pwaggoner@alamosanews.com 

ALAMOSA — The six boards of county commissioners that make up the SLV BOCC held a special meeting on Monday, June 29 to discuss putting a ballot measure before voters in November asking if term limits should be removed for the office of District Attorney (DA) for the 12th Judicial District. The meeting ended with four counties - Alamosa, Conejos, Rio Grande and Mineral - all being in favor of removing term limits with Saguache and Costilla undecided. 

Saguache and Costilla County will put a vote on the agenda of their next meeting to be held July 7. 

Currently, district attorneys in this area are limited to serving two terms in office, after which they are not eligible to run for re-election. In the case of District Attorney Anne Kelly, she is in her first term now. Should she run and be re-elected in 2028, current law would prohibit her from running again. 

The idea of eliminating term limits has been proposed by county commissioners in recent months and led to several productive discussions, with Monday’s meeting prompting a vote as the deadline for putting such a measure on the ballot is July 24.  

According to state law, all six boards have to support the measure in order for it to be put before the voters. There is also the requirement that elections removing term limits only be held in even numbered years, which would make 2028 the next possible year to propose the vote to voters.  

State law also does not allow a vote to remove term limits while the elected official is in their last term, which would essentially mean postponing the vote until 2032. 

It should be noted that the discussion was specifically limited to the office of district attorney. 

As Commissioner Zeke Ward of Mineral County said, “I’m in favor of term limits in some cases. Incumbents have an unfair advantage, which allows people to become too powerful while in office. That’s why I’m in favor of term limits for the executive and legislative branches. 

“But the DA position is not like that. They are less susceptible to having an unfair advantage. They don’t control legislation and voters’ choice is more influenced by the performance of the DA than other partisan offices.” 

Ward then closed with a statement that seemed to resonate with many of his colleagues. “If we limit the choice of the voters, we’re saying we don’t trust them to make the right decision. So, let the voters decide.” 

Commissioner Thompson of Saguache echoed Ward’s words, saying, “Put it on the ballot. Eighteen commissioners should not decide for the voters. Let them decide for themselves.” 

The only commissioner that still voiced objections to removing term limits was Commissioner McCracken, also of Saguache.  

“At some point,” he began, “voters decided that they wanted the DA to serve two terms.  That’s how it started. And I haven’t talked to a single constituent who is in favor of removing term limits for the district attorney.”  

While DAs may have a somewhat different learning curve due to the nature of their job, several noted the effort Kelly has put into rebuilding, restaffing and now managing a strong, functioning district attorney’s office. 

“And let’s face it,” Thompson said. “We don’t really have that many people who want to be DA anymore.” 

Commissioner Steven Romero indicated that he supported removing limits but could not commit until he spoke with the other commissioners. Commissioner Quintana nodded in agreement. 

“So, what this comes down to is if Saguache and Costilla want this,” Romero continued. “If so, it goes on the ballot. If not, it doesn’t.” 

Ward once again advocated for investing power in the voters, and how this possibly encourages more connection between voters and officials. “And the closer you get to the voters, the more visible you are,” he said, which elicited general murmurs of agreement.