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The Durango Herald, Mar 12, 2010
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The Denver Post, Mar 12, 2010
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Craig Daily Press, Mar 11, 2010
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Craig Daily Press, Mar 11, 2010
“Government can only be accountable if taxpayers can see what they are buying
and how much they are paying for it.”
Ethics group sues over Colorado lawmaker's Turkey trip
By Associated Press, The Pueblo Chieftain,
May 19, 2009
Colorado Ethics Watch wants a judge to overturn a decision issued last month by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission. That decision said it would be OK for a state lawmaker to accept an educational trip to Turkey paid for by a nonprofit in suburban Denver called Multicultural Mosaic Foundation.
The purpose of the 11-day trip is to learn about Turkey. The foundation would pay expenses for the lawmaker, identified by The Denver Post as Democratic Rep. Cherylin Peniston of Westminster, and her husband.
The Penistons would have to pay their own airfare. Colorado Ethics Watch sued over the decision in Denver District Court Monday. In a statement, Ethics Watch Director Chantell Taylor says the commission's opinion would allow lawmakers to "blatantly ignore the plain language of the gift ban."
Colorado's constitution bans state employees from accepting gifts worth more than $50. But the constitution makes an exception for nonprofits offering travel for a "fact-finding mission or trip."
Peniston's Turkey trip, the commission ruled, would fall in that category. The lawmaker herself requested the opinion before accepting the Turkey trip.
Calls to Peniston, the Ethics Commission and the Aurora-based Multicultural Mosaic Foundation were not immediately returned Tuesday.
In its decision, the five-member Ethics Commission concluded that the Turkey trip was a gift to the government, not to Peniston. The decision noted that other Colorado lawmakers and academics may be attending, though no one in particular was named.
Ethics Watch has clashed with the commission over keeping secret the names of people seeking opinions. The group has a separate lawsuit pending over that policy.
In this case, Ethics Watch wants a judge to overturn the April 16 decision, saying Peniston would not be able to accept the Turkey trip without violating state ethics laws.
For the full story, please visit http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/05/19/news/latest_news/doc4a131c51e1...
The purpose of the 11-day trip is to learn about Turkey. The foundation would pay expenses for the lawmaker, identified by The Denver Post as Democratic Rep. Cherylin Peniston of Westminster, and her husband.
The Penistons would have to pay their own airfare. Colorado Ethics Watch sued over the decision in Denver District Court Monday. In a statement, Ethics Watch Director Chantell Taylor says the commission's opinion would allow lawmakers to "blatantly ignore the plain language of the gift ban."
Colorado's constitution bans state employees from accepting gifts worth more than $50. But the constitution makes an exception for nonprofits offering travel for a "fact-finding mission or trip."
Peniston's Turkey trip, the commission ruled, would fall in that category. The lawmaker herself requested the opinion before accepting the Turkey trip.
Calls to Peniston, the Ethics Commission and the Aurora-based Multicultural Mosaic Foundation were not immediately returned Tuesday.
In its decision, the five-member Ethics Commission concluded that the Turkey trip was a gift to the government, not to Peniston. The decision noted that other Colorado lawmakers and academics may be attending, though no one in particular was named.
Ethics Watch has clashed with the commission over keeping secret the names of people seeking opinions. The group has a separate lawsuit pending over that policy.
In this case, Ethics Watch wants a judge to overturn the April 16 decision, saying Peniston would not be able to accept the Turkey trip without violating state ethics laws.
