Court Temporarily Halts Recall Effort Against Colorado State Sen. Kevin Priola

By Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline

October 11, 2022

Organizers for the recall effort against state Sen. Kevin Priola must stop their efforts until next year, a Denver District Court judge decided Monday evening.

Judge Marie Avery Moses ruled that organizers need to wait until Jan. 9, the start of the legislative session, when Priola will begin representing a new district, to gather petitions for a recall election.

Priola, who recently changed his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, currently represents Senate District 25, a Democratic-leaning district that includes Broomfield and some northwest Denver suburbs. He was redrawn into the more conservative Senate District 13, which extends along U.S. 85 from Brighton to Greeley, during last year’s redistricting process.

When Priola switched his party affiliation, Republicans launched a recall effort against him, adding an especially competitive element to the election-year landscape when Democrats are trying to hold on to the state Senate majority.

The Colorado secretary of state’s office ruled that the recall, which needs 18,000 voter signatures to move forward, should happen in Senate District 13.

According to Monday’s ruling, however, "petitions cannot continue to circulate until Priola is sworn in to represent Senate District 13." Advance Colorado Action, which is leading the recall effort, said it has already gathered about 15,000 signatures.

“The Secretary’s approval of the Recall Petition allowed a shift in the recall right to constituents of a neighboring district whom Sen. Priola does not currently represent and will not represent until January 9, 2023,” she wrote in her decision.

The decision means that a recall election, if enough signatures are collected, will likely not happen until after the 2023 legislative session, increasing the Democrats’ odds of retaining the majority.

Priola praised the decision.

“Today’s ruling upholds the rule of law and the integrity of our independent redistricting process, and I am pleased the Court agreed that this special-interest-driven recall effort was built on a faulty premise,” he said in a statement.

Democratic Senate President Steven Fenberg of Boulder also welcomed the news.

“Recalls are an important process meant to root out politicians guilty of corruption or malfeasance, not for political operatives and special interests to seek revenge against lawmakers they disagree with. Allowing Senator Priola to be recalled by voters in a district that he doesn’t yet represent would have created a cascade of ridiculous recall efforts every redistricting cycle,” he said in a statement.

Advance Colorado Action senior advisor Michael Fields said the group plans to appeal the decision and will continue to collect signatures.

“Coloradans have a constitutional right to recall our elected officials,” he said in a statement. “Throughout this process, we have simply followed the instructions set out by the Secretary of State.”

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