Ex-elections boss, businessman too cozy, some suspect

The close working partnership between Holly Lowder and John Paulsen has been well-known for years among Colorado county clerks and state election workers.

Lowder, who resigned as state elections director this month, helped launch Paulsen's government contractor business in 1993 when she bought his voter registration software for Alamosa County.

She was Alamosa County clerk for about 25 years and held several state leadership positions.

Paulsen, owner of LEDS LLC, went on to sell his software to more than 30 counties.

Several years ago, the two teamed up on state software projects and grant programs.

Their ties continued after 2006, when Lowder was hired as elections director at the secretary of state's office. Since then, the two have served on the same committees developing the new statewide voter registration system known as SCORE.

But critics say their partnership may have been too cozy.

Over the last nine months, the two had almost daily contact, according to e-mails obtained by the Rocky Mountain News.

Paulsen e-mailed Lowder agendas to follow during committee meetings and answered questions posed to her from county clerks about the state database.

Lowder edited pitches Paulsen wrote for consulting jobs with other firms and her office, and was notified when Paulsen was awarded contracts.

They also had a personal connection.

Lowder lived in a $480,000 Denver condominium owned by Paul sen, and they shared the same phone number for a period of time, records show.

Terry Lowder, Holly Lowder's husband, reached by phone in Alamosa on Sept. 5, told the Rocky that the two were separated. He said his wife lived at that apartment for at least a year.

Lowder resigned abruptly Sept. 4, several weeks after her bosses found out about the condo connection and took undisclosed action.

Neither Lowder, 66, nor Paulsen, 59, returned repeated calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Investigation under way

Now, government watchdog groups are blasting Lowder for violating ethics rules. They contend that Secretary of State Mike Coffman and other top officials must have known about the relationship.

"It appears they're violating, at a minimum, the state personnel and state laws regarding conflicts of interest - which calls into question all of the contracts that Paulsen has received," said Chantell Taylor, director of Colorado Ethics Watch, which is investigating the matter.

She said Lowder's behavior could be illegal.

"This conduct could amount to first-degree or second-degree official misconduct because Paulsen clearly received a benefit" and the two failed to disclose the conflict of interest, she said.

The attorney general's office said the secretary of state's office has asked for advice on the situation.

Taylor said the pair's long history "was in (Coffman's) face. I think he turned a blind eye."

Too late to switch horses

Coffman was unavailable for comment. His spokesman, Richard Coolidge, said Coffman was not involved in Lowder's day-to- day work and could not have known about a personal relationship with Paulsen.

Coolidge called Taylor's accusation "tired partisanship" that is "completely devoid of facts." Personnel laws prohibit him from discussing the case, he added.

State officials learned of the condo in early August, when a clerk sent them a lease agreement Lowder had with Paulsen at the upscale residence on Cherokee Street and 11th Avenue, documents and e-mails show.

But the condo arrangement did not cost Paulsen his state contracts. In fact, on Aug. 29, weeks after the tip was confirmed, Deputy Secretary of State Bill Hobbs signed Paulsen's latest contract.

The state said it was too close to elections to find another contractor for the work, which includes compiling voter reports and providing counties with ballot information for the primary and general elections.

Including his current contracts, worth almost $184,000, Paulsen, who operates his company from his home in Castle Rock, has made at least $1 million as a government contractor, records show.

Secretary of State Chief Administrative Officer Jacque Ponder said Paulsen violated the conflict- of-interest terms of a contract with the office because he did not disclose his ties to Lowder, according an e-mail she wrote Sept. 12.

A week earlier, Lowder told a Rocky reporter she retired rather than resigned her position in which officials said she made about $100,000 a year. Lowder in that interview said she has known Paulsen for 15 years but had no conflict of interest in that relationship.

Voting activist Claudia Kuhns, who has been following Paulsen's business dealings for years, called his relationship with Lowder "completely inappropriate under anybody's judgment of ethics."

"What should have already have happened was that as soon as that relationship was discovered, all contracts with LEDS should have been canceled and no new contracts should have been signed," Kuhns said.

John Paulsen's business history and ties to Holly Lowder

* 1992: Paulsen creates software company LEDS LLC.

* 1993: Alamosa County Clerk Holly Lowder buys voter registration software from LEDS.

* 1997: Moffat County buys LEDS software, and later other software, paying Paul sen more than $216,000 over 11 years.

* 1999: Six years after his first contract with Alamosa County, Paulsen files LEDS incorporation papers with state.

* 2000: Summit County buys Paulsen software, paying almost $108,000 over eight years.

* 2003: Lowder buys Paulsen's property-recording software for Alamosa County. Total payments not disclosed, but more than $136,000 paid since 2006.

* 2004: Paulsen applies for state grants for software conversions for Alamosa and six other counties. By this time, he has installed software in 30-plus counties.

* Lowder serves on selection committee for state voter system, SCORE. State awards $10 million contract to Accenture, which hires Paulsen.

* 2005: Paulsen and Alamosa County, where Lowder is still clerk, work on a pilot project with a state software system.

* State terminates SCORE contract with Accenture.

* 2006: Saber wins $9.7 million contract for SCORE and hires Paulsen as "key personnel" and liaison to state and counties.

* 2007: Lowder, now elections director at the secretary of state's office, chairs SCORE task force to deal with critical issues. Paulsen is task force member.

* Lowder leases $480,000 Denver condo from Paulsen.

* Jan. 14, 2008: Paulsen edits Lowder's speech to state clerks association about the SCORE task force. In prepared remarks, she identifies Paulsen as Saber's representative and says: "The state was excited to have LEDS . . . because the counties have confidence and feel with (LEDS') 13 years of Colorado election experience would make a great resource."

* Feb. 6: Paulsen e-mails Lowder a job pitch to William Browning, hired by the state to review SCORE. She responds: "John, I think you need to add more about your county knowledge regarding their infrastructure, connectivity IT resources etc. Holly."

* Feb. 28: Paulsen e-mails Lowder that he's no longer working for Saber.

* March 26: Paulsen e-mails Lowder with an amendment to his ballot information contract proposal and says "Please review."

* April 8: Secretary of state's office signs $84,900 contract with Paulsen for the ballot information work.

* May 27: Paulsen e-mails Lowder, asking her to edit announcement about the voter report project he is doing for her office.

* Early August: Secretary of state learns Lowder had lived in a condo owned by Paulsen. Takes undisclosed action.

* Aug. 29: Deputy Secretary of State Bill Hobbs signs $98,900 contract with Paulsen for the voter report job.

* Sept. 4: Lowder resigns. Office hosts going-away party.