2023 ENDORSEMENT: CCJRC4ACTION ENDORSES DR. LISA CALDERÓN FOR DENVER MAYOR

CCJRC4Action’s endorsement of Dr. Calderón is based on her survey responses and decades of community service and advocacy, as well as the vision and positions she articulated during public forums and debates. CCJRC4Action attended and reviewed at least a dozen mayoral candidate forums hosted by its community partners, news outlets, and others.

Statement from CCJRC4Action in support of Dr. Lisa Calderón for Denver mayor:

“This year’s mayoral race features a particularly wide field of candidates who span the ideological spectrum. Crime and public safety were frequent debate topics, and the candidates had ample opportunity to express their visions and proposed strategies. Several candidates expressed views shared by CCJRC4Action, but Dr. Lisa Calderón was the one who most definitively aligned with our vision and values.

“Dr. Calderón has a fundamental understanding of the social determinants of crime, which is critical to developing a successful public safety strategy that emphasizes prevention, early intervention, and community restoration rather than perpetuating mass incarceration that has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown communities. She recognizes the systemic issues that contribute to crime, as well as the systemic changes that are necessary to prevent it.

“Through over twenty years of advocacy, Dr. Calderón has demonstrated her unwavering commitment to advancing the health and safety of the Denver community, particularly those most vulnerable and marginalized. Her vision, values, and insight are drawn from her diverse experience and responsibilities, as an academic, a nonprofit executive, a direct service provider both to victims of crime and people released from jail, a crime survivor, a mother, and as a former chief of staff to a sitting Denver City Council member. Her commitment coupled with her deep understanding of the challenges facing Denver and her vision for solutions positions her to be the mayor Denver needs and deserves.”

Read full press release [PDF]

CCJRC4ACTION RELEASES OUR 2020 ENDORSEMENTS

2020 DA Race Endorsements! CCJRC4Action endorses Alexis King JD 1 and Amy Padden JD 18 in hotly contested district attorney races

The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition launched CCJRC4Action to advance electoral and policy strategies aimed at eliminating overuse of the criminal justice system and advancing racial justice in Colorado. This election season, it is focused on promoting prosecutorial accountability and boosting voter engagement, amplifying critical issues in targeted district attorney races and demanding the candidates implement policies that will improve equity, accountability and transparency.

CCJRC4Action engaged with the candidates on a broad spectrum of issues in the hotly contested DA races in Colorado’s 1st, 17th, and 18th judicial districts. It circulated candidate surveys, hosted public candidate forums, and privately conducted interviews with the candidates to determine, regardless of their political affiliation, their level of alignment with the “Equitable Prosecution Statement of Principles” [PDF] designed by CCJRC and endorsed by CCJRC4Action.

CCJRC4Action endorsed Alexis King for DA in JD 1 and Amy Padden for DA in JD 18. They demonstrated they are in alignment with, and they are committed to furthering, a majority of the positions in the statement of principles.

• They recognize the critical need for accountability, transparency, and research-based training for prosecutors within their offices.
• They are strongly committed to implementing formal policies to promote fairness and equity in filing decisions, plea negotiations, and sentence recommendations, as well as increasing the use of diversion, rehabilitative courts, and other community-based alternatives to incarceration.
• They also expressed commitments to employing best practices in the prosecution of youth, limiting use of pretrial detention, and supporting statutory sentencing reform to remedy disproportionate outcomes for communities of color and other overrepresented communities.

CCJRC4Action declined to endorse Matt Durkin, John Kellner, Brian Mason and Tim McCormack. They engaged in rich dialogue with voters and CCJRC4Action on key issues of accountability, equity, and transparency, as well as their roles and responsibilities related to current policies and areas for improvement. We were encouraged by some of the sentiments they expressed regarding the need for sentencing reform and internal office polices related to data tracking and transparency. We were also encouraged when they demonstrated some openness to reviewing filing and charging decisions, as well as policies related to alternatives to pretrial detention. Ultimately, CCJRC4Action declined to endorse them because their positions did not align closely enough with the equitable statement of principles.

CCJRC4Action looks forward to working with the newly elected DAs in each of these three judicial districts to advance policies and other strategies aimed at promoting prosecutorial accountability, eliminating the overuse of the criminal justice system, and advancing racial justice in Colorado. Learn more about our work, or contact campaign manager Leanne Wheeler at leanne@ccjrc4action.org for more information about our endorsements.