Nearly every elected official in Pueblo is calling for County Coroner Brian Cotter to step down
Michael Logerwell
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – This weekend, 14 elected Pueblo leaders collectively called for Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter to resign.
In the letter, posted on social media, Pueblo’s Leaders said, “It is in the best interest of Pueblo, and of the families we serve, that Coroner Brian Cotter resign immediately. Only then can we begin the process of moving forward, restoring trust, and rebuilding the integrity of this vital office.”
The letter acknowledges the grief and pain the news of the past week has brought to so many families.
“This is about doing what is right for our community during a time of crisis. This is an opportunity to show that while we may disagree on certain issues, we stand united when it comes to the well-being of Pueblo in this matter,” Pueblo’s Leaders wrote.
Signing the letter are:
Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham
Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero
All three Pueblo County Commissioners
Six of seven Pueblo City Councilors (Councilor Joe Latino did not sign)
Pueblo County Assessor
Pueblo County Treasurer
Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder
The letter ends by thanking the El Paso County Coroner, Dr. Emily Russell-Kinsley, and the Fremont County Coroner, Randy Keller, for their hard work picking up the slack in Pueblo’s time of need.
However, this letter is really all they can do.
During Friday’s press conference with Governor Polis and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Sheriff David Lucero said there was no way for anyone in Pueblo’s Government to remove the coroner from his publicly elected post.
The only way to remove him is the only way to remove any public official: a recall petition.
The Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder released an outline describing the process to recall elected officials.
The first step includes a notice of intent, which has to be approved by the county clerk. The notice of intent needs to include the name of the official to recall and a reason for the recall.
After the notice of intent is approved, more than 16,400 people will have to sign the petition within a certain time limit.
Once those signatures are approved, it will trigger the recall election. That’s when voters would actually get to decide if they want to remove Cotter from the Coroner’s Office.
As of publication, Cotter has not resigned from his position as Pubelo County Coroner.