The Denver Election Commission is attempting to negotiate a deal for the resignation of its embattled director, sources said Monday.
The three-member commission and election manager Karon Hatchett – all of whom have been criticized as mismanaging elections – are trying to find an agreeable way for her to leave her $69,000-a-year position.
Hatchett, who can only be fired for just cause, refused to comment. “I cannot discuss any employment matters,” she said.
Commissioners Sandy Adams, Susan Rogers and Wayne Vaden also declined to comment.
“A lawyer always tells his clients to say no comment,” Adams said. “But (Hatchett) does know I’m extremely unhappy about her performance.”
News of the negotiations comes as two election staffers were fired by Hatchett and the commission Saturday after being put on administrative leave last week. One employee, Fred Sandoval, has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the commission, alleging he was retaliated against for saying the city tried to suppress voter turnout to help pass a $378 million jail and justice center in May.
It also coincides with a move by City Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriguez and Colorado Common Cause to possibly eliminate the three-member commission through a city charter change.
Hatchett and the commission have come under fire for a series of perceived missteps and blunders. In the November general election, nearly 40 percent of reported voting problems in Colorado occurred in Denver, a Denver Post analysis found. Additionally, the commission was late in mailing some 13,000 absentee ballots in that presidential election.
In the May municipal election, voting centers were used for the first time, with mixed success. Some, such as Common Cause, have complained the switch in voting methods confused the public.
Hatchett, however, noted that a number of counties encountered voting problems in recent elections, including November 2004.
“We have been a lightning rod for more attention than other counties because we are Denver,” she said. “But I’m tired of sitting back in silence and suffering these hits.”
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-820-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
