will implement the community prosecution model and create a robust community engagement office, aligning prosecutors with the six police districts in Denver, our schools, nonprofits and community organizations that work on important issues like gun and gang violence prevention.
GPHN: You, as well as others in the race, cite the spike in car thefts, gun violence and the fentanyl crisis in Denver in your literature. The current DA has dedicated programs and units that are designed to address all of these, including treatment and diversion programs. What specifically will you do differently as DA to address these?
LJ: The DA’s office runs many great programs, but often they don’t go far enough or have lacked the continued, determined focus I would bring to addressing chronic issues in our community like auto theft, fentanyl distribution, and gun violence.
As district attorney, I would assign a team of highly trained prosecutors to tackle the core group of violent offenders. Prosecutors are often bogged down with caseloads that don’t allow focus on the most serious crimes, hence delaying accountability. For example, we could quickly prosecute convicted felons who are found with weapons, and rapidly move their cases through the criminal justice system.
We must also acknowledge that we have a youth violence problem, and under my community prosecution model, I will bring schools, social workers, nonprofit organizations, and many more to the table to solve this rise in youth violence.
I believe we are in a public health crisis that is manifesting as a public safety crisis. We need more than diversion. We need to work with law enforcement, and community behavioral health centers as well as hospitals to create real pathways to treatment.
GPHN: Between 2017 and 2023 the City and County of Denver has been found liable for nearly $39.5 million in legal judgments for the actions of police officers, including violating citizens’ constitutional rights. What will you do as DA to address police accountability in Denver?
LJ: I plan to hire the nation’s first Director of Police Accountability to serve as liaison from the DA’s office to the community on issues of police accountability as they arise. A citizen’s review board will add an additional mechanism of transparency for police, prosecutors and community.
GPHN: Do you think the DA has a role in reducing mass incarceration? If so, describe that role and what policies you would adopt.
LJ: We’re all better than the worst thing we’ve ever done, and there’s a wider breadth of outcomes from charging to sentencing to incarceration and release that can treat offenders as whole people who can be better. I believe we need to look at things like alternative policing, co-responder programs, and restorative justice to guarantee public safety, and strive for meaningful rehabilitation.
John Walsh
www.walshfordenver.com

Greater Park Hill News: What experience do you have to be DA?
John Walsh: President Obama asked me to serve as Colorado’s U.S. Attorney – chief federal prosecutor – and I led that large prosecution office for six years. I previously served as an assistant U.S. Attorney and Major Frauds section chief in LA, before returning to Denver, my hometown, in 1995.
GPHN: What differentiates you from your opponent?
JW: Denver’s DA leads a large prosecution office. As Colorado’s U.S. Attorney, I did just that: From 2010 to 2016, I successfully led the U.S. Attorney’s office. Attorneys General Holder and Lynch recognized my efforts by asking me to chair their national advisory committee of U.S. Attorneys.
My wife and I have lived in Park Hill for nearly 30 years, raising three kids, proud DPS graduates. I have spent decades working in Denver’s diverse communities both professionally and personally. I coach the Constitutional Law program at East. I helped found an early childhood nonprofit, Invest in Kids, served on the executive committee of the Colorado Lawyers Committee, and have held leadership roles in the Democratic Party, including district co-captain, State Platform chair, and treasurer of AG Phil Weiser’s 2018 campaign. I speak Spanish fluently and have worked extensively with our Spanish-speaking community, including as board chair of Escuela de Guadalupe.
GPHN: What are your top three priorities as DA?
JW: Community safety depends on earning the trust of the community. I will combine firm, energetic enforcement of the law with aggressive efforts working with the community to prevent crime and improve our criminal justice system. My top priority is gun and youth violence and protecting our kids, alongside addressing the fentanyl epidemic, reducing car theft and hearing and supporting victims of crime.
GPHN: You, as well as others in the race, cite the spike in car thefts, gun violence and the fentanyl crisis in Denver in your literature. The current DA has dedicated programs and units that are designed to address all of these, including treatment and diversion programs. What specifically will you do differently as DA to address these?
JW: Gun violence is personal to me; I responded to the scene of the Aurora Theater shooting. I will advocate for strengthening our gun laws, as I have done over decades, testifying in favor of Obama’s gun violence package and Colorado’s “red flag” ERPO law. I will create a violent crime task force to enforce existing gun laws, and team with federal authorities. And I will work to foster and find funding for youth development programs to keep kids away from guns and violence.
On car theft, I will establish a car theft task force to work directly with city and state task forces, and will focus on organized crime.
On the fentanyl crisis, I will vigorously prosecute the cartels bringing drugs into our community, also work to address root causes by expanding drug court, the competency court, and probation department programs to get people caught up in the criminal justice the help they need, including active mental health treatment options.
GPHN: Between 2017 and 2023 the City and County of Denver has been found liable for nearly $39.5 million in legal judgments for the actions of police officers, including violating citizens’ constitutional rights. What will you do as DA to address police accountability in Denver?
JW: This is an issue I care deeply about and have worked on for decades, having served on Denver’s Public Safety Review Commission, represented cities working to reform their police departments, and worked with US DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. As DA, I will designate specific prosecutors to handle police misconduct cases to ensure neutrality and independence. In addition, the DA’s office should play a direct role with the police department on policy development and training so as to build a culture in both the department and the DA’s office that will earn the community’s trust.
GPHN: Do you think the DA has a role in reducing mass incarceration? If so, describe that role and what policies you would adopt.
JW: Yes. As U.S. Attorney, I worked with President Obama to reform federal sentencing laws to reduce mandatory minimums for nonviolent offenses and prevent use of sentencing enhancements to force guilty pleas. I took an active role in Obama’s clemency project, which resulted in the President reducing sentences in nearly 2,000 cases.
As DA, I will expand restorative justice and diversion programs, and review charging and sentencing decision to ensure they protect community safety, and don’t result in unnecessarily harsh sentences. I strongly support the DA’s office Conviction Review Unit, which reviews cases to ensure the integrity of convictions and sentencing.
Meet The Candidates
Upcoming Public Forums
The following public forums are scheduled during May and early June featuring Denver District Attorney candidates Leora Joseph and John Walsh:
LoDoNA and UpDoNA Forum
(Downtown registered neighborhood organizations)
April 30 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Buell Public Media Center
2101 Arapahoe St.
RSVP required: tinyurl.com/DenverDADebate
Curtis Park/Whittier RNO DA Forum
May 2 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
818 25th St.
Note: There will not be a live Q&A from the audience at this forum, however attendees will be able to submit written questions. Note cards will be available at the entrance.
Denver Justice Project & the Denver Taskforce to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety Forum
May 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center
2836 Welton St.
Hilltop RNO DA Forum
May 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Graland Field House
55 Clermont St.
Better Together DA Forum
June 6 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Two Moons Music Hall
2944 Larimer St.