Douglas County trustee hopes to keep job

Douglas County Public Trustee George Kennedy hopes to keep his post, despite his agreement along with nine other trustees to step down July 10 in the wake of a media report that questioned expenditures.

Kennedy and his office were not called into question in the Denver Post article.

“I think we’re doing a great job here, and that the governor will see it and we’ll keep going,” he said. “I think there should be more discussion about what’s right with the system.”

Kennedy, mayor of Castle Rock from 1984-88 and the county’s former director of human services, said he agreed with Gov. John Hickenlooper’s request for the trustees’ resignations.

“Gov. Hickenlooper’s very committed to having a good transparent government and high integrity,” Kennedy said. “We all discussed it and decided the best thing to do is have everybody resign.”

Nine trustees submitted resignations. Adams County’s public trustee, Carol Snyder, chose instead to retire.

Colorado’s public trustees oversee the foreclosure process, acting as a middleman between bank and homeowner.

Kennedy defended his peers.

“The 10 trustees … there are a lot of really good public servants in that group who have really dedicated a lot of their time and effort into working for the public sector,” he said. “While there may be some judgment issues, I think these are good people.”

The resignations are effective in 30 days. Kennedy plans to reapply for his position and hopes he will be reappointed within that month. Hickenlooper assigned Kennedy to his trustee post in 2011.