Littleton 2020 Election: Padden, Kellner In Near-Tie

LITTLETON, CO — Democrat Amy Padden and Republican John Kellner were vying for the 18th Judicial District Attorney seat, and as of Wednesday morning, the race was very close, with Padden leading by less than 1,200 votes.

While most eyes were on the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Colorado's general election, there are many important local races as well. Littleton voters decided the outcomes of state representative, senate and CU Board of Regents seats. The local ballots also included district attorney races in Arapahoe and Jefferson counties, and Littleton ballot measures.

Democrat Alexis King leads against Republican Matthew Durkin in the 1st Judicial District Attorney race.

Our state has a 6-year history of successful mail-in voting, and Coloradans returned their ballots in record-breaking numbers in the general election. Many Littleton voters returned their ballots early and tracked them with the state's new online tracing tool.

Littleton general election results

• Trump vs. Biden — view race results here
• Hickenlooper vs. Gardner — view race results here

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District Attorney - 1st Judicial District

• Matthew Durkin (R): 154,314
• Alexis King (D): 190,242

District Attorney - 18th Judicial District

• Amy Padden (D): 268,078
• John Kellner (R): 266,880

U.S. House Colorado District 6

• Steve House (R): 160,589
• Jason Crow (D) - i: 233,554
• Jaimie Lynn Kulikowski (U): 3,160
• Norm Olsen (L): 7,600

CU Board of Regents District 6

• Richard Murray (R): 172,962
• Ilana Spiegel (D): 210,099
• Christopher Otwell (U): 7,945

State Senator - District 26

• Jeff Bridges (D) - i: 50,514
• Bob Roth (R): 29,901
• Marc Solomon (L): 1,920

State Representative - District 22

• Mary Parker (D): 22,881
• Colin Larson (R) - i: 25,297
• Margot Herzl (L): 1,498

State Representative - District 39

• Mark Baisley (R) - i: 35,245
• Ian Chapman (D): 19,629
• Bonnie Pyle (L): 1,656

Littleton Ballot Measures

Ballot question 3A

Shall there be an amendment to Littleton City Charter Sections 19, 22, and 24 requiring the Mayor and City Council positions to be elected by the voters for 4-year terms?

• Yes: 20,585
• No: 4,961

Littleton's mayor is elected by council, but voters were asked whether they make that decision directly. Among Colorado's largest cities, only Littleton, Englewood and Grand Junction's mayors are elected by their councils. If approved, Littleton voters would directly elect their mayor, starting in 2021. A council member with remaining years on their term would be required to give up their seat to run for mayor. The direct-elect mayor position would have a four-year term — replacing the two-year runner-up at large seat.

Ballot question No. 300

Shall existing medical marijuana center licensees in the City of Littleton be permitted to sell retail marijuana on and after January 1, 2021?

• Yes: 17,044
• No: 9,252

This measure asked voters whether the city's medical marijuana centers would be allowed to sell retail marijuana. A citizen initiative gathered enough signatures for the question to qualify for the Nov. 3 ballot. The city code currently allows four medical marijuana licenses. If voters approve the measure, 7.5 percent of the sales tax on the retail marijuana would go to the city. Tax revenues could range from $935,000 to over $1,500,000, depending on several factors, according to petitioners.

>> View statewide ballot measure results here.

District Attorney - 1st Judicial District Race

Democrat Alexis King leads in the race against Republican Matthew Durkin for the 1st Judicial District Attorney seat, which serves Gilpin and Jefferson counties.

For more than a decade, King served as deputy district attorney for Jefferson and Gilpin counties. She led the district attorneys' juvenile and human trafficking units and was appointed to the Colorado Human Trafficking Council in 2016.

King was endorsed by more than a dozen Colorado leaders, including Sen. Jessie Danielson (D-District 20), Sen. Brittany Pettersen (D-District 22), Rep. Kerry Tipper (D-District 28) and former governor and Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter.

In her Patch candidate profile, King said that some of her top priorities are transparency, safety and alternatives to incarceration.

"My office will be transparent," she said. "A Conviction Integrity Unit, focusing on both innocence and equity, will collect, analyze, and utilize data regarding prosecutions and plea bargains to advance evidence-based practices and increase accountability."

But King said she believes that "dangerous people who prey on our most vulnerable" must be prosecuted.

"Smart reform means freeing up resources to focus on crimes against children, the elderly, and other at-risk populations, including those crimes motivated by hate or bias," she said.

"For those for whom incarceration is unnecessary and wasteful, we must have an appropriate diversionary track, similar to those I have already helped develop for this community, and focused on restorative justice, education, and stabilization."

Some of her proposed reforms include expanding the use of body cameras, modernizing training standards to include more conflict resolution and stopping the "revolving door where bad cops who are fired can still join another agency in Colorado," she said.

King's opponent, Durkin, was endorsed by The Denver Post. After spending more than two decades serving as a prosecutor in Jefferson and Gilpin counties, The Post's editorial board said they believe Durkin is "extremely qualified" to become the new district attorney.

Durkin, a chief district attorney in Jefferson County, previously served as a deputy district attorney in county court, juvenile court and district court. Between 2011 and 2015, he worked as a prosecutor in the Colorado Attorney General's Office.

In his Patch candidate profile, Durkin said he believes that one of the most pressing issues facing Colorado is "a crime wave fueled by a drug addiction crisis."

"In Colorado, we have one of the worst recidivism rates in the country at nearly 50 percent," Durkin said.

"That means that those who are released from prison, return to prison on new charges within 3 years. At the same time, we have a drug addiction crisis that is fueling a crime wave. In 2019, Colorado set a record for overdose deaths at 1,062," he said.

Durkin is calling for "meaningful drug addiction treatment, based upon accountability and responsibility, to help offenders heal, so that they do not return to crime and further victimize the community."

Durkin said he believes that despite the budget issues facing Jefferson and Gilpin counties, public safety needs to be prioritized.

District Attorney - 18th Judicial District Race

Democrat Amy Padden faced off against Republican John Kellner in the 18th Judicial District, which includes Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties.

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 was very proud to be endorsed by Hassan Latif, the founder of the Second Chance Center, which works to provide re-entry support for people who have been released from prison.

Local elections officials said that one of their top concerns for the Nov. 3 election is cybersecurity.

"We, like election officials across the country, have seen an increase in the circulation of misinformation surrounding the election online," said George Stern, Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder.

"We continue to monitor these reports and work with our local and state partners to counter any attempts to disrupt the election through disinformation. If you see anything you are unsure or concerned about, please reach out to the Jeffco Elections team."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agency issued warnings in September about foreign actors that spread misinformation on fake websites, alter existing legitimate websites, send fraudulent emails and release articles in fake online journals.

"Foreign adversaries are conducting influence operations to try to undermine Americans' confidence in the electoral process, and states must act," said Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State.

Griswold's office launched social media campaigns and a new website to combat misinformation. Her office also created the Rapid Response Election Security Cyber Unit to help combat emerging cyber threats.

"Colorado is considered the safest state in which to cast a ballot, and we continually innovate to maintain our leading cyber preparedness," Griswold said.