Part of a series highlighting significant stories from the 2012 election



Tim Menger,

2012 candidate for CO House

Tim Menger won an impressive 41 percent (13,951 votes) in his race for Colorado’s 54th House district — with a little help from Republicans, who can’t seem to keep their records clean.

The incumbent, Republican Laura Bradford, was asked by her party to step down after trying to use her position to avoid being cited for driving under the influence.

Jared Wright, the Republican who ran to replace her, was caught lying about his termination from the Fruita Police Department, where he was chronically late for work. He was also caught lying about his reason for filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, blaming it on bad investments. It turns out he had racked up $74,000 in personal debt. Two of the three vehicles he bought on loans were repossessed.

Enter Libertarian Timothy Menger of Mesa County, a model of fiscal prudence.

“My wife and I have never made over $55,000 in one year, yet we put two kids through college, we own three vehicles paid off, and one year ago we paid off our ranch mortgage,” he said. “Who would you rather have control over your tax dollars?”

With no Democrat in the race, Menger and Wright were the only two candidates on the ballot. Tim Menger opposed new taxes under any circumstance and promised to carefully monitor state spending. He supported legalizing marijuana and concealed carry. Running for office for the first time, Menger’s grassroots campaign relied on homemade signs and word of mouth.

The Daily Sentinel endorsed Menger, stating, “He’s committed to preventing tax increases and curbing spending. But he also believes consenting adults should be able to do what they want in most cases, without interference from government. That includes having civil unions with people of the same sex, smoking marijuana and carrying concealed weapons.”

The editorial went on to say, “We don’t agree with everything Menger espouses, but … he would be a far better representative for Mesa County than Jared Wright.” The paper also noted that Menger “has at least a shot at actually winning.”

A Democrat in his youth, and an unsatisfied Republican later in life, Menger now finds his home in the Libertarian Party.