DENVER — Colorado Governor Jared Polis has dismissed two members of the state's Executive Clemency Advisory Board after they publicly criticized his decision to commute the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and disclosed confidential details of the board's deliberations, according to the governor's office.
The dismissals followed an opinion essay published in June in which board members Hannah Seigel Proff and Azra Taslimi said the advisory panel had twice voted unanimously against recommending clemency for Peters. They argued they chose to reveal the board's position because of what they described as extraordinary circumstances surrounding the governor's decision.
In termination letters, the Polis administration said the two members violated confidentiality requirements governing the Executive Clemency Advisory Board, whose recommendations to the governor are intended to remain private. The governor's office said preserving confidentiality is essential to ensuring candid deliberations in future clemency cases.
Polis commuted Peters' sentence in May after a Colorado appeals court upheld her convictions but ruled that the trial judge had improperly considered her protected political speech when determining her punishment. The governor said at the time that Peters remained a convicted felon and that her conduct was criminal, but he concluded the nearly nine-year prison sentence was disproportionately severe.
Peters, a Republican former election official from Mesa County, was convicted in 2024 on multiple felony and misdemeanor counts stemming from unauthorized access to county election equipment. Prosecutors said the breach allowed sensitive election system information to be copied and later distributed as supporters of former President Donald Trump challenged the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.
The governor's clemency decision drew sharp criticism from Democratic elected officials, election administrators and party activists. In May, the Colorado Democratic Party formally censured Polis, saying the commutation undermined confidence in election security and accountability. Polis responded that he acted based on the facts of the case and constitutional principles rather than political considerations.
The firing of the two advisory board members has intensified scrutiny of the commutation. Proff and Taslimi had maintained that disclosing the board's unanimous opposition was warranted because of the public significance of the case, while the governor's office said their actions breached rules protecting the confidentiality of the clemency process.
As of Thursday, the Polis administration had not announced replacements for the dismissed board members.
