The executive director of the Denver Election Commission is resigning after a series of missteps, public admonishments and a $400,000 budget overrun.
Karon Hatchett said Tuesday she will step down at the end of the month for personal reasons. Commissioner and city Clerk and Recorder Wayne Vaden said a replacement has not been named.
In exchange for leaving her $69,000-a-year post, Hatchett will receive about $2,000 from the election commission. She will stay on as a consultant making “a little less than she is making now” helping Denver shift from election-day polling places to vote centers, Vaden said.
With Hatchett at the helm, the election commission has been admonished repeatedly by city officials. In June, commissioners began negotiating Hatchett’s resignation following a troublesome election in 2004. Absentee ballots were mailed out late in that election, and incomplete voter guides went out in 2005.
Last October, cash-strapped city officials were forced to shift budget funds to compensate for the election commission going $400,000 over budget.
Councilman Rick Garcia said he has not had confidence in the commission’s attempt to convert to vote centers.
“This is probably a sign that perhaps they are very serious about being successful,” Garcia said of Hatchett stepping down.
Vaden said Hatchett’s role as a consultant will be vital as the commission goes through a savagely busy year. The entire agency is relocating next week after moving warehouse operations in December. There are voting machines to buy and new regulations from the state and federal government to comply with, he said.
“We cannot afford to make mistakes,” Vaden said. “With her institutional knowledge, I don’t think that it would be wise to say, ‘Leave.”‘
Election Commissioner Susan Rogers said Hatchett’s resignation is part of a series of changes at the commission. She said she hopes to add an operations manager under the executive director to shoulder some of the work.
“We’ve been making some changes in the way things are structured in the election commission,” she said. “That doesn’t reflect on Karon’s ability.”
When asked if the move had anything to do with troubles over the past year, Hatchett repeated that she was leaving for her own reasons.
“I’m going to be pursuing some other opportunities both in the elections arena and outside the elections arena,” she said. “Now is just good timing.”
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-820-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
