El Paso County commissioners approve three deputy district attorneys, adopt Presidents' Day proclamation and move into executive session

The El Paso County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, Feb. 11, approved the appointments of three deputy district attorneys and passed a Presidents' Day proclamation, approved the consent calendar, and voted to go into executive session to receive legal advice on appointments to the county Board of Health. All formal votes recorded during the public meeting were unanimous, 5-0.

The district attorney's office introduced Mitchell Shaw, Nicholas Fajardo and Savannah Patterson as new deputy district attorneys. Brent Nelson, assistant district attorney, said the hires bring a mix of regional and practice-area experience and that "we have seen them hit the ground running." Nelson described Shaw as a fourth‑generation Colorado native with prior internship experience in the office; Fajardo as having prosecutorial experience in the Queens District Attorney's Office and international study experience; and Patterson as previously assigned to the juvenile and special victims dockets.

Commissioners offered brief remarks welcoming the new attorneys and praising the Fourth Judicial District's leadership. A motion to approve the three appointments passed on a roll call vote: Bremer — aye; Wysong — aye; Applegate — aye; Vice Chair Holly Williams — aye; Chair Carrie Geithner — aye. The board recorded the approval as passing 5-0.

During the meeting the board also approved the consent calendar (items 6a–6g3) by a single motion and roll call. No members of the public spoke on consent items and the board did not call any consent items up for separate discussion. The motion to approve the consent calendar passed on a 5-0 roll call vote.

The board adopted a proclamation recognizing Presidents' Day (recognized date: Feb. 17, 2025). Vice Chair Holly Williams read the proclamation on behalf of the board; the document was attested by Steve Schleicher, county clerk and recorder. The proclamation passed on a 5-0 vote.

Near the end of the public meeting the board voted to enter an executive session pursuant to Colorado's Open Meetings Act, CRS 24‑6‑402(4)(b), to receive legal advice on specific questions about the process for appointments to the Board of Health. The motion to go into executive session was moved and seconded and carried on a roll call vote of 5-0.

Public comment: Two members of the public spoke during the allotted public-comment period. Mark Christiani, chief of police for Fountain, thanked commissioners for recognizing the late Fountain officer Julian Becerra and referred to ongoing prosecution work in that case. A second speaker, resident Corey Arcarese, criticized remarks made by the county chair at a recent "state of the region" event and called on commissioners to represent all county residents regardless of political viewpoint. Both comments were recorded during the public-comment portion of the agenda; no formal action followed those remarks.

The board announced its next meeting and a land-use hearing scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 13, at 9:00 a.m. in Colorado Springs.