November 16, 2010 08:25 PM UTC

"Tea Party" Aims True (For Once)

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• by: Colorado Pols

It’s a little tougher to argue with the “Tea Party” in Grand Junction over a particular case of alleged official malfeasance that has them up in arms–involving Republican Mesa County commissioner Craig Meis. As the Grand Junction Sentinel’s Mike Wiggins reports:

The president of a local tea party organization has asked Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis to resign after a report that Meis raised his elected position in an unsuccessful effort to avoid receiving a boating ticket this past summer.

In an e-mail sent to tea party supporters, local media and others Sunday, Tim Fenwick, president of the GJResult board of directors, alleged Meis’ actions “show his disdain for the public tax dollar” and prove “that he is incapable of making decisions effectively.” Fenwick also suggested that tea partiers stage protests if Meis declines to step down…

As was first reported by The Daily Sentinel on Sunday, Colorado State Parks officer Craig Johnson wrote in a report that Meis told Johnson several times that he is a county commissioner and knows District Attorney Pete Hautzinger well. The report was generated from a June 18 encounter at Highline Lake State Park in which Johnson wrote Meis a $50 ticket for allowing his 14-year-old son to illegally operate a personal watercraft. State law requires watercraft operators to be at least 16.

In an interview with the Sentinel last week, Meis denied making those statements to the officer…

The problem is, presumption in these situations almost always favors the cops, or in this case the rangers–they’re the ones without a reason to lie, and authorities are standing by the officer’s report. With that established, and Meis found guilty of the underlying offense, you bet: throwing around your elected position to beat a ticket is a sure-fire way to turn a minor infraction into perfectly legitimate calls for resignation. It’s one of the dumbest things an elected official can do.

And we’ve got to say, going after actual corrupt behavior is a hell of a lot better use of the “Tea Party’s” time than making those silly “Stop Socialism, Hands off Medicare” protest signs.