La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said Thursday she will seek election in November.
Smith, 67, has been serving as coroner since November 2012 when she was appointed by county commissioners to fill the remainder of Dr. Carol Huser’s term.
Before that, she worked as Huser’s chief deputy coroner.
Smith has about 28 years’ experience working as a coroner or deputy coroner, including six years as coroner for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
County coroners are responsible for certifying the manner and cause of death in a variety of cases, including those involving unnatural, unintended, unexpected, violent or suspicious circumstances, or when the death occurs on the job or in jail custody.
“I enjoy my work,” she said. “I represent the deceased individual. I don’t owe anything to law enforcement. I don’t owe anything to family. (The deceased) is the only individual that I’m responsible for.”
In some cases, coroners also decide when an autopsy is necessary.
Smith is not a medical examiner, meaning she must contract with a forensic pathologist in Grand Junction to perform autopsies.
Dr. Robert Kurtzman commutes to Durango almost every Wednesday to conduct autopsies in La Plata County. Smith assists with the autopsies.
As of Thursday, no one else had signaled a candidacy for the coroner’s position, which is a four-year term.
The only requirement to be coroner in Colorado is that candidates be 18 or older, eligible to vote, have lived in the county for at least one year and have no felony convictions.
The county Coroner’s Office certified about 145 deaths last year, of which about 66 were autopsied – on par with previous years and expectations for 2014, Smith said.
The coroner is paid about $43,000 per year and oversees two deputy coroners and one backup deputy coroner.
shane@durangoherald.com
