After a confused caucus, La Plata County and 6th Judicial District Democrats did the right thing Saturday and put both candidates for district attorney on the June primary ballot. That they could have done it more graciously does not change the fact that in the end they got it right.
Candidates Christian Champagne and Ben Lammons were deprived of a fair shake at the caucuses due to the confusion that resulted from the unexpectedly large turnout. The record attendance sprang from the high level of interest within the party in the presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. That race, where one candidate could well become the first woman president and the other is the first self-avowed socialist to run for president in a century or more, generated so much enthusiasm among local Democrats that many essentially forgot there was anything else going on.
With something like three times the expected Democrats attending and the intense interest in the top of the ticket, the upshot was that half the precincts did not select delegates to represent their attendees in the district attorney race. These things happen, but that outcome should have been a reminder that when problems occur the best way forward is usually to acknowledge the error and proceed as fairly – and gently – as possible.
In this case, former Durango city councilor and Mayor Leigh Meigs had the right idea. Meigs, an attorney and counselor, wanted to put both Champagne and Lammons on the primary ballot, essentially by acclimation.
“I totally respect both these gentlemen, and I’m sorry they got caught up in this quandary,” she said, “We’re all about fairness, and I think it’s only right to put both forth 50/50.”
That would have been the best way to proceed. None of this, after all, was the fault of either candidate. Her motion failed, but following Meigs’ advice would have forestalled the debate that followed, which at times became unnecessarily harsh.
That served no purpose. That is especially true in that – as could have been predicted – both men got more than the 30 percent of the vote required to advance them to the primary.
As both parties demonstrated, Colorado needs to rethink the idea of caucuses. But in the meantime, should Democrats find themselves in another mess of their own making, they should seek a less divisive way out.
