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Western Tradition director: lawmakers Carroll, Schwartz trying to ‘silence dissent’

The head of a conservative nonprofit blasted by Democrats for “tasteless” and possibly illegal mailers targeting state Sen. Gail Schwartz in last month’s election told The Colorado Independent (TCI) Tuesday that “we engaged in no electioneering or 527 activity and always follow the law.” Donald Ferguson, executive director of Western Tradition Partnership (WTP), clarified that the mailers featuring Schwartz’s face on Donald Trump’s body with the tagline “You’re Fired!” were paid for by the registered 501(c)4 “social welfare” nonprofit, not an associated 527 group called Western Tradition Partnership Education Fund.

SOS-elect Gessler dubbed ‘real activist in support of voter suppression’

Progressive election reform advocates and campaign watchdog groups are leery of Republican attorney Scott Gessler’s agenda as Colorado’s secretary of state elect. Observers cite a variety of reasons to be concerned about what changes he’ll try to make over the next few years. “It’s clear that there was an effort to put somebody into this seat who is going to be a real activist in support of corporate secret funding of elections and voter suppression,” Luis Toro, director of Colorado Ethics Watch, told the Colorado Independent.

Schwartz, Ethics Watch eye SOS complaint for mailers from group linked...

State Sen. Gail Schwartz and a campaign watchdog group are weighing a formal complaint against a 527 political group linked to Secretary of State-elect Scott Gessler, alleging the group failed to properly disclose a mailer deemed the “most tasteless” of this month’s election. Schwartz, a Democrat, said late last week she still hasn’t determined whether to file a formal complaint with current Secretary of State Bernie Buescher’s office regarding the mailers sent out by Western Tradition Partnership (WTP) depicting her as Donald Trump. But she said she will pursue tougher disclosure laws in the next legislative session.

Secretary of State smacks Clear the Bench

As the head of Clear the Bench Colorado, firebrand Matt Arnold has toured conservative activist events across the state this past year asking Coloradans to vote against retaining members of the state's supreme court. He argued and is arguing in the last weeks before the November elections that members of the bench are liberal activists who disdain the law. In recent days, an administrative courts judge and the elections director for the state informed Arnold that he failed to follow the laws that govern the form of political activity in which he has been engaging.

Judge rules against Clear the Bench in campaign finance case

On Friday, Administrative Law Judge Robert Spencer ruled that Clear the Bench Colorado, a group campaigning against retaining three Colorado Supreme Court justices this November, improperly filed with the state as an issues committee and that it must now file as a political committee. The ruling comes after a complaint filed by government watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch. The ruling limits Clear the Bench fundraising and ups the group's obligation to report contributions. It is the latest chapter in a legal battle colored by partisan rhetoric and suspicion and it is likely not the final chapter.

Suthers payday donations spark interest in campaign finance restrictions

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers is unabashed about having taken campaign cash from the payday loan industry. The donations and his refusal to return them have spurred disgust among Democratic lawmakers and on the part of Suthers' campaign opponent, Democrat Stan Garnett, who have suggested future laws might head off the kind of relationship Suthers appears to have entered into with payday lenders and their lobbyists.

Activist coalition calls on Buck to release defense against FEC complaint

Campaign for a Strong Colorado, a coalition of progressive political groups in the state, is calling on U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck to release a document drafted by an attorney for his campaign defending him against a campaign finance complaint. The complaint (pdf), written by Charles Grice, has been public since it was filed with the Federal Election Commission in May. It has been the subject of discussion in the political blogosphere, on talk radio shows and in the mainstream press, but Buck has played down the charges leveled by Grice and Buck's campaign denied requests by the Colorado Independent this month to make its defense public.

Watchdog group calls on FEC to continue investigation into Buck finances

Charles Rick Grice last week sent a letter to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) seeking to withdraw a headline-grabbing campaign finance complaint he filed this summer against Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck. Not so fast, says political campaign and government watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch. The group sent its own letter to the FEC Wednesday (pdf) calling on the FEC to disregard Grice's request and to continue its investigation into the complaint.

Colorado watchdog group calls on Suthers to return payday industry cash

Colorado Ethics Watch is calling on Attorney General John Suthers to return the more than $10,000 in campaign contributions he has received recently from...

In advance of primary voting, McInnis asks for extension in ethics...

Colorado Ethics Watch filed a complaint last month asserting that GOP candidate for governor and Colorado licensed attorney Scott McInnis violated professional ethics rules when he plagiarized articles for which he was paid $300,000. The Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel took up the investigation in July and gave McInnis 20 days to file a defense (pdf). The deadline came and went last Wednesday.
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