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Ethics Headlines
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The Glenwood Springs Post Independent, Nov 20, 2008
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The Montrose Daily Press, Nov 19, 2008
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The Summit Daily News, Nov 19, 2008
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The Summit Daily News, Nov 19, 2008
"Big picture, it's unknown what the impact of this canceled voter list is."
Colorado Ethics Watch Files Petition to Bring Denver District Attorney to Court
Under section 16-5-209 of Colorado state law, organizations like Colorado Ethics Watch can petition the court for an order compelling the district attorney to appear before the judge and explain his refusal to prosecute a case. If the judge finds that the district attorney’s failure to prosecute was arbitrary and capricious, or without reasonable excuse, the judge can then order the district attorney to move forward with the prosecution.
“Senator McElhany told news organizations that he used PAC money to defray costs for the official communications website of the Senate Minority Office – a patent violation of state statute. But that is not his only infraction. Senator McElhany also illegally used the state seal on the website,” said Chantell Taylor, director of Colorado Ethics Watch. “Rarely does a case present such irrefutable facts.” “Ethics Watch filed this petition because the public deserves to know why District Attorney Morrissey took over a year to decide to do absolutely nothing about potentially criminal violations committed by a public official,” continued Taylor. “If the DA won’t prosecute an elected official who has admitted to breaking the law, then how can Coloradoans trust him to enforce criminal standards in his district?” Colorado Ethics Watch presented significant evidence to the district attorney in its original request for investigation in April 2007. In summary:Use of private funds for public functions: Sen. McElhany appears to have violated state law by using private funds to defray expenses for official duties – those of the Senate Minority Office. Violations of this provision are misdemeanors, punishable by fines of up to $1,000. Sen. McElhany admits that he used a $2,700 gift from the Senate Majority Fund, a private, partisan political committee, to pay for the cost of the website www.ColoradoSenateNews.com, unveiled in January 2007 as the official “communications arm” of the minority office.
Failure to report a gift: Even if the gift from the Senate Majority Fund was legal, Sen. McElhany was required by state law to report the gift to the secretary of state. Violations of this provision are misdemeanors, punishable by fines up to $1,000. To date, neither Sen. McElhany nor any other members of the Senate Minority Office has reported a gift from the Senate Majority Fund in their 2007 reports.Use of state seal: Any person who illegally uses or affixes the Colorado state seal to any written or printed document commits a class five felony. For the first three months after ColoradoSenateNews.com launched, a copy of the state seal was prominently displayed at the top of the home page and in the body of all electronic notices. Only after lawmakers and reporters began questioning the propriety of using the seal did Sen. McElhany have the seal removed.
Use of State Resources for Partisan Activities: Under Sen. McElhany’s supervision, minority office employees have used ColoradoSenateNews.com to engage in partisan activities. Articles on the website have attacked and claimed to expose “left-leaning” organizations, while discussing no official state business, policy issue or the work of state legislators. Senate minority office employees operate and maintain the site using state-issued e-mail accounts during state-paid time.
