Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government (CCEG), a nonpartisan, nonprofit legal watchdog group, called on the Attorney General as well as the Denver and Pueblo County District Attorneys to launch an immediate investigation into the Trailhead Group LLC (“Trailhead”) for making false campaign ads against three candidates.

Trailhead has paid for the creation and broadcast of radio ads against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter and Democratic candidates for the state House, Rep. Jim Riesberg and Rep. Buffie McFadyen, which contain flagrantly false statements about their voting records.
The ad against Ritter incorrectly states that as a district attorney, Ritter “avoided enforcing the death penalty” when in actuality a district attorney under Colorado does not have the authority to enforce the death penalty – only judges and juries can make that determination.
An ad against Reisberg claimed that he supported amnesty for illegal immigrants, although he does not and an ad against McFadyen says that she voted for tax and fee increases, though the bills referred to in the ads were not related to such increases.

Colorado law makes it is a crime punishable by up to 18 months in jail and fines up to $5,000 to knowingly make, publish, broadcast, or circulate or cause to be made, published, or broadcast any false statement relating to any candidate for election to public office. Doing so recklessly, or in conscious disregard of the truth or falsity of the statement made, published, broadcasted, or circulated is punishable by up to 12 months in jail and fines of up to $1,000.