Last Monday, Boulder County Democratic state representative Tracey Bernett resigned in order to focus on pending criminal accusations. According to media sources, the Democrat member was charged with perjury for claiming in signed paperwork that she resided in an apartment within the revised limits of her district.
It was too late for the Democrats, who first supported the commission’s plan to redraw the boundaries before realizing that it would really harm them.
Liberal and pro-Democratic groups entered the legal struggle to resist the idea, showing the extent to which a single seat might destabilize their dominance, according to a late October 2021 Washington Post report.
And now one Democrat has had
“Representative Bernett resigned from the House of Representatives on 1/8/23,” was all that was left on her official page for the Colorado legislature.
There are a Democratic trifecta and a Democratic triplex in Colorado. The Democratic Party holds sway over the positions of governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and both houses of the state legislature.
There are 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 11 split governments where neither party possesses trifecta power as of January 20, 2023.
As of January 20, 2023, there are 24 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 6 split governments in which no party controls the triplex.
“A state government trifecta is a term to describe when one political party holds majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and the governor’s office. A state government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state’s government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.,” according to Ballotpodeia.
And now Democrats are tainted in the state:
“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.
Martin Walsh reported for Conservative Brief on the matter:
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.”
More on this story via The Republic Brief:
Tracey Bernett, the Democratic state representative who is facing criminal charges for allegedly falsifying her residency, resigned just before the new legislative session began. CONTINUE READING…