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Residents urge Pueblo County commissioners to avoid appointing coroner with funeral-home ties
Summary
Multiple public commenters told the Pueblo County Board of County Commissioners that the coroner role should not be held by someone affiliated with a funeral home, citing community distress after issues involving Davis Mortuary and asking the board to consider Solange Macaulay Bachicha for appointment.
Several residents and funeral-industry workers urged the Pueblo County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday to avoid appointing anyone with funeral-home ties to the coroner's position and to consider Solange Macaulay Bachicha for appointment. Phyllis Guerrero Robinson said she supports Bachicha and pleaded with commissioners "to please look through your heart and find the right person for this," adding that an appointee should not have funeral-home affiliations.
Angelo Romero, owner and operator of Romero Family Funeral Home, asked commissioners to "separate everything from one industry to the other," saying the coroner's office should be independent of funeral-home ownership or employment. Andrea Markowitz, who identified herself as a funeral-home employee, said it is "completely unreasonable to believe that anyone with any Funeral Home Association would be the best person for this position" after the situation involving Davis Mortuary.
An unidentified family member described personal difficulty after a death in the family, saying the coroner presented himself as the coroner but did not disclose funeral-home ownership when he handed her a card, and that she was discouraged from pursuing an autopsy. "I don't think anybody should ever be put in that position where they can abuse it so easily," she said.
Not all public comments were uniformly accusatory. A commenter identified in the record as Dave urged caution in drawing conclusions about Mr. Cotter until evidence is available, saying some people describe him as "an honest ... man of integrity."
Commissioners acknowledged the public concern and said they take the decision "very seriously," emphasizing the need to find a qualified candidate who can help the community heal. Several commissioners thanked speakers for coming and said they would consider community sentiment as part of the appointment process.
The board did not vote on any appointment at the meeting. Public comments on this issue were taken during the public-comment portion of the agenda.
