Originally published in the April 19 issue of The Mountain-Ear Newspaper.

John Scarffe, Nederland.

Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty spent some office hours in Nederland from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 15, 2018, at Happy Trails. He goes to a coffee shop or public venue every week and had 25 people at one recent gathering.

Dougherty was elected to the D.A. position in March 2018. “It’s the greatest honor of my 20 years as a prosecuting attorney and leader,” he said.

Boulder County has experienced a 30 percent increase in felony cases in recent years. Five homicide trials have been scheduled in the County so far this year.

“That’s a dramatic increase,” Dougherty said. His office is concerned about the impact to public safety. “We want to make sure families and visitors to Boulder County can enjoy life free of crime,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty started his career in the district attorney’s office in Manhattan, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the office with 1,300 employees. He was entrusted with that responsibility early in his career.

Dougherty and his wife moved to Boulder to start a study on wrongful convictions. They were studying anyone who was falsely incarcerated. He had not heard of the case of Pinecliffe resident Vic Hansen, Jr., who has been in jail for more than ten years on a sexual assault case he claims was consensual.

Dougherty became the head of the Criminal Justice Section for the Attorney General’s office working on environmental crimes, human trafficking, financial fraud and murder cases around the state. For the past five years, he has been in command at the Jefferson and Gilpin County D.A.’s office.

“That’s why it is such a great honor to serve the D.A.’s office in the community where I live,” Dougherty said. He leads an office of 82 personnel with branches in Boulder and Longmont.

His vision for the office is to be a leader in seeking justice and enhancing public safety. Dougherty is familiar with the Nederland area because he runs in the area and has run the King’s Lake loop over the divide to Granby. He has also completed the 50 mile Leadville loop.

For more information go to michaelforboulderDA.com.