Colorado’s Political Culture Is Driving Out Its Best Leaders

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Colorado is experiencing a political decline that follows the core patterns described in political ponerology. The system rewards the wrong traits, punishes integrity, and produces outcomes that push capable people away from public service – fast and hard. You can see this in the culture that governs candidate recruitment, party operations, legislative priorities, and internal accountability. 

The signals are not abstract. They are practical warning signs that explain why Colorado has a shrinking supply of competent, serious, and ethical leaders.

Political ponerology teaches that a system becomes unhealthy when individuals with destructive traits gain influence. Once inside, they shape expectations, incentives, and norms. 

Colorado’s political arena reflects this pattern. Activists with extreme demands crowd out problem solvers. Internal factions obsess over control instead of outcomes. Leaders elevate loyalty over competence. Policy arguments shift from substance to performance. The environment becomes hostile to reason and professionalism.

You can see this in the candidate pipeline. High-achieving and successful professionals often avoid running because they expect chaos instead of collaboration. They know they will face internal sabotage before they face a general election opponent. They see party structures that punish independence and reward outrage. 

They expect the process to drain their time, reputation, and emotional energy. Many decide it is not worth the cost – those who do step forward often last only one cycle or two before walking away.

The pattern continues inside the legislature. For example, earlier this year, the top House Republican in Colorado, Minority Leader Rose Pugliese, resigned from her seat – citing a collapse of integrity, toxic politics, and a need to protect her children. Her departure came shortly after Ryan Armagost – then House Minority Whip – stepped down under a cloud of scandal.

There are also looming vacancies as several members decline to continue. Representative Rebecca Keltie recently announced she will not seek re-election in 2026, citing personal, professional, and medical reasons. Likewise, Representative Stephanie Luck declared she will not run for another term, saying she must devote more attention to her family.

These choices reflect a broader exodus of legislators who feel the system demands too much while offering too little stability and reward, and such exits expose a deeper truth. Even those who win primaries, win elections, and earn leadership posts leave when the internal dysfunction proves worse than the fight.

The decline also spans candidate recruitment, not just attrition. 

Many capable leaders don’t even try. 

They see a system that rewards spectacle and partisanship over competence. They know that good-faith efforts will be undermined by factions more invested in power, loyalty, and spin than governance. They choose stability over chaos. The result: quality leaders stay out, and qualified officeholders leave.  

Colorado’s decline also comes from the erosion of institutional independence. 

Committees, boards, and oversight bodies become partisan weapons instead of stabilizing forces. Staffers with skill and integrity leave for private sector roles where their effort is respected. 

Expertise loses value because the culture rewards emotion over evaluation. This creates a vacuum that destructive personalities fill easily. They face less competition because competent people have already left or chosen not to enter.

The core problem is not ideology. 

The problem is the psychology of the system. 

When unhealthy behavior dominates a political environment, it drives out the people who could fix it. This is the defining mark of political ponerology. It is not just that harmful individuals rise. It is that their rise reshapes the system so that healthier leaders choose not to participate.

Colorado now sits in that position. 

The political environment is intense, performative, and often hostile to disciplined reasoning. The loudest voices drown out the most capable. Decision-making favors theatrics over strategy. Leaders who try to restore order face resistance from their own side. 

The result is a downward cycle. As the culture declines, strong candidates stay out. As fewer enter, the culture declines further.

The path forward begins with recognizing that this dynamic is real. 

Colorado will not produce quality leadership until it reduces the influence of destructive personalities and strengthens the incentives for competence. 

That means valuing discipline, elevating credible voices, and building structures that reward solutions instead of noise. Without these changes, the state will continue to lose the very people capable of governing it well.

C. J. Garbo is a law enforcement veteran, cybersecurity executive, and political strategist in Colorado. He has worked on statewide campaigns, advised elected officials, and served on public boards. His work in government and technology focuses on professional standards, institutional trust, and competent leadership. He approaches public policy with an emphasis on disciplined reasoning, measurable results, and systems that strengthen communities rather than weaken them.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.