Colorado Ethics Watch learned late Friday that, in response to a complaint it filed, a special prosecutor for the City of Fort Collins found probable cause to believe that City Council candidate Andrew Boucher violated Fort Collins campaign finance laws.  Boucher has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that will result in no charges being filed if he avoids further charges for campaign finance violations for one year.

In a letter to the Fort Collins City Clerk Wanda Krajicek in March, Ethics Watch presented evidence that Mr. Boucher committed a potential campaign finance violation and asked Ms. Krajicek to submit a violation report to the city manager.  The complaint explained that Andrew Boucher, a candidate for City Council in District 5, sent a fundraising appeal in February of this year to voters in Fort Collins.  In addition to asking for contributions and promoting his own campaign in this appeal, Mr. Boucher also asked recipients of the letter to support Aislinn Kottwitz, a candidate for City Council in District 3.  The mailing was effectively a contribution to Ms. Kottwitz’s campaign contrary to the city code, which dictates that ‘No candidate committee shall make a contribution or contribution in kind to, or accept a contribution or contribution in kind from, a candidate committee of another candidate.’

Fort Collins City Manager Darin Atteberry referred the investigation to Boulder City Attorney Jerry Gordon, with whom Fort Collins has a reciprocal relationship in cases where a conflict of interest occurs.  In this case, Atteberry believed there was a conflict of interest in investigating a person who was running to become a member of the body that supervises him.

Chantell Taylor, director of Colorado Ethics Watch, released the following statement in response:

“Thanks to Ethics Watch’s research and legal action, this is another case where a violator will be rightly held accountable for his actions.  Mr. Boucher’s unlawful contribution to Ms. Kottwitz’s campaign is a blatant violation of city code.  Let this be a reminder to candidates across Colorado that direct monetary contributions aren’t the only things being watched.  Ethics Watch will continue to identify and expose violations of campaign finance law at the state and local level because any violation undermines the integrity of the election process.”