The next time someone tells you Michael Foote will fight fracking in the county if he's elected district attorney, ask that person to specify the state laws Foote would use to keep this empty promise. In the deafening silence that follows, please think about this:
In Colorado, a district attorney's legal authority is limited to prosecuting individuals and entities for state crimes allegedly committed within the county where he or she serves. Although fracking companies are certainly harming our county's residents, district attorneys have very limited jurisdiction to pursue environmental crimes. Those cases are usually handled by federal entities, and on certain occasions, by the Colorado attorney general. No Colorado district attorney has the power to prosecute any person or corporation for breaking federal environmental laws and regulations. As a criminal lawyer and Boulder resident for 28 years, I know Colorado's state criminal code simply does not have provisions that would let Foote combat fracking in the county as district attorney.
When a candidate for public office makes a promise he — as a lawyer — knows darn well he can't keep, voters should pay attention. We don't need a professional politician who tries to distract and bamboozle us by latching onto a hot-button issue that he would have no power at all to impact if elected. That kind of dishonest, bait-and-switch trickery is bad for Boulder county.
We deserve a district attorney who focuses on the state criminal justice system to guarantee that everyone who works for him or her upholds their ethical duty to seek justice, not merely convictions; respects people's legal rights; and preserves public safety while also giving those caught up in the system opportunities for restorative justice and rehabilitation. Michael Dougherty, our current DA, is committed to all of those things.
Ann M. Roan
Boulder