John Walsh, former U.S. attorney for Colorado, is latest to announce candidacy for Denver DA
John Walsh announced this week that he's joining the race for Denver District Attorney. Current DA Beth McCann announced that she won't seek re-election in 2024 earlier this year. Longtime prosecutor Leora Joseph and former civil rights attorney Lisi Owen have already announced their candidacies.
Walsh served for six years as a U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado.
"I felt that call that this is my hometown," said Walsh, and he says his hometown is struggling with problems including homelessness, crime and theft.
"This is such a wonderful city in so many ways and there's no reason why we as a community can't address these issues and move past them," he said.
Walsh says he's uniquely qualified to help.
"The principle job of the district attorney's office is to prosecute crime, but there's a leadership role that's so important," he said.
As a U.S. Attorney under President Barack Obama, Walsh says he has a record of leadership on some of the biggest issues facing the city, including gun crimes.
"That's an issue that I've worked on for decades," he said.
As DA, he says he would push for stronger laws at the state level and employ technology available at the federal level to identify those pulling the trigger and incarcerate them.
"It is so important that we deliver swift, fair and certain consequences to people who are involved in violent crime and that we do that consistently," he said. "The certainty of a consequence matters greatly, and right now I fear that we are not delivering that message forcefully enough."
Walsh says addressing violent crime will be his top priority, and that will include violent crimes committed by youths.
"If they've committed a serious crime, then we have to address is seriously so that that kid doesn't end up becoming an adult who is truly a menace to their community," he said.
He says he is equally focused on prevention and programs to keep kids out of corrections. He says he would fight for more resources to those struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues.
"It's important that if you have people who are resistant to substance abuse programs or mental health programs, at some point having some consequence there is necessary and it's got to be the last resort."
He also vowed to hold auto thieves accountable. He said he would create an auto theft task force that would encompass the entire Denver metro area.
"If we can address that we're not only going to help all those families whose cars might get stolen but we're going to have an effect on the crime more broadly."