Republican Kook Runs for Mesa County Commissioner Against Justman

Mesa County Commissioner District 1 candidate John Davis ran for President of the United States in 2012

Mesa County Commissioner District 1 candidate John Davis in front of his eponymously-painted motorcoach when he ran for President of the United States in 2012

Another doozy of a Republican candidate is running for local office, this time against Mesa County Commissioner District 1 incumbent John Justman.

It’s John Davis.

The local Republican Party just keeps them coming, don’t they?

Who is John Davis, anyway?

He is the owner of Blue Star Construction, the headquarters of which are in a prefabricated building on 25 Road, just north of the Sinclair gas station at 25 and Patterson Roads. It’s the company with the out-sized 100×50 foot American flag on a 160-foot flag pole that is visible for miles around.

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Davis’ banner ad from his run for U.S. President in 2012. He repeatedly cites his religion in promoting himself, but also espouses reverence for the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees separation of church and state

According to his biosketch, Davis graduated from Central High School in 1975 “several times over.” In general we take a statement like that to mean he flunked out numerous times. (If this isn’t the case, it would help if Davis clarified his educational status for voters.)

So what else makes John Davis qualify as another wacky Republican running for local office?

Davis ran for President of the United States in 2011-2012

Yes, that’s right.

John Davis ran for President of the United States in 2012.

He had a big campaign motorcoach with his name professionally painted on the side. He toured the country, visiting over 600 counties while on the stump, and relied solely on coverage by Fox News and Hannity to promote his candidacy. He told reporters he didn’t appear in the Republican presidential debates because he “didn’t have time.” He was known for slinging a large wrench painted with the stars and stripes while pacing around during reporter interviews about his candidacy. Davis’ “platform” was the predictable and unimaginative “get government out of the way of business” meme typical of GOP candidates.

Hyper-Religious Candidate

Back in 2012, Davis told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel that if he made it to the White House, he would “post a sign declaring, ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’”

But in the same interview, he also told the Sentinel he didn’t really want to be President.

When asked why he was running for President, Davis said “By the grace of God, I will make a difference in preserving freedom.” All this indicates Mr. Davis doesn’t grasp the meaning of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees separation of church and state.

So let’s see…a contradictory, hyper-religious, self-important candidate who barely made it out of high school, with a bigger-than-life American flag, a full size motorcoach with his name painted on it, an attempt to run for President of the U.S,… It all points to a man with a desperate need for attention, and this time he’s trying to get it by running for Mesa County Commissioner.

All this is in keeping with the historic tradition of the Mesa County Republican Party of running poorly-qualified candidates with embarrassing histories who represent a party that seems to be imploding under the weight of its own nuttiness.

All this could bode well for the far saner and more qualified Democrats who are running for County Commissioner seats in Districts 1 and 3 this November. It could also provide a desperately-needed turning point for Mesa County.

  5 comments for “Republican Kook Runs for Mesa County Commissioner Against Justman

  1. The following letter to the editor appeared in the Daily Sentinel on June 22, 2016, from a person who bought a house in a subdivision built by Republican County Commissioner candidate John Davis. She reports serious defects in construction as well as a significant amount of trouble with Mr. Davis himself, trying to get him to fix serious problems homeowners had in one of his subdivisions:

    Consider what you want for valley before voting for Davis

    I’ve recently read several Letters to the Editor about John Davis’ qualifications to be a Mesa County Commissioner. One person said he was a visionary; another said he would make a difference. I quite agree that he may make a difference, but perhaps not one you’d particularly like. May I suggest that before casting your vote for Mr. Davis you seek out someone who has bought a home in one of his subdivisions? I’m one of those people.

    I was pleased to be joining the neighborhood when I bought my town home. I and the other owners thought it would be a nice community of privately owned homes. Even before the subdivision was turned over to the Homeowners Association, however, we discovered that at least fifteen homes in the second filing had been held back as rentals. With rare exceptions, absentee landlords seldom have the same commitment to upkeep and maintenance as owner-occupied places.

    Many of us soon learned that the ground water problem was horrendous. I was lucky, but some homes have had sump pumps running ever since they were purchased. Water under those homes wasn’t the only problem; it was bubbling up in the street. In the first several years the homeowners and the HOA went back and forth with Mr. Davis, trying to get him to fix the problem. He kept insisting we were just watering too much. The city finally got involved after we created enough documentation and Mr. Davis had to put in a drainage line to take care of the ground water.

    It’s possible every subdivision has a fair share of issues that come to light after the contractor turns it over. In our case, it seems the problems were higher than what you’d normally expect. Speaking just for myself, the materials were sub-standard. The paint on my roof flashing was peeling before the first year was out. That is just one example of the many things we home owners have had to address; the list is lengthy.

    I’m reasonably sure that Mr. Davis would like to see less, rather than more, building regulations. He’s a builder; it’s his job to make money for his company. But, for those of us who buy a home as a lifetime investment, we’d like to be assured that we are getting our money’s worth.

    My party affiliation won’t allow me to vote for or against Mr. Davis in the coming primary election, but I hope you will carefully consider what you want for our valley before you cast yours.

    CAROL MCMANUS
    Grand Junction
    ————————-
    IN an added note, Mr. Davis’ business website says he is now out of the business of building homes: http://www.bluestarindustries.com/ .
    The

  2. John Davis is the father of Cody Davis, the CC, CMU sponsored candidate for the drainage district shake up. Of course we want to release developers from fiscal responsibility for storm water drainage and give more control to his father’s BOCC.

  3. He would make a nice addition to Whitman Park, the Trump exhibit/billboard that most visitors see as they drive through.

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