Aspen District Attorney Colleen Truden lost another deputy D.A. yesterday — Tony Hershey. That makes six deputy D.A.’s and four staff members who have resigned during her short term in office. Background on the problems is here.

There are two interesting aspects to Hershey’s resignation: He is the first deputy to resign that wasn’t a holdover from former D.A. Mac Myer’s tenure. Hershey was hired by Truden.

Second is Hershey’s emotionally laden resignation letter, in which he compares her administration and operating style to Tsarist Russia.

You can rule with fear for a time. People need their jobs. It worked in Tsarist Russia for hundreds of years, but I am not a Serf (and remember they eventually rose up in revolution) and you are not a Russian Empress. If you continue to treat your staff badly, threaten them with the loss of their jobs, belittle and degrade them, eventually they will leave.

A recall effort of Truden is underway. So far, 2,000 of the necessary 5,245 signatures have been collected.