Organizers of a recall effort against 9th Judicial District Attorney Colleen Truden have collected about 9,000 signatures and plan to deliver their petitions to Denver today.
“This has just snowballed,” said Sherry Caloia, a Glenwood Springs attorney who has spearheaded the recall effort.
Recall backers need 5,455 valid signatures from voters in the district – which encompasses Pitkin, Garfield and Rio Blanco counties – to force an election.
Truden could not be reached for comment, but has said that her caseload is up 20 percent, and her office has been extremely busy. She said it is not in disarray, as critics have alleged.
Detractors say Truden, a former municipal judge, has no experience as a prosecutor and has mismanaged the office. Seven prosecutors have quit, and some of them have publicly blasted Truden for a range of alleged problems, including lying, mishandling cases and creating a hostile work environment.
The recall petition lists six reasons for removing Truden from office: She has allegedly lied to public officials and the media; wasted taxpayer money; hired her husband as a consultant; failed to take serious felonies to trial; showed incompetence in managing her office; and displayed a lack of accountability in running her office.
