18th DA Race Results Certified After Recount: Kellner Wins

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, CO — The race for the 18th Judicial District Attorney seat has finally ended after an automatic recount, the Colorado Secretary of State's Office announced Tuesday.

Democrat Amy Padden and Republican John Kellner were vying for the 18th Judicial District Attorney seat, and Kellner won by only 1,433 votes.

The recount involved Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties.

"Automatic recounts happen when the difference between the highest number of votes cast in a contest and the next highest number of votes cast in a contest is less than one half of one percent. Automatic recounts are required to be concluded no later than 35 days after the election, which is December 8," the Colorado Secretary of State's Office said in a statement.

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Kellner is chief deputy district attorney for the 18th Judicial District, where he's served for the past eight years. He's worked as a criminal prosecutor in Colorado for more than 10 years, and before that he served on active duty in the Marine Corps as a judge advocate and prosecutor for five years. He continues to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.

In his Patch candidate profile, Kellner said his top priority "will always be public safety."

"Violent crime has been rising across the entire state for the last five years and it has accelerated even more the last few months in our community," he said.

"I am the only candidate who, as a prosecutor, has dismantled gangs and drug trafficking organizations, and I will bring that experience to bear on the problem of rising gun violence," Kellner said.

Kellner helped to found the Veterans Treatment Court, a specialty court that helps treat underlying issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse. He also serves on the policy board for the drug, mental health, and DUI treatment courts.

Kellner's opponent, Padden, has worked as an attorney for more than 26 years. For the past 15 years, Padden served in the Colorado Attorney General's Office, U.S. Attorney's Office and the 5th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

Padden, now a deputy district attorney for the 5th Judicial District, told Patch that one of her top priorities is community safety.

"But I have a different way of attaining community safety, because we can't simply prosecute our way out of our current safety issues," Padden said.

"As a community, we need to do a better job at identifying the causes of crime, trying to prevent crimes before they occur, and reducing recidivism. We can accomplish this by finding alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders (which rehabilitate and reduce recidivism) and doing a better job on re-entry programs for offenders," she said.

Padden said she called Kellner to congratulate him on his win.