Gabrielle Porter (High Timber Times)- A Colorado Springs-based watchdog organization has accused groups involved in instigating the recall of three Jeffco school members of violating state campaign finance laws in two lawsuits that will go before Colorado’s Office of Administrative Courts.
Colorado Government Watch alleged in an Oct. 13 complaint that nonprofit groups Jeffco United and Support Jeffco Kids — both of which have ties to the organization that initiated the recall of conservative school board members John Newkirk, Ken Witt and Julie Williams — are acting as financial pass-throughs for campaign funds while their nonprofit status protects them from disclosing donors. Colorado Government Watch wants the state to require both groups to register as issue committees, which would force them to disclose their donors, said director Dede Laugesen.
Click here to read the full story in High Timber Times.
Pam Zubeck (Colorado Springs Independent)- Last month, eight people from Colorado Springs, including city employees, boarded a plane for New York City to talk about improvements to the streetscape and infrastructure surrounding the Olympic Museum and Hall of Fame with the project’s New York-based designer.
In an unusual move, the nonprofit Colorado Springs Sports Corp. used a donation from an unnamed “private foundation” to fund $15,748 in travel expenses for three city employees and two others associated with the city.
Click here to read the full story in the Colorado Springs Independent.
Monica Mendoza (Denver Business Journal)- It appears there are dueling search committees for the hunt to fill a vacancy on U.S. District Court in Colorado.
Today, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, announced the formation of a bipartisan advisory committee that will recommend qualified applicants to fill an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court in Colorado, created by Judge Robert Blackburn’s taking senior status on April 12, 2016.
Click here to read the full story in the Denver Business Journal.
Shay Castle (Broomfield Enterprise)- An appointed member of Broomfield City Council running for election is coming under fire for his involvement in a series of civil suits, prompting questions over his suitability to hold elected office.
Between 2009 and 2013, Ward 4 Councilman Dennis Harward and his companies were defendants in at least five civil suits, three of which alleged unethical business practices, including misrepresentation and use of deceptive competitive strategies.
Click here to read the full story in Broomfield Enterprise.
Kyle Harris (The Colorado Independent)- Few organizations bust Colorado’s power brokers in court as regularly as Colorado Ethics Watch. So when the organization’s attorney Peg Perl speaks — especially in a Buzzfeed listicle — Coloradans would be wise to listen.
Check out her post: “6 Scary Things You Need to Know About Colorado School Boards,” in which she uses GIF’s of pop culture icons including Darth Vader, Jerry Maguire and Napoleon (of Napoleon Dynamite) to explain troubling facts about the state’s rules governing school boards.
Click here to read the full story in The Colorado Independent
Today, Colorado Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Steiert found that “reasonable grounds” exist to believe American Lands Council (ALC) or its staff broke Colorado lobbying registration law.
The finding came in response to a lobbying complaint filed by Ethics Watch after ALC emailed Coloradans and urged them to contact legislators in support of a bill to study transferring federal public land to the state. ALC did not report any lobbying spending nor registered itself or a paid staff member as a registered lobbyist, as required by Colorado law.
ALC has thirty days to respond in writing to the finding.
The Secretary of State could issue a cease-and-desist order requiring ALC to comply with lobbying disclosure law or refer the matter for criminal prosecution. Willful violation of the lobbying law is a misdemeanor.
Ethics Watch Director Luis Toro said: “We are pleased that the Secretary of State has taken this complaint seriously and conducted a thorough preliminary investigation. American Lands Council is free to lobby like anyone else; all we ask is that they abide by the same rules that apply to everyone else who lobbies the Colorado legislature.”
Helpful Links:
- Click here to read the Deputy Secretary of State’s Notice of Hearing or view below.
- Click here to read more about Ethics Watch’s complaint.
- CO SOS Notice of Hearing on American Lands Council lobbying complaint by Colorado Ethics Watch:
Crystal Anderson (Arvada Press). In the middle of a recall campaign seeking to drive him from office, Jefferson County School Board President Ken Witt tried to make a big campaign splash by calling for the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) to investigate his alleged violations of Colorado’s open meetings law.
“This is a serious charge of unlawful behavior and it’s now going to be printed on an official election ballot. But for this accusation to be taken seriously, a complaint should have been filed,” Witt said during an Oct. 8 press conference.
Click here to read the full story in the Arvada Press
Gabrielle Porter (Canyon Courier). School board president Ken Witt, one of three targets of a recall in the Nov. 3 election, has announced that he is requesting an investigation into himself by the state’s Independent Ethics Commission to counter ballot language that accuses the school board’s conservative majority of violating the Open Meetings Law.
The recall language on the ballot accuses Witt and board members John Newkirk and Julie Williams of “repeatedly violating Colorado open-meetings laws by secretly making major decisions behind closed doors.”
Click here to read the full story in the Canyon Courier
Nicholas Garcia (Chalkbeat Colorado). Jefferson County School Board President Ken Witt, the target of a high-profile recall campaign, announced Thursday he is asking the state’s Independent Ethics Commission to weigh in on recall organizers’ claim that he violated state transparency laws.
“I’m simply calling their bluff,” Witt said at a news conference.
Click here to read the full story in Chalkbeat Colorado
