Ethics Watch today filed a complaint with the Aurora City Clerk against Aurora Council Member Ryan Frazier for failure to file accurate financial disclosures between 2007 and 2009. Frazier's financial disclosure forms filed with Aurora claim he has been employed by Raytheon since 2004, with no changes since; but his public statements and online biographies indicate he has changed employment to Avaya Corporation and again to Takara Systems.

Ethics Watch, today released Ethics Roundup 2009: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the organization’s second annual report highlighting 11 of Colorado’s public officials or agencies who have either committed ethics violations or taken commendable action to promote higher ethical standards.

John Tomasic (The Colorado Independent) - A Larimer County judge this afternoon ordered the Colorado State University Board of Governors to make public further recordings of a closed-door session during which it secretly interviewed candidates for the university’s new chancellorship and decided to select its own vice chairman, Joe Blake, as sole finalist for the position.

The Colorado Springs Independent Ethics Commission (CSIEC) voted today to proceed with an investigation of Mayor Lionel Rivera's alleged conflicts of interest with developers in the city's deal with the United States Olympic Committee.  In response, Ethics Watch urged Rivera to cooperate fully with the CSIEC's investigation.

Today, Commissioner Jan Doran of the Colorado Springs Independent Ethics Commission announced that she will recuse herself from further participation in proceedings regarding the ethics complaint filed by Ronald S. Johnson against Mayor Lionel Rivera.  Commissioner Doran's announcement came shortly after Ethics Watch said she should withdraw because her work on Mayor Rivera's political campaigns created the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Last month, Denver District Court Judge Norman Haglund ruled in favor of Ethics Watch in a Colorado Open Records Act lawsuit against the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC).  Ethics Watch is now making public for the first time files regarding advisory opinion and letter ruling requests and non-frivolous complaints filed with the IEC, all of which have now been made public as a result of the court ruling.

Today, Ethics Watch filed its opening brief with the Colorado Court of Appeals in a case involving whether so-called 527 political committees can avoid contribution limits and disclosure regulations applicable to political committees under Colorado law, simply by avoiding the use of so-called "magic words" like "vote for" or "reject."  The Court of Appeals will review an administrative law judge's November 2008 decision that Senate Majority Fund and Colorado Leadership Fund did not act as political committees when they ran ads in support of various state House and Senate candidates.

Today, Colorado Ethics Watch, Colorado Common Cause and New Era Colorado, joined together to call on the CSU Board of Governors to rescind its closed door decision naming Joe Blake as the sole finalist for CSU chancellor. The groups also called upon the Board of Governors to start a new, transparent search process to consider a number of qualified applicants, including Mr. Blake.  The group decried the process as tainted by a lack of transparency and apparent conflicts of interest.

Ethics Watch learned today that former U.S. Congressman Scott McInnis has finally filed his candidate affidavit for governor, following weeks of questionable campaigning and a formal request from Ethics Watch for an investigation by Secretary of State Bernie Buescher into possible campaign finance violations. 

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.

Ethics Watch, yesterday, filed a complaint with Denver District Court against the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC), asking the court to void an April 17 advisory opinion allowing a lawmaker to take a junket to Turkey.

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.

Today, Denver District Court Judge Norman Haglund ruled that the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission’s (IEC) withholding of documents from public review was improper, and ordered the IEC to give Ethics Watch access to review documents regarding advisory opinions and letter rulings within 15 days. In addition, the judge awarded attorneys fees to Ethics Watch in the case.

Today, Colorado Ethics Watch called on the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC), former Secretary of State Mike Coffman and his counsel to work with Ethics Watch to create a more thorough, accessible and transparent process for the IEC to handle ethics complaints. As a way of moving that process forward, Ethics Watch also announced that it will forego an appeal of the IEC’s recent decision.

A Denver District Court will hear evidence and arguments from Colorado Ethics Watch and the Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) that will ultimately lead to a decision of whether the IEC is entitled to an exception in open meetings laws and open records laws.

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.

Daniel Chacón (Colorado Springs Gazette) - An open-government group is chiding a handful of Colorado Springs City Council members for failing to file their annual financial disclosure statements on time.  Chantall Taylor, director of the nonpartisan Colorado Ethics Watch, said council members missing last Thursday's deadline "shows a disregard for the public's right to information" about their elected officials.

Today, Colorado Ethics Watch called on the state legislature to support HB09-1369, entitled "Transparency in Higher Education Leadership Selection."  The bill establishes uniform processes for public colleges and universities to follow when hiring a president or chancellor.

Colorado Ethics Watch has launched an investigation regarding a voice message left by former U.S. Congressman Scott McInnis in which he announces his candidacy for governor in the 2010 general election, solicits contributions for his campaign, touts his campaign operations and reveals an apparent intention to illegally coordinate his campaign with a so-called 527 political organization.    

Today, Administrative Law Judge Robert N. Spencer imposed a fine of $7150 on the Colorado League of Taxpayers for its failure to report approximately $2,300 in spending on an electioneering communication targeting Garfield County Commissioner candidate Steve Carter in September 2008.  The fine represents a penalty of $50 for each day from September 29, 2008, the date the report should have been filed with the Garfield County Clerk, through February 20, 2009, the date Ethics Watch filed its complaint.