A Colorado panel responsible for investigating ethics complaints against government workers and elected officials is asking lawmakers for more money to help its only employee deal with a growing caseload. Since the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission first convened in 2007, the commission has mostly operated with just one employee, an executive director responsible for everything […]
Colorado Independent Ethics Commission
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Ethics complaints from mountain counties spur probe of state Division of Property Taxation
The Department of Local Affairs will hire a law firm to investigate the Colorado Division of Property Taxation after Eagle, La Plata and San Miguel counties made ethics complaints against the state agency’s top two directors. The move averted a call for state auditors to probe the claim that a too-cozy relationship between the state […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: A young Coloradan is stronger, wiser after state ethics complaint
Last week, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission dismissed as frivolous a case filed against Allie Killey. Never heard of her? That’s probably because she’s not a politician, candidate or high-profile public official. In fact, you probably weren’t meant to remember her; she was only useful to the Democrats last summer as collateral damage in their […]
Posted inElection 2020, Politics and Government
Cory Gardner takes offensive, levels attacks in first U.S. Senate debate against John Hickenlooper
Republican Cory Gardner hurled attack after attack at his Democratic rival John Hickenlooper, from the opening minutes of the first debate in the U.S. Senate race to his closing statement. He noted the former governor’s two violations of the state ethics laws, his contempt citation and taxpayer-funded defense attorney, his personal wealth and rides on […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Shame on Cory Gardner. It’s time to debate important issues
Listening to the dark-money political ads, one might conclude that former Gov. John Hickenlooper committed numerous serious ethical violations. He did not. These complaints, most of which were dismissed, were politically driven to provide a “basis” for the false ads that are circulating now. And now Sen. Cory Gardner is making these “ethical” issues the centerpiece […]
Posted inElection 2020, Politics and Government
Ethics complaints. Big spending. A criminal allegation. This may be the nastiest campaign in Colorado.
Suzanne Staiert’s state Senate campaign slogan is “Practical. Not Political.” But the Republican competing for an open Centennial seat is finding herself in the midst of a political maelstrom and new questions are surfacing about her work as a lawyer. Staiert is representing a dark money nonprofit whose affiliated super PAC spent $175,000 on advertising […]
Posted inElection 2020, Politics and Government
John Hickenlooper’s legal defense against ethics complaint cost taxpayers $150,000, a final tally shows
Taxpayers spent $150,000 to defend former Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper’s against an ethics complaint that led to two violations of the state’s gift ban, records show. The final cost of the legal expenses matches the maximum allowed in a contract with Mark Grueskin. The prominent Democratic election attorney represented Hickenlooper on behalf of the state […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Littwin: Could Colorado’s Senate primary become a real race after all?
Here’s a question I never thought I’d ask myself or anyone else: Could Andrew Romanoff possibly upset John Hickenlooper in the U.S. Senate primary? I don’t ask this question lightly, and it’s probably safe to assume, as the Democratic establishment does, that the answer is no. But if you ask a slightly different question, whether […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado ethics panel orders John Hickenlooper to pay $2,750 for two violations
Colorado’s Independent Ethics Commission on Friday ordered former Gov. John Hickenlooper to pay the state $2,750 for two illegal gifts he accepted while governor. The panel voted 4-0 to impose a $2,200 fine for a trip to Connecticut on a private jet owned by a top political donor. It then voted 4-1 to impose a […]
Posted inPolitics and Government
What we know — and don’t — about the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate after the second debate
Former Gov. John Hickenlooper continues to avoid questions about state ethics violations and his decision to defy a subpoena, declining to say during a U.S. Senate debate Wednesday whether he did anything wrong or should be held accountable. His rival in the Democratic primary, Andrew Romanoff, said he’s not sure whether he believes Tara Reade’s […]