Michael Allen
How does your experience make you qualified to represent the people?
As a Colorado native, with family roots extending to before Colorado achieved statehood, I understand our shared history, the challenges associated with life in the arid west, the value of hard work, and the pressures that exist today that make living in Colorado tough on families.
After graduating from Arvada West HS in 1991, I enlisted in the US Navy and served as an Aviation Electronics Technician with service that included deployment onboard the super carrier USS Carl Vinson.
My wife Heidi and I have been married for 31 years, and we have two amazing sons.
I have over 20 years of experience in criminal prosecution, including work in the Kansas Attorney General’s Office in the consumer protection division. Here in Colorado, I was twice selected as the 4th Judicial District homicide prosecutor of the year in 2015 and 2017. In 2020, I was elected to serve as District Attorney in the 4th Judicial District (serving El Paso and Teller counties) and re-elected in 2024. As district attorney, I have led a large office with over 250 employees, 93 of which are prosecuting attorneys.
During my tenure as elected district attorney, we have been a leader in fighting crime and driving down costs. As an example, between 2024 and 2025, we launched a focused prosecution effort targeting motor vehicle thefts and reduced those crimes by 50% in one year. I also created an Organized Crime Unit that focuses their efforts on prosecuting fentanyl death distribution crimes, cartels, and organized cells committing aggravated robbery.
Throughout my adult life, I have dedicated myself to public service. From enlisting in the US Navy, to over 20 years as a prosecutor, and now campaigning to serve as Colorado Attorney General, I am uniquely prepared to protect Coloradans in an increasingly challenging and divided era.
What are your top policy priorities?
Over the last ten years, Colorado has seen crime skyrocketing alongside criminal justice reform legislation that has too often sided with criminal actors and left crime victims exposed. We must reorient our efforts towards strengthening public safety and reducing crime, aggressively attacking fentanyl trafficking and organized crime (including human trafficking), and protecting consumers through balanced consumer protection efforts.
Despite recent incremental improvements, Colorado continues to experience higher crime rates than the national average. Colorado is 7th worst for violent crime, and 9th worst for property crime.
At the same time, the cost of living has continued to increase, and high crime is an undeniable factor in negatively contributing to those higher economic impacts. Business and property owners, and drivers pay insurance rates that are significantly higher than the national average. This is a result of theft, burglary, and motor vehicle theft. Retailers also pass increased costs of doing business to consumers to offset theft prevention efforts.
The Common Sense Institute estimated the total cost of crime in Colorado to exceed $27 billion annually, which amounts to roughly $4,600 per Colorado resident.
In addition to directly attacking crime to reduce cost of living, I will focus efforts and reducing fraud and corruption. Recent examples of fraud include business owners and individuals who fraudulently took advantage of one-time COVID-19 relief funds. Other types of fraud and corruption include elder financial exploitation. These scams typically involve contractor fraud, identity theft, investment fraud, and elder exploitation by caretakers.
What is one issue you think is being overlooked in this race, and how would you address it?
There has been very little conversation surrounding insurance fraud and consumer protection vulnerabilities resulting from natural disasters. Colorado regularly experiences high losses from hail damage. Also, wildfire risks have only increased as we’ve experienced worsening drought conditions coupled with more Coloradans living in urban areas that abut wildlands, often referred to as the Wildland-Urban Interface.
The Colorado Attorney General has direct authority to investigate deceptive trade practices and instances of complex fraud that often arise in the aftermath of a devastating natural disaster. Coloradans who experience a natural disaster are often vulnerable to predatory scams and those who fall victim to bad actors can suffer long-lasting economic harm.The Colorado Attorney General’s Office should have a stronger presence in consumer protection and insurance fraud, particularly considering the growing affordability challenges faced by Coloradans. The office can better protect families from fraud, while also holding bad actors accountable for their economic crimes.
