July 26, 2012 08:44 PM UTC

Why You Field Candidates In Every Race

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Grand Junction Sentinel’s Paul Shockley reports:

Republican House District 54 nominee Jared Wright said Wednesday his recent resignation from the Fruita Police Department was unrelated to an internal affairs investigation of him.

That same investigation-the subject of the probe was not immediately confirmed by Fruita authorities-had Mesa County criminal defense attorneys abuzz on Wednesday…

The Sentinel earlier this week obtained an email that was sent to a group account for the Mesa County Criminal Defense Bar, including a host of local attorneys.

“Just a heads up-I just received a letter from the Fruita Police Chief in regards to Jared Wright and the fact that the police department may have Brady material-DA not in possession at this point,” said the email, which was sent by an attorney. “He resigned July 13, 2012. Guess his political aspirations aren’t likely to pan out either.”

“Brady material” refers to a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brady v. Maryland, that said prosecutors must disclose information to defense attorneys that would allow for impeachment of a law enforcement officer’s credibility as a government witness.

At this point, Jared Wright, the Mesa County GOP establishment’s–meaning former Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry’s–hand-picked successor to the disgraced Rep. Laura Bradford, who chose not to run again following a controversial traffic stop in Denver, is saying that his resignation from the Fruita Police Department was to allow him to focus on his campaign, not this investigation against him. The problem with that theory is, Wright doesn’t have any real opposition–no Democrat, and an unknown Libertarian. Meaning there’s nothing time-consuming about Wright’s campaign that should necessitate him resigning from his full-time job.

It’s therefore possible that something quite nasty is lurking for Mr. Wright on the other side of this investigation–and if so, Democrats might kick themselves for not having a candidate, even a placeholder, ready to capitalize on the possibility of a “safe” candidate’s implosion.

Because there’s always that chance, folks.