When Hunter S. Thompson Ran For Sheriff

Woodcut of author Hunter S. Thompson. (artwork by author)

Aspen, Colorado had two widely read newspapers in 1968, the conservative Illustrated News and the liberal Times. Early that year, writer Hunter S. Thompson sent a letter to both newspapers. It began “Herr Editor” and was said to have been written by Martin Bormann (Hitler’s personal secretary) who at the time was alive and supposedly hiding in Argentina. The letter praised Aspen’s sheriff’s department for having the same values as the Third Reich.

Two years later, Thompson declared himself a candidate for Sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado. Running on the so-called “Freak Power” ticket, he promised to decriminalize drugs for personal use though he vowed not to eat mescaline while on duty.

He also advocated the following:

• He would rip up all city streets and turn them into grassy malls.
• He would ban any building that obstructed mountain views.
• He would fire the majority of conservative local politicians.
• He would make it policy for the sheriff’s office to savagely harass all those engaged in any form of land-rape.
• He would change the name of Aspen to “Fat City” to prevent greedy developers and other human jackals from capitalizing on the Aspen name. He added, “These swine should be fucked, broken and driven across the land.”