Democrats in the Louisville-based House District 12 will meet on Jan. 28 to select a new state representative.

The 1 p.m. Zoom meeting will draw precinct committee and support members, area coordinators, HD 12 district officers and any member of the General Assembly who lives in HD 12, although no state senator resides in HD 12. 

Former U.S. Rep. David Skaggs has announced his intention to seek the seat. 

Skaggs served in the Colorado House from 1981 to 1987, including as House Minority Leader from 1983 to 1985. He then was elected to the 2nd Congressional District, where he served six terms, stepping down in 1999.

Boulder County Democrats intend to make the list of candidates who have filled out the official form public Monday evening. 

According to Amy Weinstein, acting chair of the Boulder County Democrats, nominations will be formally accepted from the floor on Jan. 28. The meeting will be livestreamed via the BoCo Dem’s YouTube channel.

The vacancy in HD 12 was prompted by the resignation a week ago by Rep. Tracey Bernett, D-Louisville, who is facing three felonies and two misdemeanor counts related to residency and voter fraud.

Bernett was charged after an investigation alleged she didn’t live in the apartment she rented to maintain her residency in House District 12. The 2021 redistricting map moved her home into House District 19.

The announcement from District Attorney Michael Dougherty’s office in November, less than a week before the November election, said Bernett filed sworn statements with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office in 2021 and 2022, listing the Louisville apartment as her primary residency.

But an anonymous tip to Colorado Politics claimed Bernett still listed the Longmont house for voter registration purposes as late as Nov. 22, 2021. She filed paperwork for run for HD12, using the rental unit, on Nov. 3, 2021, in order to meet the 12-month requirement for residency as set forth in state law.

A formal complaint was filed on Sept. 19, 2022, alleging Bernett falsely claimed she resided in Louisville. “As a result of the investigation, it is alleged that Ms. Bernett falsely represented her primary residence over a nine-month period,” the statement from Dougherty, a Democrat, said. “It is alleged that, although she rented an apartment in Louisville in order to qualify for elected office, she did not actually live there. And, in so doing, she filed false, sworn documents with the Secretary of State’s Office. It is, also, alleged that by misrepresenting her residence, she voted in a primary election in a district in which she does not actually live.”

Evidence obtained following a Sept. 28 search warrant for the apartment showed “there were no food items in the refrigerator other than a bottle of sparkling cider, soy sauce and a Smucker’s spread in the door. There was only a stick of butter in the freezer and no ice. Cobwebs were attached to the cabinets. Additionally, there was no computer, monitor, printer, or TV. The apartment was spartanly furnished with no personal or family photographs and no indication of a pet ( contrary to social media posts about her cat).”

Investigators also noted in the affidavit that there was no charging mechanism for Bernett’s Tesla at the Louisville apartment.

Bernett becomes the fourth lawmaker to trigger a vacancy election for the 2023 session that began only a week ago. Vacancy committees have also chosen new lawmakers for House District 51, prompted by the death of House Minority Leader Hugh McKean on Oct. 30; for House District 35, prompted by the resignation of then-Speaker Pro Tem Adrienne Benavidez of Adams County; and to replace Sen. Bob Rankin, R-Carbondale who resigned his Senate District 5 seat on Jan. 10. 

At least eight lawmakers who served in the 2021-22 session were alleged to have lived outside of their districts. At least one, now-former Sen. Dennis Hisey, R-Colorado Springs, who now works as a district director for U.S. Sen. Doug Lamborn, is under investigation by the district attorney for the Fourth Judicial District for alleged residency and voter fraud. An indictment against former Sen. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, was dismissed by an El Paso County judge in October. The judge cited in the dismissal incorrect information about Lee’s address that was provided by the Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Registration to the grand jury.