Staff report
The Chronicle-News

As Henry Solano’s term ends this year, Nicolas Dale decided to run and become the District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District to ensure there’s an advocate in the corner for victims within Las Animas and Huerfano Counties.  

Dale is running unopposed.  

He became an attorney back in December 2011. He told The Chronicle-News in an interview, “I have always been in District Attorney’s offices… For a short time, I handled cases [independently] for friends and family, but outside of that, I had always been in the public sector, particularly in DA and prosecuting offices.”  

Dale noted that he had worked in offices from the 13th Judicial District to the 10th, a City Attorney’s Office in Colorado Springs, and had been working within the 3rd Judicial District since 2021.   

When asked what went into his decision to place his candidacy and run for the DA office here, he explained, “As you know, Mr. Solano terms out at the end of the term… What I wanted to do was make sure that the citizens of both Huerfano and Las Animas County still had an advocate in their corner to prosecute crimes when they become victims. And I can tell you, one thing that I’ve noticed, a lot of, from the public, is that they’ve been victimized, and I hear over and over again that nothing happened, and nobody did anything about it.”   

Dale spoke about the efforts and strides the 3rd Judicial District had made since he arrived in the office and explained his goals when elected in 2025, stating, “With the help of our office, with new people coming in, with better funding, we’ve been able to turn the tide. I want to continue doing that because [those] who get into prosecution want to help people who become victims of crime. So that’s the main goal. That’s what everybody wants to do that works in an organization like ours. I want to continue doing that.” 

When asked about continuing Solano’s efforts within the DA’s office, Dale said, “Mr. Solano did a great job of securing funding, ensuring our office had the right personnel. I want to continue his legacy in that. However, I also want to continue aggressively prosecuting people who commit crimes in the community and create victims. I’ve had that position long before I’ve ever met up with Mr. Solano. And so that was going to be my position, regardless of Mr. Solano’s accomplishments.”   

Dale spoke about his challenges as the new DA for the 3rd Judicial District. He said, “The biggest challenge going forward is making sure law enforcement agencies have the right personnel, that they are putting together cases and bringing them to us for prosecution. Funding is always going to be an issue. Going forward, the crime rate is always going to be an issue. Once law enforcement has all the necessary personnel, they can have better support in bringing cases to us.”   

“I believe the crime rate numbers will go up,” Dal said. “As a result of that, it’s going to create a challenge for law enforcement, for us, and our office. So, one of the biggest challenges going forward is to just make sure that we have all the resources to continue giving victims of crime the justice that they deserve.”   

When asked what his goal would be once elected, Dale said, “Our main focus is getting justice for victims. That’s my main priority and my number one goal. It’s not to have my name in the limelight, [nor] for the prestige of sitting in the seat. It’s really for advocacy for people who can’t speak on their own and have no other advocate in their corner. And so, it’s really to assist the community. To help the community out by making their lives safer and making their lives better. We can’t change what happened to them. Once a crime is committed against them, we can’t change that. But what we can do is advocate for justice on their behalf.”    

When asked if he had a message to the communities he will serve, Dale said, “I want them to know that the DA office in both Huerfano and Las Animas County is on their side. We are on their side. We’re on the side of law enforcement. I think the message going forward is that we’re going to cooperate and make the community better off.”