{"id":1176,"date":"2026-05-19T20:34:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1176"},"modified":"2026-05-19T20:34:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:34:37","slug":"perry-polis-defies-timing-is-everything-wisdom-with-invoking-the-tina-peters-principle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1176","title":{"rendered":"PERRY: Polis defies \u2018timing is everything\u2019 wisdom with invoking the Tina Peters principle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

My jaw still hurts from when it dropped into my lap last week when Gov. Jared Polis wiped away years of remaining prison time for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.<\/p>\n

Polis should have waited.<\/p>\n

Sure, I like to hate on Peters as much as the next cogent fan of our democracy for the crimes she committed, the damage she caused, the public money she misspent and for her perpetually smug demeanor in believing her lord and savior Donald Trump would come save her sorry ass and install her in a much-deserved suite at Mar-a-Lago, where she should get what she deserved.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing, having had a front row seat to Polis\u2019 career for decades now \u2014 as a state school board member, owner of an Aurora Spanish language cinema, school for immigrants on Lowry, member of Congress and, now, governor \u2014 I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

And, having taken a few more deep breaths, I can\u2019t say he\u2019s wrong in doing what was clearly the right thing, with a couple of caveats.<\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised because the move to excuse Peters from prison was just so Polis.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve previously disagreed with the governor on some big and serious issues, but I\u2019ve come to understand that nearly every decision he makes is based on an acute sense of pragmatism and fairness powered by intense confidence that comes with epic nerdism and believers in dad jokes.<\/p>\n

Polis believes that school-age inoculations are important, but allowing parents to decide that issue for themselves is the right thing to do. I believe that if you don\u2019t want to get Little Johnny an MMR, homeschool the little human petri dish and stay out of public places.<\/p>\n

But here, I can\u2019t disagree with Polis\u2019 clear logic that the state court of appeals, which is hardly a bastion of Trumpism, ruled that Peters was wrongly sentenced by Grand Junction District Court Judge Matthew Barrett back in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like so many of you, I have gleefully replayed Barrett\u2019s sentencing speech as he excoriated Peters for her calamitous crimes and her wisenheimer whack story.<\/p>\n

But Polis points out what the court of appeals did, too. At her sentencing, Barrett made it clear he was sending her elderly self to the hoosgow, practically for good, because of her endless national tour of crackpot conspiracy theories and smug lies about Trump.<\/p>\n

Barrett clearly crossed the line by punishing Peters for what was world-class stupid and abhorrent free speech, but not criminal.<\/p>\n

If it were a criminal offense for an elected official to espouse unfounded, dangerous, even life-threatening lies, conspiracy theories and all-around nuttery, the entire Trump administration would be behind bars right now with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asking the guard for straws for everyone in his prison cell to get a little something off the toilet seat.<\/p>\n

As despicable as were the things Peters said and promoted, they were just despicable.<\/p>\n

As to how long Peters should stay in prison for lying about trying to \u201cun-rig\u201d voting machines and covering up her deeds and lies, I think a court should decide that.<\/p>\n

Polis thought differently.<\/p>\n

The state court of appeals ordered her sentence to be revised based on their ruling about free speech. I don\u2019t get why Polis didn\u2019t wait for that revised ruling and then act, if he needed to.<\/p>\n

And, I certainly get that Peters is an old, mentally ill woman who really belongs in a psych unit, not a prison, which is not unlike thousands of people in Colorado jails and prisons.<\/p>\n

Now, there\u2019s an effort among Democrats to \u201ccensure\u201d Polis for his mercy ruling.<\/p>\n

As ghastly and tragic as the Peters-Trump-Hegseth-Noem-Kennedy-Bondi-Patel freak show debacle has been, it would be equally as tragic if Polis being very Polis about Peters were to have all this define his long and remarkable political career.<\/p>\n

He should have waited.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Follow @EditorDavePerry on BlueSky, Threads, <\/em>Mastodon,<\/em> Twitter<\/em> and<\/em> Facebook<\/em> or reach him at 303-750-7555 or dperry@SentinelColorado.com<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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My jaw still hurts from when it dropped into my lap last week when Gov. Jared Polis wiped away years of remaining prison time for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. Polis should have waited. 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