Today, Fort Collins City Clerk Wanda Krajicek responded to Ethics Watch's March 24 call for an investigation of potential campaign finance violations by City Council candidate Andrew Boucher and his candidate committee.  Ms. Krajicek advised Ethics Watch that she has given notice of the apparent violation to City Manager Darin Atteberry.  In a separate letter to Ethics Watch, Mr. Atteberry said the City will appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter.

The Fort Collins City Code prohibits candidate committees from making contributions to, or independent expenditures on behalf of, other candidates.  In its March 24 letter, Ethics Watch notified the City Clerk that Mr. Boucher and his campaign committee appeared to violate the City Code by spending money for a mailing that solicited donations and support not only for Mr. Boucher's campaign, but also for the campaign of Aislinn Kottwitz, a candidate for City Council in District 3.

In Fort Collins, a home rule city, it is the City Clerk's responsibility to notify the City Manager of apparent campaign finance violations.  If the City Manager determines that a violation has occurred, the city could initiate municipal court proceedings to impose fines for violations. Mr. Atteberry's letter states that because the City Manager is a direct employee of the City Counsel, the best course of action is to retain special counsel to investigate the matter.

Read Ethics Watch's original request for investigation here.  The City Clerk's letter to Ethics Watch may be viewed under Related Documents on the right side of this page.