Last year, as COVID-19 was spreading across Colorado, I speculated our Governor’s political viability would hinge on how successfully he managed the state’s response to the pandemic – that his competence or incompetence was likely to render him either unbeatable for re-election or unelectable in 2022. Unfortunately, the course the virus has taken remains largely beyond his control. Until a few weeks ago, I would have wagered he was successfully navigating the public health challenge.

In the face of a fourth wave of infections overwhelming Colorado hospitals, Polis’ refusal to mandate statewide masking casts his future into question. Consistency is a politician’s greatest asset. Having sided with the science when vaccines were unavailable, shifting to personal liberty advocacy now that they have arrived reeks of hypocrisy. Masks are not a silver bullet, to be sure, but recent data indicates they reliably cut community spread by half – enough to relieve pressure on emergency rooms and intensive care capacity. And suddenly, lurking over the horizon is another viral wave riding a recently detected South African variant.

Polling indicates 70% of Americans – and we can assume a nearly comparable majority of Coloradans – approve mandatory vaccine and public masking requirements. What began as a global pandemic is now a Colorado epidemic spreading largely among the unvaccinated. Those who are labelled vaccine hesitant now subscribe to bizarre theories blaming the vaccinated for shedding the COVID virus and thereby placing them at risk. This is a lie and the Governor would be well-advised to promote the truth. With nearly 200 million Americans now vaccinated and not a single, documented instance of serious injury and few allergic reactions we should be driving for herd immunity.

Those who object to masks are unlikely to vote for Jared Polis next year, despite whatever game he is playing by abdicating responsibility for public health restrictions by surrendering authority to local governments. The Front Range metroplex counties have spoken by reimposing mask mandates and encouraging proof of vaccination for large gatherings. Those voters who support these policies are voters who otherwise would have been most likely to enlist behind the Governor’s re-election. Today they are asking the Governor, “So, just who are you Jared?” Many believed he was a stalwart ally of the nurses and doctors who have been laboring to save lives. If not, wouldn’t we be better served by a Governor committed to recognizing their sacrifice?

Polis hasn’t done himself any favors by recently questioning the fairness of a state income tax, while simultaneously steering contracts to his friends. It has become something of a joke among state workers that the best predictor for who fill executive vacancies is a candidate’s Boulder County zip code. Who knew that Boulder held a reservoir of exceptional public service talent? It was during the first legislative session following the Governor’s election in 2019 that an experienced Democratic legislator stopped me in the Capitol and remarked, “I think we may have our own Trump problem.” When I asked what she meant, her reply was, “We seem to have our very own gazillionaire who thinks he’s the smartest person in every room he enters.”

It’s certainly true that citizens around the globe are growing visibly restive with continuing COVID restrictions. It’s more than startling when tens of thousands of Dutch, Austrian and German protestors march through their cities objecting to newly imposed lockdowns and business closures. We should expect the same response if we fail to rein in further contagion here. There is reason to believe that serious illness and death will eventually prove comparable in all countries – that only the rate of infections can actually be controlled. Nonetheless, this is a significant achievement. Deaths can only accelerate if we allow viral spread to overrun health system personnel and facilities in Colorado.

Perhaps we will get lucky and the COVID plague will burn itself out. This is a risky hope, of course. If the pool of unvaccinated Coloradans exhausts our capacity to protect them, it will be at a terrible cost. There are times when we must protect people from their own poor choices. Such leadership needs to originate from the top whether intervention makes everyone happy, or not. If circumstances force Governor Polis to acknowledge this later rather than sooner, there will be a political price to pay. ‘Better late than never’ is a poor campaign slogan. Jared was willing to spend $20 million of his own fortune to win his job, but that may not be enough to hang on to it without a COVID course correction.

Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant and a former Colorado legislator.