Glenwood Springs – Embattled District Attorney Colleen Truden said Wednesday she will not contest the validity of petitions for her recall, but she will fight to retain her elected office.
During a news conference on the steps of the Garfield County Courthouse, Truden repeatedly blamed “the old guard” from the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s office for making her the first prosecutor to face a recall campaign in Colorado in 27 years.
She said the old guard includes former District Attorney Mac Myers.
Myers, who was term-limited and could not seek re-election, strongly objected to Truden’s charges.
“To suggest that me or any of the other former employees caused her problems is ridiculous,” said Myers, who was district attorney from 1997 to 2004.
Recall supporters say Truden should be removed from her position for problems ranging from allegations of lying to county officials to mismanagement of the office.
Truden said the allegations have been “concocted by a few individuals who have petty personal agendas against me and the office I lead, a few individuals who have no problem wasting taxpayer money for their selfish vendettas.”
Truden answered a few questions about some of those allegations, including a new complaint made to a Garfield County commissioner that she pressured employees to donate to her recall defense fund.
Truden said she had talked to some of her staff about contributing because “they shouldn’t be left out.”
She also addressed a formal ethics complaint against her and several members of her office that is being investigated by the Attorney Regulation Counsel of the Colorado Supreme Court.
That complaint, filed by a former deputy attorney, alleges that Truden and Assistant District Attorney Vince Felleter discriminate against defendants based on whether their defense attorneys have supported or criticized her office.
“I have not had one single defense attorney bring that to me,” Truden said.
The complaint also alleges that two deputy attorneys handled cases without the required supervision.
Truden called the investigation “a pure political stunt.”
On Sept. 29, the Colorado secretary of state’s office announced that enough registered voters had signed petitions to hold a recall election. Truden had 15 days to contest the petitions but said Wednesday that she would focus her energy elsewhere.
Truden scrambled to hire new attorneys after seven attorneys and five staff members resigned during her first half-year in office. Five of those attorneys attacked Truden’s management style and lack of prosecutorial experience. Three of those critics had been employees of Myers, but two of the most vocal critics were hired by Truden.
In touting her record at the helm of the office that serves Garfield, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties, Truden said felony case filings are up 57 percent and that her office budget is on track despite inheriting a $40,000 deficit.
Myers, who is working as an assistant district attorney in Cortez, denied that he left a deficit.
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
