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Colorado Ethics Watch uses high impact legal actions to hold public officials and organizations accountable for unethical activities that undermine the integrity of state and local government.
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“What we need to know is which portions of the state’s Constitution are now no longer enforceable, and what are the four corners of the areas in which the Legislature can act.”
Secretary of State Bernie Buescher commenting on the necessary adjustments to Colorado law after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, as quoted in The Grand Junction Sentinel, 01/25/2010.

Related Ethics Headlines

Bennet's campaign, DPS principal admit election mistakes

By Jeremy P. Meyer, The Denver Post,
October 9, 2009

Electioneering missteps in Denver Public Schools in the race for the U.S. Senate sent one principal to the woodshed and have Sen. Michael Bennet's campaign offering up a mea culpa.

Bennet's campaign recently sent mailings to at least one school seeking the principal's support. And a flier for a Bennet fundraiser was handed out by one principal to others at a district workshop — both inappropriate campaign actions, Bennet's campaign acknowledges.

Vote poll rankles Benker

By Rachel Carter, The Longmont Times-Call,
October 8, 2009
LONGMONT — Longmont City Councilwoman Karen Benker says she’s the target of secret groups that are playing dirty politics.

Benker, who is running for re-election for the Ward 2 council seat, filed three complaints with the City Clerk’s Office on Monday, one of which was about a Sept. 23 telephone poll.

In her complaint, Benker said the “push poll” was biased against her and brought up policy positions that were untrue.

Ritter's staff, appointees to file disclosures for three missed years

By Jessica Fender, The Denver Post,
October 7, 2009

Gov. Bill Ritter's staff and top appointees will file financial disclosures for the three years during which they ignored a rule requiring them to publicly state any personal, financial or legal interests in conflict with their state duties, spokesman Evan Dryer said Tuesday.

Under pressure from government watchdogs, Ritter on Monday gave the 25 or so non-filers until Oct. 25 to turn in disclosures, but he did not immediately make the order retroactive.

Board may close doors, talk suit

By Scott Rochat, The Longmont Times-Call,
October 5, 2009
LONGMONT — Longmont’s election committee may have a closed-door meeting in two weeks to discuss the city’s campaign-finance lawsuit.

The special meeting is slated for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 19. The business includes a proposed motion to go into executive session so the committee can consult with its attorney on the suit.

Colo. Education Commissioner pays back state for personal calls

By Jessica Fender, The Denver Post,
October 5, 2009

Education Commissioner Dwight Jones reimbursed the state for 2 1/2 years of personal calls made on his state cellphone following media inquiries into his expenses, a Denver Post review of records shows.

The $940 payback — nearly half of the total $2,227 billed to Jones' cellphone since he took the job — followed reports about pricey meals and new office furniture billed to Jones' expense account despite severe state budget cuts.

Group: Toss campaign rules

By Rachel Carter, The Longmont Times-Call,
October 3, 2009
LONGMONT — A group suing the city over its campaign-finance rules asked a federal court judge Friday to deem those laws unenforceable — and to do it by next week.

A group of Longmont residents, including two former mayors, sued the city last month over its recently revamped Longmont Fair Campaign Practices Act, saying it chills their rights to free speech.

City memo on campaign donors gets limited circulation

By Peter Roper, The Pueblo Chieftain,
October 3, 2009

After City Councilwoman Judy Weaver was embarrassed last month over an old but illegal campaign contribution back in 2005, the city attorney's office hammered together a memorandum on just what campaign contributions are legal, may be legal, or are illegal.

That memo went out to council members, including Weaver, on Sept. 21. But the advisory hasn't made it to the other 10 candidates running for council this year. It's sitting in City Clerk Gina Dutcher's office if anyone is looking for it.

Lots of candidates are e-mailing voters at their government jobs

By Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post,
October 2, 2009

Democrats complained when GOP gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry sent campaign information to state Capitol workers at their work e-mail addresses, but it turns out plenty of candidates are e-mailing voters at their government jobs.

Denver City Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz and Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher talked to the legal department after workers received e-mails from Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.

City bumps campaign suit to federal court

By Rachel Carter, The Longmont Times-Call,
October 1, 2009
LONGMONT — A lawsuit filed against the city for its campaign finance rules has been moved to federal court — at the city’s request.

The city filed Monday to move the case to the U.S. District Court in Denver, and the suit was transferred from Boulder District Court on Tuesday.

A group of Longmont residents, including two former mayors, sued the city earlier this month over the city’s recently revamped Longmont Fair Campaign Practices Act, saying it chills their rights to free speech.

House orders feds to clean-up Leadville tunnel

By Katie Redding, The Colorado Independent,
September 30, 2009

Partisan games were finally put to rest on Tuesday, as a long overdue environmental clean-up bill for Leadville, Colo., passed the U.S. House of Representatives on a voice vote.

Boulder City Council: Interest grows in public campaign assistance

By Heath Urie, Boulder Daily Camera,
September 30, 2009

Interest in using taxpayer money to help fund political campaigns appears to be growing among candidates for the Boulder City Council, with five of the 13 hopefuls now accepting public assistance.

On Tuesday, candidates KC Becker and Jyotsna Raj each qualified for the voter-approved matching funds program.

The pair joins Tim Plass, Macon Cowles and Matt Appelbaum as those who have applied to use public money for their campaigns.

Three Boulder candidates accept public funds, spending limits

By Heath Urie, The Boulder Daily Camera,
September 29, 2009

With just over a month to go before the Nov. 3 election, only three of the 13 candidates vying for seats on the Boulder City Council have applied for matching public funds to help finance their campaigns.

Incumbents Macon Cowles and Matt Appelbaum, along with newcomer Tim Plass, have agreed to adhere to strict campaign finance rules to receive matching taxpayer money.

58-year sentence for stealing $11 million from Colorado

By The Denver Post,
September 25, 2009

A man convicted of stealing more than $11 million from the Colorado Department of Revenue with help from a former girlfriend was sentenced to 58 years in prison Thursday in Denver District Court.

Hysear Randell, 42, also was ordered to pay $11,862,398.39 in restitution.

Co-defendant Michelle Cawthra was sentenced earlier to 24 years in prison; Randell's wife, Trudy, is currently on probation.

Boulder clerk dismisses candidate's complaint against Camera

By Erica Meltzer, The Boulder Daily Camera,
September 23, 2009
The Boulder city clerk has dismissed a complaint filed against the Camera for printing an op-ed piece by incumbent City Council member Macon Cowles.

In the complaint, council candidate Rob Smoke alleged that by printing the op-ed by Cowles and not printing one by him, the Camera essentially “donated” ad space to one candidate without declaring it as a campaign contribution.

Feuding in Nunn continues as recall petitions accepted

By Mike Peters, The Greeley Tribune,
September 23, 2009

NUNN — In the ongoing government feud in this town that was once mistakenly known as Nunn, Wyo., the town clerk has ruled the recall petitions against six town board members were acceptable and will next go to the board itself to set the date of the recall election.

Unless the clerk's decision is appealed to Weld District Court.

In the town's odd history, Nunn was first incorporated in 1906 as a Wyoming town. Two years later, it was incorporated as Nunn, Colo.

City candidates grapple with finance rules

By Peter Roper, The Pueblo Chieftain,
September 21, 2009
Campaign finance laws aren't of much use if no one knows them or follows them. That point was driven home in Pueblo city elections last week, when Councilwoman Judy Weaver acknowledged that a contribution she'd received to her 2005 campaign from the Pueblo County Republican Party was an unintentional violation of the city's charter.

City sued over campaign finance act

By Scott Rochat, The Longmont Times-Call,
September 20, 2009
LONGMONT — A group of Longmont residents, including two former mayors, has sued the city over its campaign finance act, calling it overly restrictive of free speech.

The lawsuit, which also names City Clerk Valeria Skitt as a defendant, attacks the law’s reporting requirements for “individual expenditures” — money that’s spent to promote a candidate, without the candidate’s advice or permission. The law says that all such spending of $100 or more must be reported to the city clerk and all candidates in the affected race within 72 hours.

Norton's job in oil a slip-up?

By Steve Raabe, The Denver Post,
September 18, 2009

Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, until now, has escaped the cross hairs in a series of scandals that plagued her federal agency.

Norton never was implicated in cases ranging from Interior employees illicitly having sex and using drugs to officials serving prison time for obstruction of justice.

But with a private-sector job in the oil-shale industry, Norton finds herself the target of a criminal investigation over her former agency's dealings with her current employer, petroleum giant Royal Dutch Shell.

CSU police chief wants new culture of transparency

By Nate Taylor, Coloradoan.com,
September 16, 2009

Following the lead of CSU President Tony Frank, the university's new Fort Collins campus police chief said she's going to operate an open and transparent police department.

Wendy Rich-Goldschmidt held an open house at the Colorado State University Fort Collins campus police department Tuesday, meeting with reporters for the first time. She said the purpose of the meeting was to begin to establish a new culture of openness.

Interior ends troubled oil royalty program

By H. Josef Herbert, AP News,
September 16, 2009

The Interior Department said Wednesday it is ending a controversial program that allows companies to give the government in-kind payments instead of cash for oil and natural gas taken from federal land and waters.

The royalty-in-kind program has been criticized for lax enforcement that has cost the federal government tens of millions of dollars in royalty payments. It also was at the center last year of a sex and drug scandal involving employees of the office in charge of Interior's offshore energy leasing program.

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