Former House Minority Leader Mike Lynch made a big mistake that snowballed into several more. After a 2022 DUI came to light last week, it led to subsequent stories about how he reacted in the moment, whom he told at the time, why he did not disclose it earlier and how he handled the aftermath.
But those piling on are making a similar mistake.
While nothing excuses what Lynch, R-Wellington, did, it should be an opening for more robust discussion about alcohol, drunk driving and how Colorado can help curb the same in our state. Instead, it devolved into a salacious week of headlines, political sniping and recriminations.
Maybe I am more sensitive to the situation because of my personal history. It has been nearly a decade and a half since I was arrested for a DUI. I wrote about it after former Rep. Dan Pabon was arrested in 2016 and again a year later when the Colorado Supreme Court rejected attempts to chip away at Colorado’s DUI laws.
When I wrote about Pabon, I noted that almost everyone who drinks has likely been in a situation where they could just have easily been in his shoes. Or mine. Or Lynch’s. It is a common occurrence to see people who “feel fine” or “only had a couple drinks” walk out of a bar, away from a party, or through the doors of a restaurant headed to a car.
Maybe a few people reading this column are self-aware enough to think, “There but for the grace of God go I.” That is at least a start.
Given that Colorado has a clear and climbing problem with alcohol misuse, every little bit helps. We need more analysis and discussion and education and help when it comes to alcohol in our society. Unlike other substances, it is not just socially acceptable, but expected.
My guess is that is the situation Lynch found himself in. As a state representative, there is a good chance he was coming from either a legislative function or political event. Alcohol and politics are often synonymous. Major pieces of legislation are often hammered out in the dim lights of Charlie Brown’s or Churchill’s.
Whatever the case, Lynch had more than a beer and sip of margarita. With a blood-alcohol content of 0.16, he likely had at least four to five drinks, depending on the amount of time. That is something you learn when you take the court-mandated alcohol education courses. Lynch was lucky he didn’t have one or two more or he would have crossed the 0.17 threshhold that dictates a mandatory one-year license revocation in Colorado for an aggravated DUI.
Of course, a lot of the reporting on Lynch focused on what he did after. He asked the officer to call a law enforcement lobbyist, he talked about what he had done to help police in the legislature, he hid his arrest from his colleagues at the state Capitol and constituents in northern Colorado.
None of that is good.
But I have an idea of what was going through his mind. In the moment, judgment already impaired by inebriation, I am sure he saw his entire political career evaporating in that instant. Even then, it seems that he mostly wanted to control the media response as opposed to getting himself out of trouble. Certainly it was better than Lauren Boebert haranguing theater staff as she was escorted out of Beetlejuice.
As for what he did after sobering up, I think it is the stigma and shame that led to those choices. The media feeding frenzy since his arrest became public feeds into that perception. For the very reason that so many people so frequently do the exact same thing without being caught — and then often engage in hypocritical criticism in an apparent attempt to absolve themselves — it is extraordinarily embarrassing to talk about.
For example, though I did not run for office until years after my DUI, it was not something I openly discussed until years after my campaign. Of course I had a prepared statement in the event it became public, but that never happened. Still, the stigma kept me quiet for a long time. It wasn’t until Pabon that I realized I had a unique opportunity to help others avoid the same pitfalls that led to my arrest.
Maybe Lynch will learn faster than I did. Now that his shame is open for the world to see, maybe he can use his position to keep others from making the same mistakes.
To that end, I will extend the same invitation I made to Pabon: join me for an event to fundraise for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Pabon got in touch and we participated in the annual Denver Walk LIke MADD event at Sloan’s Lake. This year it will be on Aug. 3 — if Lynch, or anyone else who would like to help, wants to join me, I will put together a team.
We all make mistakes, even if only a few of us get caught. But if we can get past the initial embarrassment, we can help make sure that others do not repeat them.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on Twitter: @MarioNicolaiEsq.
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