2 candidates announce plans to run for 8th Judicial District Attorney in 2024
Two candidates have announced plans to run for district attorney in Larimer County.
Current District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin is running for reelection and faces challenger Dawn Downs, a former chief deputy district attorney for the district attorney’s office and current attorney for the city of Fort Collins.
The 8th Judicial District represents Larimer and Jackson counties.
Downs is running as an unaffiliated candidate, while McLaughlin is running as a Democrat. McLaughlin said in a statement announcing his reelection campaign that he has received early endorsements from Democratic leaders including Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
Downs said she has been endorsed by current and former Larimer County leaders, including the three prior district attorneys, former Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith and current Sheriff John Feyen. In her campaign announcement, she said she is running because "our community deserves a district attorney motivated by public safety, not politics."
Both candidates have prior experience working as prosecutors in the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
In 2020, McLaughlin beat out his Republican challenger by almost 14% of the vote to become the district’s first Democratic district attorney in more than 80 years. Downs is the first woman and first unaffiliated candidate to ever run for 8th Judicial District Attorney, according to her campaign.
McLaughlin is running for reelection “to continue to build upon my first term success,” and because “there is more work to do and there is nothing more important than delivering a fair criminal justice system,” McLaughlin said in a statement announcing his campaign. Some of the successes McLaughlin mentioned from his first term include:
Increasing transparency with the public through the creation of a public data dashboard and a DA’s Citizen Academy.
Prosecuting multiple fentanyl-related overdose deaths under the new state law, “while actively working to expand treatment and education efforts for those struggling with substance abuse."
Helping to implement programs like the 8th Judicial District Warrant Clearance events and the 8th Judicial District Competency Docket.
Expanding the district attorney’s office policy on reviewing police officer use of force incidents.
“Over the last four years I have led the District Attorney’s Office in a direction that seeks justice and drives reform and innovation to provide the best public service possible for our citizens in the 8th Judicial District,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “In a short and complex time we have delivered real results for our community by keeping it safer, increasing transparency, and bringing justice to victims of crime.”
Downs said her 14 years of experience with the district attorney’s office has given her “the experience, relationships and integrity” to successfully “take the reins” at the district attorney’s office.
Downs said in a statement announcing her candidacy that “she wants to strengthen the office to champion the rights of victims, to hold offenders accountable for the harm they have caused, and to offer paths to recovery.”
“From the beginning of my legal career, my goal has been to serve my community as a prosecutor. I will work tirelessly to rebuild a solution-oriented culture in the D.A.’s office that upholds laws, prosecutes crimes, and restores hope that justice is possible for everyone in Larimer and Jackson counties," Downs said in a statement.
Downs said safety, justice and accountability are the foundation for the district attorney’s office, which she hopes to achieve by “gaining community trust by maintaining a high standard of accountability for all, including law enforcement agencies,” and collaborating with local agencies, supporting those who protect the community while still “holding high expectations of officer conduct.”
In her time with the district attorney's office, Downs said she helped create multiple multidisciplinary teams with local law enforcement agencies to more effectively prosecute crimes. She created the Criminal Impact Team in 2019 to investigation violent crimes, and she organized a multi-agency effort to streamline investigations into fentanyl-related overdose deaths, according to her campaign website.
Downs left the district attorney’s office in October 2022 and has been working as the public safety chief attorney for the city of Fort Collins, advising Fort Collins Police Services, city code enforcement and emergency management as well as supervising the municipal prosecution team, according to her campaign announcement.
To read more about McLaughlin's campaign, visit mclaughlinforda.com. To read more about Downs' campaign, visit dawnforda.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Here's who plans to run for 8th Judicial District Attorney in 2024
