The district attorney for the Durango-based 6th Judicial District, who faces trial in May for driving under the influence and careless driving, announced today that he will not run for re-election.
However, Craig Stephen Westberg said he has every intention of finishing his current term in office, which ends in January.
This November, most of the state’s district attorneys are up for re-election. At that time, Westberg’s successor will be picked by voters in the 6th Judicial District, located in southern Colorado.
Westberg was arrested in October. At the time, the district attorney said alcohol wasn’t involved. He said he had taken a sleeping pill and didn’t realize how it would affect his driving.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a jury trial has been set for May 19.
“As there appears to be speculation as to whether or not I will seek another term as district attorney, it seems prudent that I have made a firm decision in that regard,” said Westberg in a prepared statement. “I will not run again but have every intention of finishing this term.”
Westberg said he felt “great pleasure” having been of service to the people of Durango.
He said that since first becoming a prosecutor in 1977, the communities of the 6th Judicial District have “changed dramatically.
“The influx of career criminals, who have chosen these three counties as home, make the job of district attorney much more of a challenge than back in those more idyllic times,” said Westberg. “It is for that reason that I so hope that our voters listen attentively to the upcoming campaign and choose wisely who will be my successor in an office which can directly affect their well being.”
The arrest in October was his third in 30 years on suspicion of driving under the influence. Westberg has publicly said that he had a drinking problem in the 1970s.
After his arrest in October, Westberg, the chief prosecutor for Archuleta, San Juan and La Plata counties, publicly apologized.
In the Durango Herald, Westberg wrote he had taken Ambien and left home on an errand when his vision suddenly became blurred while he was driving.
“I was not far from home and thought that with concentration, I could still drive home safely,” he wrote. “I should have pulled over, but I did not. I was wrong.”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
