August 01, 2018 10:02 AM UTC

Petulant Deadbeat Tim Leonard Drops Re-Election Bid

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• by: Colorado Pols

Republican State Rep. Tim Leonard will soon give up the distinction of being the only sitting Colorado legislator in at least 40 years to have served time in jail. That’s because Leonard is dropping his re-election bid in HD-25 (Evergreen) on account of the fact that he’s a “Deadbeat Dad” who was using his job in the legislature as an excuse to avoid child support obligations to the mother of his six children.

As right-wing website Complete Colorado reports, Leonard still seems to think that he’s some sort of victim here:

Leonard told Complete Colorado Tuesday by phone that his decision came after a July 3 family court ruling, in which a judge refused Leonard’s request to lower his alimony and child support payments, based on his legislative earnings…

…Leonard, who was divorced six years ago, has six children ranging in ages from 10 to 24. He said it saddens him that the time commitment and financial constraints prevent him from being both a single dad and a legislator.

“It really narrows the field,” Leonard said. “You can’t have citizen’s candidates anymore. It self-selects.”

Yes, it is very heartbreaking that Leonard cannot be both a “citizen legislator” and a “deadbeat dad” at the same time. Leonard tells Complete Colorado that a judge said he had to decide between remaining a state legislator and financially supporting his children, which is more than a bit of a stretch. Here’s what Judge Diego Hunt actually said last month:

“The court does find that (Leonard’s) decision to become a legislator was his good-faith decision, but the court does not find that this an objectively reasonable decision given the significant reduction in income. The court also concludes that (Leonard) can make significantly more from his commercial real estate business but chooses not to dedicate his time to his company and is therefore voluntarily underemployed. [Pols emphasis]

“The court also finds that (Leonard’s) career choice unreasonably reduces the children’s financial support.”

Leonard reportedly plans to officially withdraw from the race today, which gives Republicans 10 days to select a replacement candidate through a vacancy committee. Lisa Cutter is the Democratic candidate in HD-25.