Latest southern Colorado news, weather and sports from FOX21 News

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Dan May has officially taken over as El Paso and Teller counties' District Attorney. He was sworn in at a ceremony Tuesday afternoon.

May takes over for former District Attorney John Newsome.

The 4th Judicial District is the busiest in the state.

Prior to this position, May worked as the Chief Deputy District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District.

May has a lot of work ahead of him.

He's walking into a judicial district with the most criminal filings in the state, and one of the smallest budgets to address those cases.

May has said he isn't going to let those challenges compromise the public's safety.

"We have really been very lean and very bare bones for over the last 20 years I would say," said May.

The 4th Judicial District had to trim even more fat for 2009. When El Paso county Ballot Initiative 1A failed, May lost 11 percent of his already relatively small budget.

"It does affect programs we can do. It does affect our ability to identify who should go to rehabilitation and who should go to prison," said May.

What may hopes it won't affect is how often the department strikes a deal.

"Violent crimes, sex assault on children and repeat offenders -- we're going to take a tough stand. I hope we never have to plea bargain a case because of fiscal issues," said May.

These are issues May's former boss and 20-year-long District Attorney Bob Russel said May will have no problem handling.

"He's calm, he's deliberate, he will weigh things properly. So, I expect he'll make the right decisions," said Russel.

Some of those decisions include: restructuring the department to utilize experienced prosecutors on serious cases and implementing a mentor program for less experienced attorneys.

"I believe in putting people in the right position, setting goals for them, but not micro-managing them at the same time," said May.

Assistant District Attorney Dan Zook, and all of the attorneys and investigators serving in the 4th Judicial District attorney's office were sworn in at Tuesday's ceremony as well.

Click on the camera icon to view the story as it aired on FOX21 News.