No Signatures, No Recall: Aurora DA Stays in Office

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31

DENVER (KDVR) — An effort to recall a Colorado district attorney whose office prosecuted an attempted kidnapping case at an elementary school that ended with the suspect walking free due to competency issues has failed.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and 18th Judicial District Attorney Amy Padden both confirmed that as of Tuesday night’s deadline, no signatures on the petition to recall Padden from office had been turned in. The petition needed 75,875 registered Arapahoe County voters to trigger the recall election, Padden said.

In July, Aurora City Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky announced she was launching a campaign to try and remove Padden from office after registered sex offender Carmen Galligan walked free. Galligan was charged in connection with an attempted kidnapping at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in April 2024.

In August, the case against Galligan was dismissed after doctors at Fort Logan State Hospital found that Galligan had a chronic mental condition and would never be competent enough to stand trial. Under current Colorado law, defendants must be released from custody if they are found incompetent to stand trial.

“This is a case where the victims expressed great fear at what happened to their children, and then outrage and concern about the state of the law, which required dismissal in this case,” said Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley when Galligan’s case was dismissed in July.

Brackley prosecuted the case in the 18th Judicial District.

Jurinsky said in July that she believes Padden has let too many people off with easy case resolutions during her time as district attorney, which began in January. Padden was elected to the position in November.

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