It’s time for Wright to make one right move

By The Daily Sentinel
Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Jared Wright, it’s time to stand down.

Wright, the Republican Party candidate for House District 54, might have survived revelations in The Daily Sentinel about his chronic tardiness, possibly even the questions raised here about his integrity when we considered Wright’s response to his bosses in the Fruita Police Department and, indeed, a Sentinel reporter.

Since then, The Daily Sentinel uncovered Wright’s bankruptcy filing of a year ago, raising questions about his understanding of the necessity of living within one’s means, which is always an issue, especially in a political party that considers fiscal responsibility to be core to its mission. Then there was Wright’s explanation to party officials that he was driven to bankruptcy by the Obama economy and investments that went sour. In fact, he was driven to bankruptcy by consumer spending.

This sort of malfeasance amounts to a significant indictment of Wright’s potential as an office holder, but they fall short of fully explaining why Wright must now step aside.

Should Wright remain in the race — and the rules are quite clear that the party cannot simply remove him from the ballot — and go on to represent House District 54, he would enter the General Assembly a wounded representative incapable of providing the farsighted leadership that his district, to say nothing of the rest of western Colorado, demands.

This has become more than a GOP issue. The representative from District 54 will represent 74,000 people of all political stripes in a Legislature that is run by and for the Front Range.

Consequently, the person sent to represent the district that includes part of Delta County and all of Mesa County except Grand Junction, needs to get to work early, keep at least a step ahead of the rest of the Legislature, work without need for credit and be trustworthy.

We have our doubts that other legislators will be willing to count on Wright or even work with him, given his history. That’s a significant hindrance to his representation of his district, quite possibly one that is insurmountable. Any hope that Wright might rise to a leadership position in the House is similarly remote.

Jared Wright burst onto the scene at a propitious moment a few short months ago, and he appeared to be a promising candidate, one well suited to his district.

In the best of times, the interests of House District 54 and, by extension, western Colorado, have difficulty rising to the top of the legislative priority list. Wright’s continued candidacy is likely to deliver a further setback to the interests of this region.

A list of those interests is in order and not least of them is the continuing battle over water. In an era of drought, western Colorado can ill afford weakened representation when the subject of water arises. The case is similar with energy development and roads.

Sometimes leadership consists of defying conventional wisdom. This isn’t one of those times.

In this case, leadership means stepping aside and allowing the party to appoint a replacement to take up the standard. Now is the time for Wright to do just that.