Boulder district attorney Michael Dougherty, who served on the trial team in the 2021 Mark Redwine murder case, returned to Durango last week for the second time on the campaign trail for Colorado’s top prosecutor spot.
Dougherty, a Democratic candidate, has his sights set on becoming Colorado’s next attorney general in the June 30 primary. If elected in November, Dougherty would replace Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, who has served in the role since 2019.
Dougherty is up against four other candidates in the attorney general Democratic primary – Hetal Doshi, Crisanta Duran, Jena Griswold and David Seligman.
Michael Allen and Conner Pennington are Republican candidates on the primary ballot.
Dougherty received his law degree from Boston University School of Law, and spent over a decade at the Manhattan DA’s Office, where he specialized in homicide and sex crimes. He worked under Republican Attorney General John Suthers after joining the Colorado attorney general’s office in 2009, and has served as Boulder district attorney since 2018.
Dougherty told The Durango Herald in June that his top priorities if elected would be challenging unlawful and harmful federal actions, improving public safety and consumer protection, and enhancing environmental protections – priorities that remain top of mind, he said Friday.
Federal actions related to immigration enforcement have been especially prominent recently for many Americans, including Durango residents.
Recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in Durango have sparked protests and rising political tensions in the city, and the recent killing of Renee Nicole Good by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis has sparked debate nationwide ‒ including La Plata County.
Part of Dougherty’s visit to Durango included an event at the La Plata County Fairgrounds Thursday hosted by Dougherty and local pro-democracy advocacy group Indivisible Durango.
The event, which drew about 20 attendees, focused on ICE, law enforcement’s role in federal immigration operations and how residents can responsibly protest actions they oppose.
Dougherty hosted a similar event during his previous visit to Durango as part of a summer Know Your Rights tour.
Dougherty stressed the need for law enforcement to have a plan for ICE interactions and the importance of documenting ICE activities for accountability ‒ but advised protesters to put their safety first, and know what role they plan to fill before taking to the streets.
He said the federal and Minneapolis state response to Good’s killing has been “maddening.”
“There was a lack of a response by local and state authorities in Minnesota for days,” he told the The Durango Herald. “As district attorney, if that had happened in Boulder County, I would have been out front talking to the community within the first hour, saying, ‘We will conduct a full and fair investigation, whether or not the federal government cooperates.’ ... We will hold anybody accountable who’s broken the law.”
Dougherty said a key role for the attorney general is holding the federal government ‒ including the president ‒ accountable when laws are broken.
Dougherty emphasized the importance of bipartisan support and cross-party collaboration, especially during politically fraught times.
“The path forward can’t be just divisiveness,” he said. “There’s a lot more common ground in these issues. ... I’m a proud Democrat, but I’m not going to just hew the democratic principles and talking points. I’ve never done that, and I will not do that as the next attorney general. ... I think when I look at issues around Colorado, whether it be water, environmental protection, consumer protection, public safety ‒ those should not be decided by one’s political affiliation.”
Flock cameras have become a point of contention across Colorado, including in Durango, sometimes intersecting with debates over ethical immigration enforcement. Dougherty said a middle ground can be reached that allows the use of Flock cameras without compromising privacy or civil rights.
“Flock cameras have played a really critical role in us being able to solve serious cases,” he said. “But we can’t sacrifice civil liberties in an effort to preserve public safety. There has to be a balance there. The balance (could be) if Flock could restrict ICE from having access.”
Though immigration enforcement is top of mind for many Americans and Coloradans, Dougherty said it is far from the only issue facing residents of the state.
“I think when you look at some of the issues we have going on in Colorado, we have to recognize that everyday lives of Coloradans are being impacted by a whole host of things that have nothing to do with ICE and very little to do with who’s the president and who’s in the White House at a given moment,” he said. “Whether it’s water or affordability or consumer protection.”
The law is what guides Dougherty’s ethics, he said ‒ even when his personal feelings clash with what the law might dictate.
“I’m very driven by the law, so there are some things that (I’ve seen) that are moral wrongs, when I think someone’s failed another person ‒ but that doesn’t mean it’s a crime and doesn’t mean it’s a lawsuit that should be brought by the Attorney General,” he said.
Dougherty acknowledged that many Americans, including Coloradans, are struggling to maintain optimism about national politics.
“It’s understandable that people feel overwhelmed and powerless right now,” he said. “I’m running for attorney general because we’re facing the greatest test to our democracy in my lifetime, and this country has survived tests in the past, but only because of the right people stepping up and everyone doing what they could to protect the rule of law and fight for democracy.”
Dougherty believes rural areas like Durango are capable of making a difference on a state ‒ or even federal ‒ level.
“It’s a great community,” he said. “What makes me hopeful is, I roll into the fairgrounds yesterday, and there’s that many people in the room, and the Know Your Rights trainings I did here in July, the rooms (were) really crowded. ... It’s a testament to this community that that many people show up in the middle of the day for a presentation on immigration, and it speaks to the power of this community and the voice of this community.”
epond@durangoherald.com
