Today, Ethics Watch filed a second Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request with the Colorado Senate Minority Office (SMO), seeking records regarding the office's e-mail contact list. Yesterday, Ethics Watch received a partial response to its October 5 CORA request to the SMO and is working with counsel for the SMO to obtain further information responsive to that request.

After learning that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDHPE) reportedly provided evasive, nonresponsive information about its enforcement of Clean Water Act standards, Ethics Watch called for prompt, accurate public information.  Within hours, CDHPE staff released to Ethics Watch documents detailing its enforcement and penalty history since 2004.

Colorado Ethics Watch today transmitted a formal request to the City of Colorado Springs under the Colorado Open Records Act to inspect and copy documents related to the Colorado Springs Independent Ethics Commission's investigation of an ethics complaint against Mayor Lionel Rivera.

Today, the Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) advised Colorado Ethics Watch that it will release documents regarding complaints that were dismissed by the IEC but were not found to be frivolous.  The IEC's decision comes in the wake of the Denver District Court's ruling in a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) case filed by Ethics Watch, in which the Court rejected the IEC's argument that all complaints that do not proceed to a hearing should be deemed "frivolous" even if the IEC did not make a finding that the complaints were frivolous.  Ethics Watch welcomes the IEC's decision as a victory for transparency in Colorado.

Jan. 13, 2009 - Two committees of state legislators are investigating allegations that Rep. David Balmer (R-Centennial) and a lobbyist coordinated to unlawfully influence the election for Colorado House Minority Leader.  While documents submitted to the committees are public records, there is no convenient way for Coloradans who are interested in the proceedings, but don't have time to travel to the State Capitol, to review the documents.  Ethics Watch has obtained copies of the public files of the two committees and is pleased to be able to make them available to the public at coloradoforethics.org.

Jan. 26 - Additional documents filed with the House Ethics Committee and Joint Ethics Committee are now available.

After El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Robert Balink refused to release El Paso County's "ballot security plan" for tomorrow's general election, Ethics Watch obtained a copy of that plan from the Colorado Secretary of State's office.  Balink had identified the security plan in response to Ethics Watch's October 7 request for documents regarding El Paso County's plans to print additional paper ballots as needed on election day.  The security plan does not appear to address this issue, raising the question whether El Paso County has a plan in place in the event of Election Day ballot shortages.

Colorado Ethics Watch today called on El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Robert Balink to release a copy of his election day preparedness plan in response to concerns that the clerk’s office is not prepared to handle ballot shortages at some or all voting locations in the county.

Ethics Watch is publishing documents it has received from El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Robert Balink in a partial response to Ethics Watch's October 7, 2008 CORA request.  Mr. Balink provided Ethics Watch with documents regarding the allocation of ballots to voting locations and the decision to reduce the number of vote centers from six in 2006 to three in 2008.  Ethics Watch will continue to press for transparency in El Paso County's management of the November 2008 election and will publish additional documents on its website when those documents are received.

Amid increasing concern over whether El Paso County is prepared to handle potentially record turnout in the upcoming general election, Ethics Watch today sent a Colorado Open Records Act ("CORA") request to El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Robert Balink.  Ethics Watch's CORA request seeks, among other things, documents regarding the decision to open only three early voting locations and the availability of paper ballots at Election Day voting locations.

Wade Norris, the host of Ultimate Politics on 1510 AM radio in Denver, interviewed Chantell Taylor of Ethics Watch and Bill Menezes of Colorado Media Matters about the sudden resignation of Election Director Holly Lowder and the audit of the Secretary of State's office performed at the request of Ethics Watch.

Watch the video here.

State Elections Director Holly Lowder resigned Thursday without an official explanation. Lowder's resignation occurred shortly after Ethics Watch served a Colorado Open Records Act ("CORA") request on the Secretary of State's office seeking documents regarding state contracts with voter database consultant John Paulsen, who purportedly leased a condominium to Lowder.

E-mails obtained by Colorado Ethics Watch through a Colorado Open Records Act request show that Secretary of State Mike Coffman aggressively lobbied media outlets to minimize his wrongdoing and instead write negative stories about Colorado Ethics Watch. In one case, Coffman contacted a media outlet to discredit Ethics Watch's campaign finance complaint against the Committee to Elect Dr. Jim Geddes for CU Regent, even though Dr. Geddes' campaign committee is subject to Coffman's jurisdiction and the complaint resulted in a fine of $4000 to that committee.

In response to recent reports regarding questionable spending in Black Hawk, Ethics Watch today issued a Colorado Open Records Act ("CORA") request and follow up letter to Black Hawk City Manager David Lessner. Among other things, the letters ask Mr. Lessner to provide answers about Black Hawk’s use of taxpayer money for city officials and their family members to attend a convention in Las Vegas and to explain why city officials are receiving sizable grants from the state historic preservation fund to renovate their private homes.

 

Colorado Ethics Watch has filed requests under the Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”) regarding reported secret meetings involving State Senator Tom Wiens and members of the Board of County Commissioners of Lake County.

Freedom of Information Act Request in Regards to Canyon Maneuver Site

On August 16, 2007, Ethics Watch filed a request under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) with the City of Longmont seeking documents regarding the city's recent annexation agreement with LifeBridge Church.

Ethics Watch today submitted a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request to the Colorado Department of Revenue in response to reports that the state has failed to collect $40 million in coal severance taxes since 1993.

DENVER – Ethics Watch, a non-partisan, non-profit legal watchdog group, today called for a state audit of the Colorado Secretary of State’s (SOS) office to determine whether its employees have misused state resources for private gain. Ethics Watch also sent a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request to the SOS seeking information on events relating to a controversy involving Elections Technology Manager, Dan Kopelman.

Chantell Taylor, Director of Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government (CCEG), released the following statement today regarding the Ault prison contract awarded to The GEO Group, Inc.:

CCEG today filed open records requests with the Department of Local Affairs, the Division of Emergency Management, and Department of Public Safety seeking copies of performance reports and audits regarding the state government’s use, spending, and/or allocation of federal funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.