In Memoriam: David Aitken (1947–2026)

David Aitken died on May 28, 2026. He was 79 years old.

The national LP announced his passing on June 2, calling him "a foundational pillar of the liberty movement in Colorado for four decades."

He registered as a Libertarian in 1984. He became Colorado Finance Chair and then State Chair in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He played a direct role in securing minor party ballot status for the LP in Colorado in 1998, a structural achievement that allowed the party to function legally in the state for years afterward. He served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1971.

He never stopped working. His career was in software consulting and database management, and he brought those skills directly to the movement. For decades he managed the Colorado LP's membership database, served as its database manager, and handled ballot access records. He handled the kind of internal infrastructure work that never gets headlines but without which nothing else can function.

He ran for office as recently as 2024, seeking the Colorado State Senate District 31 seat as the Libertarian candidate. He earned more than 16 percent of the vote in that race. He lost to the incumbent Democrat, but kept going.

He was an active commenter and participant in internal debates about electoral strategy and voting systems, arguing for approval-based voting methods with the same methodical care he brought to everything else.

There is a certain kind of person the liberty movement depends on and rarely acknowledges. The person who shows up to meetings when no one is watching. Who maintains the database that makes ballot access possible. Who files the paperwork and teaches the next person how to do it. Who runs for office in unwinnable races because someone should.

David Aitken was that person for forty years.

Rest well.

A full profile of David Aitken's contributions is maintained at lpedia.org. The LP's official announcement is at lp.org.