What do a Colorado AG and Secretary of State. actulaly do? Do they need to be trial attorneys?

Jena Griswold's opponents in the primary race for Attorney General  have impressive backgrounds as trial attorneys, but that is not what the position calls for.  Where do they stand on protecting ballot integrity against election deniers and Trump's drive to federalize elections so he can control the outcome more easily? This will be the hot-button issue for the next two years, as it has been for the past two, and both positions, AG and Secretary of State, will be involved... Grwiswold has earned her spurs on this issue by running smooth elections, providing efficient access to business records, and demonstrating nationwide leadership in dealing with those who would undermine our most sacred right to free and fair elections. Being a trial attorney, no matter how successful in fighting crime, is a great resume for a District Attorney, but not for what the AG's position calls for, which is coordinating a staff of 700, including an entire section of trial attorneys. Protecting Colorado's election integrity does not appear to be any priority or even on the radar of Griswold's opponents.

So much of the chatter on social media about the primary at the end of June dominates who is qualified to be in a courtroom to prosecute cases concerning Colorado law, or whether either the Secretary of State or the State Attorney General needs courtroom experience to be effective. The correct answer is neither needs to be a trial attorney to be qualified and, and claiming otherwise is deceptive. and irrelevant. The attack on both candidates in current ads, who either had little courtroom experience or had rarely actually appeared in a courtroom, is deceptive. Being courtroom litigators is not required for either position because both the SOS and AG have supervisory and administrative roles, and neither has to be in the courtroom, nor is that what their positions primarily demand.. They can and should tap in-house staff and a section of courtroom-experienced prosecutors, as they must also manage multiple administrative matters, set priorities, and serve as the public face for a wide range of issues and enforcement actions handled by hundreds of staff members.

The best example of this is the prosecution of the Tina Peters case. Peters, Mesa County Clerk, had given the codes of the election tabulating machines to. a partisan volunteer, covered it up, and lied about it. Her conviction survived a jury trial and appeal, but the sentencing was the issue, and Polis was criticized for releasing her after she had served half her prison term. https://coloradonewsline.com/.../tina-peters-mesa-county.../ In the high-profile prosecution of Tina Peters for criminally breaking Colorado voter integrity laws,, both SOS Griwswold and AG Phil Weiser had critical roles in supervising the successful action, but both the Mesa County DA and two assistant attorney generals did the actual courtroom and legal work.. That is why it is such BS to attack Griswold for a lack of courtroom experience, and or to attack Phil Weiser for not being directly involved.. The AG has its own staff of courtroom-seasoned attorneys, and asking the question "Would you like Griwold to represent you in court?" is an irrelevant and deceptive attack on Griwold or on Phil Weiser.

Whether you agree with what either did, at least understand what their positions require, and whether their qualifications and experience are the right fit for the job.

FYI. Felicia Muftic is a former county clerk (Denver) and director of a multi-county consumer protection prosecution office with civil and criminal powers.