ALAMOSA — The San Luis Valley Board of Commissioners, comprised of the commissioners from all six counties in the Valley, are holding a special meeting on Monday morning to discuss adding a motion to the November ballot that would eliminate term limits for the district attorney (DA). 

Currently, district attorneys in the San Luis Valley are limited to serving two terms at four years each. 

The idea originated during a similar meeting held months ago but was temporarily tabled, pending further discussion. With the deadline to add a ballot measure coming up on July 24, the commissioners are meeting to assess where the counties stand.  

This is a first for the Valley to consider ending term limits - for any position. And, although it hasn’t been said directly, comments heard from local officials in the four years Kelley has been DA suggest that the elimination is largely prompted by the job Kelley is doing in office and offering voters the opportunity to keep her in office beyond the two terms allowed by state Constitution. 

Anne Kelly’s first introduction to the office of SLV’s district attorney came in 2022 when she volunteered to temporarily leave her position as a prosecutor in Boulder for a few weeks to “help out” in the Valley.  

“The office was in terrible shape,” is a quote that can be attributed to Darius Allen and numerous other civic leaders. Kelley’s predecessor, Alonzo Payne, had spent his time in office reaching plea deals that victims found egregious and failing to act on cases brought to him by law enforcement.  

Then, in July of 2022 on the eve of a recall campaign that appeared likely to be successful, he resigned, sending his letter to the Denver Post for publication. Payne was eventually disbarred from practicing law in Colorado. 

A few months after Kelley returned to her position in Boulder, Governor Jared Polis appointed her as interim DA. She did have to run in the next election and was successful but the clock on her time only started when she was re-elected by a landslide in 2024.  

Kelley will be up for re-election again in 2028. If she’s successful and term limits stay in place, that will be her last term as DA. 

“People seem to think eliminating term limits would take away some of their freedoms, but that isn’t the case,” says Lori Laske, Alamosa County Commissioner. “It doesn’t guarantee she’ll stay in office. People can still vote her out if they’re unhappy with her performance. When you think about it, eliminating term limits actually gives voters more power since, if they want to keep her in office, they can vote to keep her there.” 

Each board of county commissioners - all six in the Valley - must support the ballot measure if it’s to be successful.  

The 12th Judicial District is like all judicial districts in Colorado. It’s viewed as an administrative unit that groups multiple counties together for the sake of electing judges and district attorneys.  As a result, the district is viewed as a single administrative unit. In order to pass a ballot measure eliminating the term limits, the measure would have to win in each of the counties. 

Against that backdrop, each board of county commissioners also has to submit a measure to their clerk and recorder for the measure to appear on the November ballot.  

When asked how many counties are in support of the measure, Laske says, “That’s what we’re going to work out on Monday. Four have submitted a measure to their clerk and county recorders - Alamosa, Conejos, Rio Grande and Mineral. We haven’t heard anything from Saguache and Costilla yet.”  

If the measure appears on the November ballot, the majority of voters in each of the six counties has to approve since it is a districtwide measure.  

And if that were to happen, the 12th Judicial District will be only one of two judicial districts to entire eliminating DA term limits. Pueblo in the 10th Judicial District was the first to eliminate term limits for the DA, but it took a ruling from the Colorado State Supreme Court to see the elimination stay in place.  

Voters in four other counties - Mesa, Boulder, Denver and El Paso - have voted, as well, but only to extend the limit to three terms. 

Whatever decision the SLV Board of County Commissioners reaches on Monday, all action must be taken in less than four weeks as the deadline for measures to be added to the ballot is July 24.