Today, the House Ethics Committee voted to dismiss the ethics complaint filed by Ethics Watch against Rep. Steve King (R-HD-54), but also voted to send a letter outlining their concerns regarding Rep. King’s conduct. 

Today, the Colorado House Ethics Committee met to begin its inquiry into whether Rep. Steve King requested mileage reimbursement for travel expenses that were actually paid for with campaign committee funds while certifying to the House that he actually incurred his claimed mileage expenses and that those expenses had not been reimbursed by any other source. The committee has been charged to determine by February 18 whether probable cause exists to find an ethics violation. Ethics Watch looks forward to a complete investigation of the facts in this matter.

Today, Ethics Watch filed a complaint with Rep. Terrance Carroll, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, asking the House to investigate Rep. Steve King (R-HD 54) and determine whether he received payment from the State of Colorado for travel expenses that were actually paid by his campaign committee.

Christopher N. Osher (Denver Post) - Seven petition circulators who worked for a company hired by Denver sheriff's deputies in their bid to ask voters to broaden their arrest powers used "questionable" practices, perhaps forging thousands of signatures, elections officials said Thursday.

Ethics Watch asked the federal Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) to investigate whether Meghann Silverthorn violated the Hatch Act by running a partisan political campaign for the Douglas County, Colorado School Board while employed by the Department of Defense, Defense Contract Management Agency.

Colorado Ethics Watch learned late Friday that, in response to a complaint it filed, a special prosecutor for the City of Fort Collins found probable cause to believe that City Council candidate Andrew Boucher violated Fort Collins campaign finance laws. Boucher has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that will result in no charges being filed if he avoids further charges for campaign finance violations for one year.

Today, Ethics Watch supplemented its initial request and renewed its call on Secretary of State Bernie Buescher to launch an immediate inquiry into whether former U.S. Congressman Scott McInnis is in violation of state campaign finance law by publicly announcing his candidacy for governor and subsequently soliciting, receiving or expending campaign funds before registering a candidate committe.

Colorado Ethics Watch today called on Secretary of State Bernie Buescher to launch an immediate inquiry into whether former U.S. Congressman Scott McInnis is in violation of state campaign finance law by announcing his candidacy for governor and subsequently soliciting, receiving or expending campaign funds before registering a candidate committee.  Ethics Watch also asked the secretary of state to investigate whether Mr. McInnis violated laws prohibiting coordination between a candidate and a 527 political organization.

Today, Ethics Watch submitted additional evidence to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding its investigation of four non-profit organizations: American Future Fund (AFF), Coloradans for Economic Growth (CEG), Freedom’s Watch, and Western Skies Coalition (WSC).  The letter presents additional evidence, obtained since Ethics Watch’s initial letter to the IRS in September 2008, that these four organizations apparently spent more of their total resources on actions that influence elections rather than on social welfare activities, in violation of their federal tax-exempt status.

Today, Fort Collins City Clerk Wanda Krajicek responded to Ethics Watch's March 24 call for an investigation of potential campaign finance violations by City Council candidate Andrew Boucher and his candidate committee.  Ms. Krajicek advised Ethics Watch that she has given notice of the apparent violation to City Manager Darin Atteberry.  In a separate letter to Ethics Watch, Mr. Atteberry said the City will appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter.

Today, Ethics Watch asked Fort Collins City Clerk Wanda M. Krajicek to notify the City Manager of an apparent campaign finance violation by the Andrew Boucher for Council campaign.  Ethics Watch believes that Andrew Boucher, a candidate for City Council in District 5, sent a fundraising appeal in February of this year to voters in Fort Collins.  In addition to asking for contributions and promoting his own campaign in this appeal, Mr. Boucher also asked recipients of the letter to support Aislinn Kottwitz, a candidate for City Council in District 3.  Fort Collins prohibits candidate committees from contributing to other campaigns or making independent expenditures on behalf of other candidates.

In response to Channel 7’s investigation last year into the out-of-control spending of historic preservation funds in Black Hawk, Ethics Watch in May called on the state legislature to consider ways to install oversight or limits on the funds spent by Black Hawk’s city council.  On Tuesday, the state Senate Local Government and Energy Committee unanimously approved a bill that would stop the Black Hawk City Council from unilaterally spending state historic dollars.

The Colorado House Ethics Committee voted today to dismiss a complaint alleging that Rep. David Balmer (R-Centennial) committed ethics violations in connection with the House Minority Leader vote in December.

In response to the revelation of possible vote-buying in the competition for the Colorado House Minority Leader position, Chantell Taylor, director of Colorado Ethics Watch, released the following statement:

“While an investigation by the House ethics committee might be an important step to take, this type of inquiry does not match the severity of the potential crimes involved.  Ethics Watch therefore calls for immediate state and federal criminal investigations to flesh out the facts and identify all people potentially involved in this intolerable Blagojevich-style conduct."

The Internal Revenue Service has responded to Colorado Ethics Watch's call for an investigation of four nonprofit groups, American Future Fund, Coloradans for Economic Growth, Freedom's Watch and Western Skies Coalition, that may have violated their tax-exempt status through their efforts to influence elections in Colorado.

Today, Ethics Watch requested that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) launch an immediate investigation of four non-profit organizations: American Future Fund (AFF), Coloradans for Economic Growth (CEG), Freedom’s Watch, and Western Skies Coalition (WSC).

In response to Ethics Watch's call for a criminal investigation of spending abuses by Black Hawk city officials, First Judicial District Attorney Scott Storey notified Ethics Watch that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is looking at how Colorado gaming towns, including Black Hawk, are spending state historic preservation money. This investigation is ongoing and could result in criminal charges.

Today Ethics Watch called on District Attorney Scott Storey to investigate Black Hawk Mayor David Spellman and City Manager Richard Lessner for embezzlement of public funds and other crimes in violation of state law.

 

Ethics Watch asks that the state auditor determine whether CCCS, under the direction of Nancy McCallin, complied with state procurement laws in awarding contracts and whether CCCS and SunGard Higher Education have implemented the contract in accordance with the contract terms and state law.

The fact that Governor Ritter did the right thing by proactively investigating the misuse of his campaign funds does not abrogate the need for a formal investigation. The question left open is who will handle the matter?