“Rep. Bernett is charged with crimes for lying to voters about where she lived. If the (Democratic) caucus had any integrity, the Democrat leaders would refuse to swear in Rep. Bernett on Monday,” Kristi Burton Brown, Colorado State Republican Party chairwoman, said. “HD12 deserves to be represented by someone who actually lives there, not someone who lied to get votes.”
In November’s election, Bernett easily defeated Republican challenger Anya Kirvan after receiving more than 77% of the vote.
However, voters in the district received their ballots before the charges against Bernett were announced.
Boulder County Democratic state Rep. Tracey Bernett resigned from office last week to focus on criminal charges against her. The Democrat lawmaker was charged for lying in sworn documents that she lived in an apartment within the new boundaries of her district.
“Bernett was charged in November with attempting to influence a public servant, forgery, providing false information about a residence, perjury, and procuring false registration. The charges stem from her allegedly lying about her primary residence in her 2022 re-election bid,” the Denver Post reported.
“Bernett was first elected in 2020, and listed an address in unincorporated Boulder County, just south of Longmont, as her primary residence. During the 2021 redistricting, that residence was drawn into a district that non-partisan analysts gave a slight Republican tilt. In her 2022 re-election bid, she listed her primary address as being in Louisville, and in a district with a distinct Democratic advantage. She overwhelmingly won re-election this November. Investigators with the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office determined she did not actually live at that address but rented an apartment there to run for office. She is scheduled for an arraignment hearing on Feb. 10,” the outlet added.
The Democrat did not admit guilt but said in a statement that she is giving up her seat “while addressing these charges rather than compromising the policy initiatives she deems important to those living in House District 12 and the citizens of Colorado.”
https://conservativebrief.com/resigns-over-70105/