Colorado Democrats censure Gov. Jared Polis over Tina Peters sentence

The central committee of the Colorado Democratic Party voted 89.8 percent in favor of a measure to censure Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday. A censure temporarily bars him from speaking or participating in party-sponsored events.

Polis said earlier that the petition by hundreds of Democrats calling for the action is politically motivated. The petition responds to his decision to commute the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. A judge had given her nearly nine years for tampering with election equipment to prove unsubstantiated claims of fraud.

Polis cut the sentence in half. Peters could be paroled as early as June 1.

"My goal is to make the right decision with the information I have and that's exactly what I did in this case," Polis said. "I think the fact this has seemingly become so partisan shows the problem with this case, frankly. No case should be viewed from a partisan lens. Each case is about an individual and the crime they committed."

The governor said he looked at other cases of corruption by public officials and none of them had sentences as steep as Peters received.

"In nearly every case we saw probation, we saw 6 months," he said.

Peters' sentence, he said, was based too much on what she said rather than what she did. The appellate court raised the same concern.

"Clearly, her free speech -- however much we disagree with it -- was used as a factor in that sentencing," Polis said.

Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubenstein disagrees.

"This was not just a one act. This was a months-long pattern of deception to try to violate every security protocol we had as the person we entrusted specifically for that," he said.

Rubenstein said Peters could have received 20 years. He noted that even Polis's own clemency board recommended against commutation.

Polis said he considered input from thousands of Coloradans and made his decision based on what he thought was right.

"I approach all these decisions with great humility and a very objective way looking at the data, of course," he said.

Rubenstein said Polis ignored the advice of everyone closely involved in the case.

"That's not humility, that's arrogance -- to believe that your judgment should substitute those others because you think they're wrong and you think you're smarter than them."

The Democrats who asked the Colorado Democratic Party to censure the governor say his conduct is inconsistent with the party's mission, which includes leading the battle for democracy. Polis insists he is doing exactly that.

"It's caught up in the zeitgeist of the partisan divide which is a horrific thing that rips my heart apart, this divide that's facing this country and our state. And I really hope that doesn't impugn each individual sense of justice, whether they're Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative. We need to make sure that you're punished based on the crime regardless of your beliefs," Polis said.

Rubenstein said he would not have protested a four-and-a-half year sentence for Peters had it come from the judge, who presided over years of litigation, is from Mesa County, and understands the impact Peters' actions have had on the community.

The governor said he did not talk to Peters before making his decision, but he noted she apologized for her actions and took accountability in her clemency request.

Rubenstein wonders how long her remorse will hold up. He said she has until Friday to appeal her conviction to the Colorado Supreme Court.

The Colorado Democratic Party released a statement after the vote that expands upon one issued by state party chair Shad Murib after Polis announced last Friday that he was commuting the sentence of Tina Peters.