Secretary of state's name on fundraiser outrages Democrats

Secretary of State Gigi Dennis is barred by law from chairing a political campaign, but she was an honorary co-chair of Wednesday's fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez, which featured President Bush.

Dennis, the state's highest election official, said in an interview that she met the letter of the law.

"I did think about this before I agreed to it," she said. She decided it made little difference because she was a known supporter of Beauprez before she became secretary of state last year.

Dennis, a Republican, said she didn't attend the lunch and didn't raise funds for Beauprez. She said she merely allowed her name to be used on the program, along with those of other state officials, including Gov. Bill Owens.

But she was castigated for it by the Democratic Party and by Ken Gordon, Democratic candidate for secretary of state.

Gordon said Dennis is "forgoing any pretense of neutrality" and "is certainly in violation of the spirit of the law."

A Democratic Party news release stated: "Her blatant partisanship disgraces her public office."

State Treasurer Mike Coffman's name also appeared on the program as an honorary co-chair, right before Dennis'.

But Coffman, the Republican candidate to replace Dennis as secretary of state, said he would not lend his name if he occupied that office. "I would not take any official role in a campaign, simply because of the perception it might create," he pledged.

"I think the role of the secretary of state is to make sure we have fair and honest elections, and not to influence the outcome of elections," Coffman said.

Dennis said she did not attend because she had to chair a campaign finance rule-making hearing at her office at the same time.

Bill Hobbs, her deputy, noted that the secretary of state is an elected office. As a result, the person in that job often ends up campaigning for re-election, and then overseeing the ballot count for his or her own race.

In 2005, Colorado passed its law barring the secretary of state from serving as "the highest ranking official, whether actual or honorary, in the campaign of any candidate for federal or statewide office."

It was proposed by both Gordon and the previous Republican secretary of state's blue-ribbon panel, Hobbs said.

The secretary of state's role in campaigns became an issue after complaints about Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris in 2000 and Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell in 2004. Both served on Bush's presidential campaigns and made decisions seen as favorable to him while running their state's elections.

Dennis previously was criticized for decisions seen as partisan, including an attempt to limit union donations to Democrats. The idea originated with Republican lawyers.

Last week, the state appeals court upheld a preliminary injunction on that issue. It said Dennis overstepped her authority when she barred union contributions to small-donor political committees unless the union gets each member to agree. But Dennis and the plaintiffs disagree on whether the injunction applies only to the two plaintiff unions or to all membership organizations.

The statute

• "No person while serving in the office of secretary of state shall serve as the highest ranking official, whether actual or honorary, in the campaign of any candidate for federal or statewide office. This shall not apply to a campaign in which the secretary of state is the candidate."