The Colorado Democratic Party State Central Committee voted overwhelmingly to censure Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday, formally rebuking him for commuting the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.
The censure bars the governor from participating as an honored guest, featured speaker or official representative of the Colorado Democratic Party at party-sponsored events, including the Obama Gala and DemFest.
The 89.8% vote came after more than 700 Colorado Democrats signed onto a complaint submitted Monday, calling for their party to formally censure the governor.
The motion, read by DNC member Stephanie Beal, said the committee found that Polis' decision to grant clemency to Peters "materially harmed the Colorado Democratic Party's institutional credibility and efforts to defend Democratic institutions and election integrity."
"Reducing her sentence now under pressure from Donald Trump is not justice," Beal said, reading the statement at the meeting. "It sends a message to future bad actors that elected pampering has consequences, unless you're friends with the president. That's a dangerous and disappointing precedent to set."
The 70-year-old former clerk Peters was originally sentenced to nine years in October 2024 for her role in an elections security breach.
Polis commuted Peters’ prison sentence on Friday after pressure from President Donald Trump and following a Colorado Court of Appeals ruling in April that Peters should be resentenced by the district court. Peters is set to be released June 1.
Ahead of the vote, the governor’s office said in a statement that “he made the decision he felt was right, not popular.”
“One of the great things about the Democratic Party is that we are a big tent, and there is space to debate and disagree. No clemency decision should be granted only on whether it will be popular,” the statement said, in part. “The Governor is often attacked on clemency decisions, but is a deep believer in mercy.”
The commutation has drawn vehement opposition from members of the governor’s party, with the petition calling Polis’ decision “conduct detrimental to the interests of the Party.”
Nearly all of those who spoke at Wednesday's meeting spoke in favor of the censure.
"Gov. Polis gave into America's biggest bully, and giving into bullies never works, plain and simple," Jordan Letschert said during the comment period Wednesday.
Congressman Jason Crow, D-CO, also voiced his support for the censure in a statement read ahead of the vote.
“The Democratic Party must fight for democracy and the rule of law. We must be consistent, courageous, resolute, and willing to call out our own when they fall short," the statement said. “Governor Polis’ decision to commute Tina Peters’ sentence was wrong and has undermined efforts to protect our elections."
Ann La Plante, a criminal defense attorney, spoke in opposition to the censure Wednesday.
"I believe that Tina Peters was way too harshly sentenced," she said. "I believe he should have made the sentence run at the same time concurrent, as they call it. And so I believe the governor made a brave decision, unpopular as it is."
Others believe the censure isn't enough.
"The General Assembly should reconvene to investigate and hold him accountable," David Seligman, candidate for Colorado Attorney General, said in a statement after the vote. "And if he commuted Tina Peters' sentence at the behest of Donald Trump, surrendering the sovereign authority of Colorado, he should be impeached. We have to be done with performative politics and wield the tools of public power for real accountability for abuses of power."
This is a developing story that may be updated.
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