Boulder County Democrat Tracey Bernett pled guilty to criminal charges on Friday for lying that she lived in the district she was elected to represent in the state House.
In sentencing the former state representative, Boulder County District Court Judge Nancy W. Salomone noted the seriousness of the charges and said Bernett’s actions “endangers democracy.”
“If you’re living and breathing in this country, you know that trust in public servants is fractured and endangered in an unusual way,” Salomone said. “When one person takes an action that encourages that distrust that our country has in its public servants, it endangers all public servants. And it endangers democracy.”
Bernett was originally charged with:
- Attempting to influence a public servant, a Class 4 felony
- Providing false information about a residence, a Class 5 felony
- Forgery, a Class 5 felony
- Perjury, a Class 2 misdemeanor
- Procuring false registration, a Class 2 misdemeanor
In exchange for pleading guilty to attempting to influence a public servant and a Class 1 misdemeanor perjury charge, all the other charges were dropped.
And for those charges and her crime of endangering democracy, Bernett basically walked with two years of probation and 150 hours of community service.
Bernett tearfully apologized as she pleaded guilty and was sentenced. “My life has always involved public service,” she said.
How ironic.
Bernett was busted by Theresa Watson, chair of the Boulder County Republicans, who filed a complaint in September with the district attorney’s office.
The Democrat was charged before the election, but Boulder County voters elected her despite her having endangered democracy.
Bernett didn’t resign from office until the new legislative session began last month. A vacancy committee has since replaced her with Louisville City Councilman Kyle Brown.