Citing ongoing struggles to properly staff his office, District Attorney Seth Ryan on Monday announced his resignation, effective Oct. 31.

“We just don’t have the attorney manpower necessary for me to do my job effectively. Over the past four years, it’s been really difficult to find, recruit, hire, and retain brand-new attorneys,” Ryan said Monday after the DA’s Office sent out a letter announcing his decision.

The 7th Judicial District encompasses about 10,000 square miles in six counties: Montrose, Delta, Ouray, San Miguel, Hinsdale, and Gunnison. Over the past four years, the office’s average annual turnover rate was 32%, and this year, it’s been 56%, Ryan said. Providing coverage while also handling the expansive administrative requirements of the job is not sustainable, and the circumstances are beyond his control, he said.

At full staff, the DA’s Office consists of 16 attorneys, including Ryan. Over the summer, the number of prosecutors dropped to 11 before bouncing back to 16 — but in just a few weeks, three deputy prosecutors will be leaving the Montrose office. Three will remain, so Ryan will be losing half of the coverage capacity necessary for county and district court here.

The district attorney position becomes vacant when Ryan walks out the door Oct. 31. By statute, the governor appoints his replacement for a term until the next general election, Montrose County Clerk and Recorder Tressa Guynes confirmed. Ryan is on the ballot for Nov. 5 as unopposed. If he files paperwork with the Colorado Secretary of State to withdraw, any votes cast for him on the ballot will not be counted. If he does not formally withdraw and receives at least one vote, he would technically be reelected, but the result would be meaningless because he has resigned, Guynes explained.

The governor will soon post Ryan’s position as open and review applications to pick “the prosecutor who will best contribute to the governor’s goal of making Colorado one of the 10 safest states,” spokesman Eric Maruyama said. Voters would then have to retain the appointee at the next election.

If it comes down to it — no prosecutor in place when Ryan leaves — the DA’s Office would fall under the purview of the Colorado Attorney General, Ryan said.

“As we await the outcome of the process as required by law, the people of the 7th Judicial District should know that we are committed to supporting crime victims and will offer resources to the district attorney’s office during the transition,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said.

Shock follows announcement

“We’re disappointed,” said Montrose County Commissioner Sue Hansen. The counties in the 7th Judicial District provide the bulk of funding for Ryan’s office, although the state pays 80% of the base minimum salary for DAs. “I’m sorry it’s been difficult for him to manage that office. I think it’s just been difficult. It was just shocking. You don’t expect that. I didn’t expect that. Right now, being a prosecutor or in law enforcement in our state, it’s been a challenge in all those professions. From prosecutors’ perspective, it would appear prosecuting people is no longer in fashion in Colorado. I know Seth worked really hard. He took his job really seriously. I’ll miss him.”

Hansen wasn’t alone in thinking the legislature has gone softer on crime.

“We’re going to have to see where the vacancy committee takes us. I really hope that the commissioners are allowed to have a chance to discuss who his replacement is and have the chance to have a discussion with the replacement before the time comes,” Delta County Commissioner Don Suppes said. “(For) the amount of money the county spends to support the District Attorney’s Office, it’s pretty important we have a DA who can work with the counties. With the amount of crime and the way the legislature has dealt with crime in this state, we’re going to have to think outside the box to make this happen.”

State House Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta, said although he was disappointed Ryan wouldn’t be completing his term, he respected the decision and also understood Ryan had been through some hard times.

It’s not only an issue here

Staffing challenges aren’t entirely new, but increasing caseloads in rural districts, plus soaring living costs and quality of life factors, are exerting additional pressure.

The National District Attorneys Association released a survey July 9, finding that although 93% of prosecutors who responded reported high job satisfaction and 67% reported being motivated by public service, 57% have considered leaving, citing “personal well-being, better pay and overwhelming caseloads as the primary reasons.”

The association said those findings show an urgent need for systemic changes to retain prosecuting attorneys.

“It is a highly stressful job and when people see the level of responsibility, it is difficult to retain people in high stress and comparatively lower pay,” Ryan said.

The statutory minimum for a DA’s salary was $130,000 until the recent passage of Senate Bill 13, which increased the minimum compensation to match that of a full-time district court judge. (In the 7th JD, that’s $194,000, according to Ryan, who makes $140,000.) The new law, going into effect next year, also requires the state to pay for half of the assistant district attorney’s salary. However, it falls to the counties within a judicial district to fund the rest of operations, proportional to population.

Ryan said the pay in the 7th Judicial District is now comparable to that in others — but that isn’t the biggest issue. “I’m extremely grateful to all our county commissioners in the district for their support, especially the financial support they’ve given us in the past two years,” he said. “It’s just we can’t find people who want to be prosecutors, is the bottom line. In the 17 years I was in the office, 13 years prior, we have never been fully staffed. In the four years I’ve been district attorney — last year, we had a 33% turnover and vacancy rate and this year, 56%. It’s just extremely challenging, especially in this political climate, to find and recruit people who want to have a career as a prosecutor.”

According to job postings on the DA’s website, a deputy prosecutor working in the Montrose office is paid between $84,000 and $95,000 plus benefits. An entry level deputy DA’s pay range is $70,000 – $80,000 and benefits.

Properly staffing DA’s offices has always been a bit of a tough go, said Colorado District Attorneys Council Executive Director Tom Raynes. Raynes is keenly aware of how it is in rural district, particularly the 7th, where he once was district attorney.

“It’s always been challenging, even from when I was DA,” said Raynes, who left in 2006. “But the last four or five years especially, I think, with both COVID, anti-law enforcement legislation, the George Floyd incident, all of it kind of came together in a perfect storm. There’s really a shortage of applicants statewide. Because there aren’t many to begin with, they overwhelmingly apply to larger offices, because the pay is better.” (George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis in 2020 sparked massive protests and saw the officers responsible imprisoned.)

Ryan in his resignation letter referred more obliquely to the COVID pandemic and “the political aftermath of current events” as contributing to the challenges.

“When I reflect on, especially the 7th Judicial District, the salaries that were in place when I left 18 years ago, I think they’ve averaged a 1% increase,” Raynes said. “It’s really hard to convince somebody who can make 20% to 40% more in a larger office to come to the rural communities.”

Once a prosecutor or deputy prosecutor is hired, the raises received might not even match that of local county or municipal attorneys, he added. Raynes said he himself took about a 40% pay cut when he was appointed DA here. “Recruiting has been difficult. You combine that with salary difference and cost of living, you’ve got a huge challenge. It’s not unique to Colorado. It’s a nationwide issue,” he said.

Hansen said Ryan had been working to attract more deputy DAs here. During last year’s budget process, Ryan had sought funding to hire paralegal/evidence technicians to take some of the paperwork burden off of attorneys, in hopes that would contribute to retention. “It was kind of a perfect storm — a rural area, housing issues, salaries. All of that together made it a more difficult thing to manage,” Hansen said.

Although a county attorney might be better compensated than a prosecuting attorney, the picture for them is not entirely rosy, either, she added. “We have the same thing with the county attorney’s office. It is difficult to find folks. It used to be, in rural Colorado, you could count on housing being a little lower,” Hansen said.

The 7th Judicial District has been seeing about 5,000 cases filed per year. “I’ve been asking people to take on more, the work of an attorney and a half to two attorneys, every time we are understaffed. I’ve been in court handling dockets and trials due to being short-staffed, which takes me away from being able to supervise and mentor my staff,” Ryan said. “It’s really been a vicious circle. I’ve asked multiple people to take on a Herculean effort to keep things going and we get help, people are burned out and end up quitting.”

What’s to be done?

Ryan reiterated that retaining prosecutors is a challenge across rural Colorado. Most rural DAs do not have a layer of middle management they can rely on to pick up the slack; a layer of middle management that can help supervise attorneys, he said.

“As the elected DA in a small district, I’m responsible for covering court when people are unable to. I’m the HR director. I’m the trainer. I’m the supervisor and manager of people. I’m the chief financial officer. It is extremely difficult for rural DA offices that don’t have that built-in organizational management structure,” Ryan said.

For a time, the 7th JD was small enough that it was manageable. “I think now we’re in that in-between time, where we really need the help of a layer of middle management, but we haven’t been able to grow our office in that direction because of other priorities.”

Raynes also said rural prosecutors are tasked with duties well beyond overseeing prosecutions and that although the counties in some districts have stepped up to increase pay or offer housing incentives, that isn’t overcoming the challenge. The predicament has potential to hit far more than just the prosecutors’ offices — if a judicial district reaches a point where there are not enough prosecutors, then DAs will have to make hard calls about whether they can ethically proceed with cases. That means more cases would be dismissed. Prosecutors are not to bring cases they know they cannot effectively and fairly prosecute.

“Prosecutors are carrying well in excess of what suggested caseloads are,” Raynes said.

“I believe, at some point, the state is going to have to fund some of these costs,” added Raynes, who noted how the Colorado Public Defender’s Office is funded. The state funds that office through the annual appropriations process, via the Long Bill. Raynes says the funding mechanism is entirely appropriate, but the way DA offices are funded is not equitable. Although the recent bill that increased DA pay is helpful, more needs to be done for other positions in district attorneys offices. “I’ve been fighting for rural prosecutors ever since I left Montrose,” Raynes said.

Although the funding mechanism may be better for the public defender, it isn’t perfect, either, according to budget documents submitted by the Colorado Public Defender’s Office. Fiscal year 23-24 (beginning July 1, 2023) brought salary increases after a finding that salaries were below market in every category. The resulting increase was said to have had a positive impact on retention. In its 24-25 request, the state public defender’s office pointed to increased caseload, driven in part by laws requiring police to wear and use body cameras — that requirement has increased the amount of evidence defense attorneys and prosecutors alike must sift through. As well, the numbers of defendants with mental health issues are growing, and these clients require specialized representation, the document said. The budget process for FY 25 – 26 is soon to begin.

From the district attorney council’s perspective, there is a worry that other prosecutors may follow Ryan as their situations become untenable. “It’s a lot to ask of a rural prosecutor to run an administrative office, to be the HR, to be the trainer, to be the mentor, and to also carry a full caseload,” said Raynes. “It’s just asking for burnout.”

Ryan hinted at as much in his resignation letter, writing of a “significant toll” on his health.

“I have truly cherished my 17 years at the District Attorney’s Office and the people I have worked with, most especially my loyal staff, who have exhibited unwavering support and made tremendous sacrifices during these past few years,” Ryan wrote. “I thank them for working tirelessly with integrity, respect, and in collaboration. I am proud of the work I have accomplished during my career as a prosecutor, zealously promoting justice for the most innocent victims in our communities.”