This week, the head of the committee in charge of getting Democrats elected to the Colorado state House was embarrassingly forced to ask one of the party’s candidates to resign after it was revealed by The Colorado Statesman that he lied about his criminal past.
Nelson
According to the Statesman:
Eric Durane Nelson, 38, one of two Aurora Democrats in a primary for the House District 42 seat, was rebuked by the state Division of Insurance for lying about his criminal background — including domestic violence arrests spanning a decade — and was denied an application for another insurance license for “failure to demonstrate that you are competent, trustworthy and of good moral character.”
At another time, Nelson was married to two women at the same time, according to court documents.
The Statesman also discovered that Nelson lied about holding several advanced degrees and that his background also includes accusations of “trespassing, disorderly conduct and prostitution charges.”
Nelson currently serves on the Aurora Public Schools Board and is vying for the House District 42 seat that is currently represented by Rep. Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora). In light of all the revelations about his past, however, the Party officially endorsed Nelson’s primary opponent Dominique Jackson.
While that was the right thing to do, it is too little too late, and the voters are left with a lot of unanswered questions. Like who recruited Nelson? The assumptions is that Democratic Party officials asked him to run, especially considering he already serves on the local school board. Isn’t there a vetting process? How did the leaders trying to get more Democrats elected to the state House miss these glaring red flags?