He says his power derives from the US Constitution, filtered through the State Constitution; ergo, does he desire to be a Constitutional Sheriff?
I attended the Park County MAGA Republican candidate forum in Bailey on May 23, 2026. Five candidates for political office were there: Teddy Collins, a Colorado Springs firearms dealer, who is running for the State Senate District 4 seat, vacated by Mark Baisley; Steve Spokyak, current undersheriff and candidate for sheriff; Ahmet Susic, a sergeant with the Summit County Sheriff, once the Chief of Police of a four person police department, and candidate for Park County sheriff; Cyndy Weld (Wallie “By Golly” Weld’s wife), who is running for assessor; and Wallie “By Golly” Weld himself, who is running for Park County District 3 Commissioner.
It was clear from the outset that Susic and his sidekick in the campaign, Gary Rhoads, gathered their troops for this event, even the strip-mall Baptists and the Evangelical zealots, some even serving as, I guess, security. They did escort Dick Elsner, former District 2 Commissioner, out of the meeting when Dave Wissel, Chair of the Park County Board of Commissioners and Chair of the Park County MAGA Republican Central Committee, thought it would be appropriate to advise the small crowd that Elsner and Monica Jones had been ousted from the MAGA-centric Central Committee and censored for their outrageous dislike of Wissel and Amy Mitchell, the elite of the Park County’s own MAGA bubble. When Elsner said Wiessel’s spiel was contextually inappropriate, Wissel did what he always does by continuing to push the knife just a little bit deeper. The exchange got heated, and Amy Mitchell began yelling, “We’re under Robert’s Rules of Order here!!!!!” She slammed her hand on a table–I bet that hurt–and rushed to Wissel’s side. Two of the Susic/Rhoads boys rose to the occasion and, with their constant smiles, escorted Elsner out.
The “constitutional sheriff” claim arises from far-right ideology — Tactical Civics, for example — that asserts county sheriffs hold ultimate legal authority in their counties, their authority superseding state and federal laws, including gun regulations, public health mandates, and election administration—if they deem them unconstitutional.
Our Republic was founded on the understanding that the judiciary would make constitutional decisions. It was left, of course, to Justice John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison to actually cement that principle into our collective American experience.
Susic, however, apparently believes it is up to him to decide whether SB25-003 is constitutional. And, apparently, he’s already decided, thus his determination not to enforce it.
I’m not sure why Amy Mitchell allowed one of the candidates, Teddy Collins, to ask questions of the sheriff candidates, but she did. Collins, who’d pulled up in his Tesla Cybertruck (the ugliest vehicle on the face of the earth), wearing a great big black cowboy hat, and delivering his spiel to the small crowd at a hundred miles a minute, reminiscent of Professor Harold Hill’s slick delivery to the residents of River City, Iowa–“Oh, we got trouble with a capital T…!!!”
Teddy Collins, candidate for State Senate District 4 and firearms dealer in Colorado Springs, urged us to give Denver the middle finger regarding Senate Bill 25-003, which will take effect on August 1, 2026. According to the enacted bill’s description, it will prohibit activity involving semiautomatic firearms and, in connection therewith, prohibit the manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, and purchase of specified semiautomatic firearms, and classify a device that increases the rate of fire of a semiautomatic firearm as a dangerous weapon. It is highly questionable whether this law will withstand constitutional scrutiny.
Susic was delighted by Teddy’s question and declared that he wouldn’t enforce the state statute, an act that would clearly violate his oath of office. But as the video above shows, he goes further, arguing that his authority derives directly from the US Constitution. Something that suggests Susic is a proponent of the Constitutional Sheriff concept promulgated by the very far-right, MAGA-centric ideologues who assert that locally elected county sheriffs possess absolute authority—superseding state and federal laws, the courts, and the President—when determining the constitutionality of government actions. A very dangerous belief, indeed. Susic also says—reneging on his apparent Constitutional Sheriff stance—that the requirements in SB25-003, imposing fees required by the statute, a background check, for example, or the cost of a firearms training course, would not apply to Park County citizens; that he would not charge a dime for any of that, it would all be free. Well, of course, somebody has to pay the fees. Who would that be? Who would pay the fee for a background check? Would it be all of us, even the citizens of Park County, who don’t want to own a gun? And the $52.00 firearms training and safety course fee that, by statute, goes to the state Firearm Safety Program. Who would pay for that? Or if he were to provide the training in-house, who would pay for that? Certainly, there would be a cost for deputy time and materials provided. Again, who would pay for that?
Steve Spodyak, the current undersheriff, gently chides Susic for his giddiness in anticipation of thumbing his nose at the lunatics down in Denver. Spodyak rightly notes that the laws of the state of Colorado still must be complied with, regardless of personal feelings about the statute, especially if you’re the sheriff of a Colorado county and, incidentally, are beholden to the oath you took upon assuming your position.
One would be hard-pressed to sanction the establishment of a Constitutional Sheriff in Park County. Well, anyone other than Susic, apparently. Or, should we leave the door open for Susic to suggest he misspoke, that that’s not really what he meant? Or maybe Susic was just posturing for the crowd, his and Rhoads people who never saw a conspiracy they didn’t embrace, who’ve never let their minds wander beyond the MAGA paradigm.
Wallie “By Golly” Weld told us all that he didn’t get a “chance” to serve in the military, and he hiked Park County when he was a Boy Scout. He also said that his background as a geologist would suit him well as a commissioner.
My conclusions about Wallie, affirmed at the May 23, 2026, forum, are that he is an old guy who, if he wins, will be 75 (I think) by the time his term ends. He lusts after a commissioner seat, having moved to Bailey for a time to run in the 2024 commissioner primary election for District 2, and now–so he says–resides in Indian Mountain, Como, so he can run for the District 3 commission seat. He’s got an eye problem, and I couldn’t help but notice he doesn’t use makeup to hide whatever issue he shares with DJT.
No, I’m not ageist. I’m an old guy myself. I understand the passion to serve, but c’mon, y’all, why can’t we have some younger folks vieing for elective office in Park County? Folks who haven’t been stuck in their ideological ruts for four or five decades, unwilling to even consider that something else besides their dogmatic, age-old, safe, and secure viewpoints is what Park County needs?
I’m reminded of the Democratic candidate for commissioner, Truman Esmond, and the other Republican, Tyrene Cook, who certainly aren’t old or stuck in the faux glory of generations past.
Amy Mitchell, District 1 Commissioner and 1st Vice Chair of the Park County MAGA Republican Central Committee, ran the forum. She asked the questions after sorting through the little yellow cards submitted by audience members. She, naturally, chose the questions she wanted to ask. I think Wallie “By Golly” got one or two questions, and Mrs. Wallie “By Golly” got only one question.
The vast majority of the questions Mitchell asked were directed at the sheriff candidates, Susic and Spodyak. Could it be that even she realizes that Wallie “By Golly” and his wife are not really that viable as candidates? The big magilla, the sheriff’s office, is where those questions needed to be directed.
Interestingly, Mitchell must have repeated five or six times that the questions for Spodyak constituted the majority of the questions from the forum audience. It’s interesting because she showed her hand. The crowd, the MAGA-centric, strip-mall Baptist, Evangelical zealot crowd, was there for their guy, Sergeant Susic and his sidekick, Gary Rhoads.
Mrs. Wallie, “By Golly,” got only one question, too. Mitchell asked what changes she’d make in the assessor’s office if she were to win. Cyndy Weld called that a “loaded question,” and went on to say she’d want to get to know her staff and make sure they are happy. She also said she’s currently familiarizing herself with Colorado tax law.
I get the feeling that Cyndy Weld really doesn’t want to be the assessor. She doesn’t even have an online campaign presence as far as I can tell. Maybe Wallie just popped up one day and said, “C’mon, honey, it’ll be fun.”
Monica Jones, who wants another term as assessor, wasn’t invited to make her thoughts known or to contrast herself with Mrs. Wallie, “By Golly,” her fellow Republican candidate. If she had been on that dais, there would be only one conclusion: Cyndy isn’t in any way prepared to take on the enormous, at times thankless, job of Park County’s Assessor.
I’m glad I traipsed amongst the MAGA crowd last Saturday. It was even refreshing to witness the eruption between Elsner, Wissle, and Mitchell. With Jason “Go along, to get along” Gemmer now sitting in Elsner’s old seat, Park County Board of Commissioners meetings are as bland as unbuttered toast. Unless, of course, when some Patriot rises during public comment to speak truth to power, to point out that We, the People, are not at all happy with the machinations of the likes of Wissel, Mitchell, Gemmer, and Meyer, many of those tête-à-têtes probably conducted behind closed doors away from the light, outside the view and beyond hearing of the citizens of Park County.
Thank you. I need to read this more thoroughly.