Ethics Watch says 527 committees went beyond rules

Colorado Ethics Watch filed a complaint Wednesday with the secretary of state against two 527 committees it charged went too far in a series of political ads favoring Republican candidates for the legislature.

Neither Tim Gilmore, representative of the Colorado Leadership Fund, nor Scott Shires, representative of the Senate Majority Fund, said they have seen the complaint.

But Shires said Ethics Watch has a history of filing complaints only against Republican groups.

"They are Democrats intent on embarrassing and wasting Republicans' time," Shires said.

The complaint said the 527s went beyond their role of educating voters and instead are advocating the election of candidates, said Ethics Watch director Chantell Taylor.

The 527 committees, named after a section of the IRS tax code, can raise unlimited funds for ads as long as they don't advocate the election or defeat of candidates and don't coordinate with candidate committees. They have dominated Colorado politics in recent elections by flooding legislative districts with fliers, phone calls and commercials.

By contrast, regular campaign political committees in Colorado can raise no more than $500 from each donor for legislative races.

Taylor said the two 527s should be deemed political committees subject to donor limits because their ads included candidates' names and pictures, said the candidates were running for office and included what the candidates would do if elected.

"When you look at these ads, they are susceptible to no other reasonable interpretation than a plea to vote for those candidates," Taylor said.

She said the 527s also should be fined several million dollars for exceeding the $500 limit for individual contributions.

The political fliers that Ethics Watch cited do not urge voters to vote for or against the candidates, but instead conclude with statements asking people to call the candidates and thank them for "making Colorado stronger."

Both 527s support Republican candidates.

Taylor said Ethics Watch has not yet examined the fliers and advertising by other 527 committees that work on behalf of Democratic candidates.

"We're still looking at some of the other ones," she said. "We're monitoring them all."

Taylor and Shires said recent judicial decisions back their positions on 527 advertising.

In the past, Taylor said, 527s have maintained their ads were legitimate as long as they didn't use the phrases "vote for" or "vote against." But, she said, a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year involving a Wisconsin 527 called that guideline into question.

Shires, however, said a Colorado administrative law judge ruled just the opposite last month in another case.