if you're in Colorado, you'll want to know if you're voting in a contested DA race this fall. & also where the candidates differ: this is where reform & mass incarceration are at play.
icymi, my big dive into CO last week. now a brief thread.
theappeal.org/politicalrepor…
The short story: there are 4 open DA races in populous jurisdictions (360K to 1.1 million).
Right now, Dems detain one of them, & they're in a position to flip other 3: It's the sort of Clinton-friendly ares that've trended blue (you know that story). But that's only part of it.
1/ 1st district: Jefferson and Gilpin counties. (GOP-held, but Clinton won handily here.) Big contrast here.
The reform-minded Dem says she wants to not criminally charge any drug possession vs & the GOP nominee laments existing departures from punitive 'war on drugs' practices.
2/ 8th District: Jackson & Larimer. (GOP-held, Clinton-carried.)
Larimer is spending $75 million on growing its jail capacity. The Dem, unlike the GOPer, says he opposes this project because we should look for alternatives to jail over "expanding our ability to warehouse folks."
3/ 17th District: Adams/Broomfield counties. (Dem-held, Clinton-carried.)
This is district where Elijah McClain was killed, but candidates don't want to talk about case, & there's a lack of stronger commitments to upend system (do not call lists, independent subpoana power...).
4/ 18th District (Arapahoe, Douglas, more): This is the most populous of these districts by far.
The outgoing GOP DA is one of leading foes of reform in recent years. Dem is Sanders-endorsed, supports recent reforms & wants to go further against life sentences.
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