During this election cycle, we have been told that everything from reproductive rights to democracy itself is on the ballot. In the attorney general’s race, one issue is on the ballot that stands out above all others: truth.

It is apparent that current AG Phil Weiser recognizes that his public positions and advocacy on criminal justice issues leaves him vulnerable to criticism during Colorado’s historic crime tsunami. His responses to The Gazette’s recent editorial board questions about public safety lack candor (“PERSPECTIVE: AG Weiser vs. challenger Kellner,” Sept. 25).

In response to a question about Colorado’s move to reduce the possession of fentanyl – a poison on our streets so lethal even Gov. Jared Polis has called it “anthrax” – to a mere misdemeanor, Weiser answered:

“I did not support the 2019 bipartisan legislation to de-felonize certain drug crimes.”

Though partially true, it is deliberately misleading to any uniformed reader. Far from opposing this misguided legislation, the results of which were so disastrous it was amended (but not fixed) the very next year, Weiser ignored it entirely. The self-proclaimed “chief law enforcement officer for Colorado” remained completely silent on whether to treat 2,000 lethal doses of fentanyl the same as shoplifting.

It took Kellner cross-examining Weiser at a Club 20 forum for the AG to concede that he did absolutely nothing to engage the legislature as they considered this lethal legislation. Rather than engage the public in a candid moment of regret as to his conscious decision to avoid a politically challenging fight with the anti-law enforcement far left of his party, Weiser chose these pages to mislead readers by claiming that he “did not support” the legislation. Is that candor?

There’s more.

When asked if our law should return fentanyl to its “felony at any amount” status before the law change ignored by Weiser, the current AG responded:

“I pushed successfully for a law making possession of any amount of pure fentanyl punishable as a felony.”

Catch the change? Weiser added in the word “pure.” The previous law made possession of any amount of fentanyl or mixture containing the same, regardless of purity, a felony. Weiser’s pushed for a change in the law that looks tougher, but it is not. The chances that a drug pusher possessing pure fentanyl is slim at best, leaving all possessors of fentanyl of varying purities still eligible for misdemeanors. Again, the mainstream media never pushes Weiser on this misdirection or why he refuses to support the re-felonization of any amount of fentanyl.

In response to a detailed question about SB 271, a misnamed “misdemeanor reform” bill that allowed convicted drug dealers and car thieves to lawfully possess guns on our streets, Weiser answered:

“I continue to strongly support barring convicted drug dealers and car thieves from owning firearms, and am engaged with legislators to make this change to our laws.”

That statement is at odds with the truth. Weiser cannot “continue” what he has never started. Throughout his time as AG, Weiser has only shown strong and repeated support for protecting the ability of drug dealers, car thieves and other convicted felons to possess firearms, as I detailed just two months ago in The Gazette. Weiser’s office took an official position to withdraw its support for any amendment to this year’s attempted “fix” that sought to prevent drug dealers and car thieves from possessing guns. Weiser was called out for misrepresenting his position at the first AG candidate forum by his opponent, Kellner. With no follow-up from mainstream Denver media demanding an explanation, Weiser doubled-down in The Gazette.

When questioned about a Common Sense Institute (CSI) report citing publicly available data about our crime wave occurring concurrently with a dramatic increase in the number of felons released from prison, Weiser refused to address the obvious implications of the report. Instead, he attacked the verifiable data by quoting (without attribution) the online comment of a left-wing blogger as the basis for his answer: “this group has previously been publicly criticized in the media for containing ‘suspect conclusions and conspicuous omissions.'”

After attacking CSI, Weiser provided no other data to rebut the CSI report.

Later, Weiser – who likens himself to a “coach” for our state’s elected DAs – responded to a question about the decrease in prosecuted felonies by claiming he was “disturbed” by the “declining number of cases brought by Colorado prosecutors defies logic given the rise of crime…” Such a drop was the predictable consequences of the 2019 law Weiser actively ignored reducing drugs – fentanyl included – from felonies to misdemeanors. The next year, felony case filings plummeted.

Perhaps more so than for any other office on this year’s ballot, candor and honesty are critical traits for our attorney general. Based on Weiser’s performance in this paper and elsewhere, it may be time for Colorado to get a new coach.

George Brauchler is the former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District. He also is president of the Advance Colorado Academy, which identifies, trains and connects conservative leaders in Colorado. He hosts The George Brauchler Show on 710KNUS Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter: @GeorgeBrauchler.