District attorney, 20th Judicial District: No endorsement

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District Attorney

20th Judicial District

Stan Garnett (unopposed)

This
should have been easier, considering that Stan Garnett, a Democrat, is
running unopposed and we like many of the things that he has done
since becoming district attorney.

Garnett
appears to be a good fit politically for Boulder. Unlike several
members of Boulder’s city council and their employees, including the
city manager and city attorney, Garnett, to his credit, doesn’t appear
to be a zealot about prosecuting people for things like free speech, pot
infractions or, worst of all, being a college student.

But
as most of our readers are aware, earlier this year we caught Garnett
being less than honest during our Seth Brigham/city council disclosure
investigation.

While
misleading the media, and thereby the public they are elected to serve,
is unforgivable for all elected officials, it is especially
reprehensible for those charged with enforcing our laws. If a DA is
willing to use false information in one arena when it serves his
purposes, then who is to say he isn’t willing to fudge the truth when it
comes to other areas, such as prosecuting a suspected criminal?

Like
we said, we like most of what Garnett has done. He is very accessible
and we believe, most times, forthright, but we know that isn’t true all
the time, and trust is hard to regain once broken. The
Brigham/disclosure incident makes us wonder if Boulder’s wealthy power
players get an easier brand of justice than the culturally less
desirable among us.

When
it comes to an elected official who is charged with enforcing the law,
the appearance of impropriety is just as damaging as impropriety
itself. Garnett knows this, and we assume he knew it when he wrongly
told us he hadn’t spoken to Boulder City Attorney Tom Carr about the
DA’s investigation into city councilman George Karakehian’s disclosure
issues just minutes before the DA suddenly and unexpectedly closed the
case. It took a formal request of the DA’s and city attorney’s phone
records, which showed that the calls had, in fact, taken place, before
Garnett’s or Carr’s memory improved.

As
much as we wish we could, we simply can’t endorse Stan Garnett for
district attorney. Those who enforce the laws must be held to a higher
standard.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com