There are dirty politics, and then there are nasty politics. Just ask the candidates in the state House District 58 race.
As the election grows near, the race’s normal debating and sign posting has been overshadowed by requests for restraining orders, allegations of slander and libel, the airing of arrest records, criminal investigations and an online war of words.
It all started with a debate this month at a Club 20 meeting in Grand Junction.
Incumbent 58th District Rep. Ray Rose, R-Montrose, startled the crowd when he asked his opponent – Telluride Democrat Brian Ahern – about his arrest record.
Ahern had been arrested in June – three weeks after he announced his candidacy – after a row with his fiancée. He had slashed her picture with a knife and broke out the windshield of her car.
Ahern had also been arrested in 2005 after he argued with a Texas woman in Telluride. Charges were dropped against him, but the woman paid a fine for spraying him with Mace. Ahern was charged with harassment in 2001 when he had an altercation with a gondola operator in Mountain Village, but that charge was also dismissed. Eight years ago, he was nabbed for DUI.
He was arrested again – briefly and mistakenly – last week when his fiancée (they have reconciled) was pulled over for speeding and Ahern was handcuffed and placed under arrest for violating a restraining order because he was in the car with her. He was released when a call to his attorney revealed the restraining order had been dropped in June.
Ahern said he didn’t think all this messiness should be an issue in the race for a representative in a district that covers the southwestern corner of Colorado. His fiancée has asked that the charges be dropped. He said he expects them to be dismissed before his trial date Oct. 18.
“I would think all that makes me a little more normal and a little more in touch with the trials and tribulations of a regular working man,” said Ahern, a carpenter.
Rose, a 62-year-old Montrose retiree who is running for a third term, begged to differ.
“It has to do with the quality, integrity and character of a person who is going to represent this area as a lawmaker,” he said.
The Grand Junction debate was the most polite part of the brouhaha, which has surpassed other San Miguel County political set-tos in venom.
“It is pretty nasty. There are lots of grudges and some kind of nasty things have happened here,” said San Miguel County Commissioner Art Goodtimes, caught in the crossfire.
Al Heirich, a Telluride man who runs the Telluride Daily News website and blog, has been virulently attacking Ahern and his backers – including Goodtimes. In one of his most recent e-mails to Goodtimes, a Green Party member, Heirich called Ahern “a vile animal,” a “piece of scum” and a “lying piece of (feces).”
He also wrote on his website that Goodtimes “would sacrifice his mother to Islamic fascists to keep a Republican out of office.”
Heirich’s missives, including more than 100 to Ahern, have been turned over to the Telluride Marshal’s Office. Ahern has asked for a restraining order.
Telluride Marshal Jim Kolar also is looking into whether posters attacking Goodtimes that went up a month ago rise to the level of criminal harassment. The posters allege that Goodtimes regularly turns his children over to a child molester.
On his site, Heirich has accused Ahern of putting those posters up. Ahern is pointing fingers at Heirich. Heirich did not return phone messages asking for comment.
“The motto around here is, ‘simply ignore him,”‘ said Suzanne Cheavens, former editor of the Telluride Daily Planet.
“Emotions are running high here,” Ahern said. “It’s not all peaches and cream running for office.”
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
