Candidate Profile: Amy Padden, 18th Judicial District Attorney

The 2020 election is heating up in Colorado and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office. Eyes are primarily focused on the presidential election, but voters will also decide the outcome of state representative, senate and judicial seats.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Amy Padden is running for 18th Judicial District Attorney.

Age: 51
Party affiliation: Democratic Party
Family: I live in Aurora with my husband Bill Engleby (small business owner) and our two dogs (a golden retriever and a Bernese Mountain dog). His daughters (whom I treat as my own) Vanessa Sween (school teacher with Aurora Public Schools) and Alex Engleby (School of Mines graduate, working in sales) live in Aurora and Denver, respectively. We have a large extended family, most of whom live in the district (Centennial and Castle Rock).
Occupation: I've been an attorney for over 26 years, including 15 years of public service at the Attorney General's Office, US Attorney's Office and two District Attorney's Offices
Previous elected experience: None
Family members in government: Not presently

The single most pressing issue facing our state is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

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. 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. One of the endorsements of which I am most proud is Hassan Latif, founder of the Second Chance Center, which works to provide re-entry support after release from prison for individuals who have served their debt to society.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My experience. I have been an attorney for twice as long as my opponent, since 1994. I have experience as a prosecutor at all three levels of government: the Colorado Attorney General's Office (as a consumer protection prosecutor and then in the special prosecutions unit), the US Attorney's office (for over 10 years), and two District Attorney offices. I have hands on experience in implementing reform, including setting up and running an adult diversion program for non-violent offenders, being a part of national working groups on implicit bias and prison reform, and reforming the way the federal prison system treated "supermax" inmates with mental illness. I won a national DOJ award for excellence for my work regarding mental health. And before all that I was a partner at a law firm, where I served as the hiring partner, and I clerked for two different judges immediately after law school.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As an Assistant US Attorney, I took on the toughest cases, against the most notorious criminals, including one of the Oklahoma City bombers, the 1993 World Trade Center bombers, various high-level drug traffickers, and notorious prison gang members. Because of my reputation within DOJ, the team handling the Boston marathon bombing case asked for my help on the trial of that case, initially remotely. But my work was so valued that, in the middle of trial, the trial team asked me to travel to Boston to assist in person.

What steps should state government take to bolster economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic for local businesses?

This issue is not really within the DA's control. However, the coronavirus has resulted in some changes that I think should remain in the future. One is the increased use of remote participation in pre-trial court proceedings. Although the technology has had some glitches where I currently work (in the 11th JD), it provides the opportunity for participants to save travel time. Also, the reduction in pre-trial detention for non-violent offenders during COVID is something we should continue moving forward.

How will you address the calls for racial justice and police reform?

I have working on issues of reform for years and it has been part of my platform since day one, whereas my opponent has only recently begun talking about it. We need to do an audit of our prosecution data to see how race has influenced those decisions -- I committed to doing that many months ago. We need to revisit antiquated policing practices, such as for example citizen's arrests (which Ahmaud Arbery's killers were trying to effectuate); there is no reason to have a law like this where everyone has a cell phone to call 911. We need to ensure that in cases of misconduct, there are independent, unbiased reviews.

List other issues that define your campaign platform:

We need to make our schools safer, while at the same time working to break the school to prison pipeline. The roles of SROs should be left to local elected officials, and I will work closely with them to ensure that we are meeting the needs of each separate community. (I have the endorsement of the majority of the Aurora Public Schools Board, as well as local elected officials around the District.) At the same time, issues that can be handled by the school's disciplinary process should be done so where possible, rather than the juvenile justice system. Because when a child commits a crime, society bears some responsibility for that. At the same time, we know that there are instances where a child will need to be charged as an adult. I will take those cases incredibly seriously to ensure the victim's family is heard, but also with the understanding that a prison sentence will ruin that child's life.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I would be honored to serve as your next District Attorney. Now is the time for change, and real change needs to come from the outside to this office. I can and will bring that with my wealth of experience. And I will work tirelessly to make our communities safer.