Colorado Politics

Greeley police cite ex-lawmaker Galindo following investigation

Greeley police said Thursday they have completed their investigation of allegations against former Colorado state Rep. Rochelle Galindo.

In a news release, police said that “citations have been issued” in connection with a case involving “unlawful acts.”

Documents related to the case obtained by 9News indicate that the citations were issued for allegedly serving alcohol to a person under age 21 last year.

Also cited was Fabio Cordeiro, who served as Galindo’s campaign manager, according to the documents. The citations, dated Wednesday, call for Galindo and Cordeiro to appear in court on two different dates in July.

Police declined to answer questions about the matter.

“Limited information will be available due to the nature of this incident and the fact this is considered a juvenile case,” the release says.

Meanwhile, the Greeley Tribune reports that, following an investigation into allegations of sexual assault, “police did not find evidence to bring charges of sexual assault and closed the case at the request of the  reporting party.”

The newspaper said police looked into allegations of sex with a campaign worker.

On May 12, Galindo abruptly announced she was resigning her seat in the Colorado House of Representatives, adding in a statement that “the allegations against me are false,” without saying what the allegations were.

Police later confirmed that an investigation of the ex-lawmaker was underway. Authorities reportedly had received two complaints against Galindo.

Police haven’t disclosed any details about the allegations. Last week, a spokesman said the contents of the initial complaint were being kept confidential due to the nature of the complaint.

Galindo hasn’t responded to multiple requests from Colorado Politics for comment.

Galindo, a former member of the Greeley City Council serving her first term in the legislature, was facing the threat of a recall before she announced her resignation.

She won election in November by a 6.7 percentage point margin to the House District 50 seat, which includes parts of Greeley, Evans and Garden City in Weld County.

Galindo came under fire early in part for her support of Senate Bill 181, legislation to overhaul how the state regulates the oil and gas industry, which Gov. Jared Polis has signed into law. He district lies in one of Colorado’s most productive oil and gas areas.

If her opponents had turned in enough signatures to force a recall election, voters would have decided whether to remove Galindo from office and picked her replacement from among candidates who petitioned onto the ballot, potentially including Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated candidates.

Her resignation ahead of a possible recall election means a Democratic vacancy committee will name her replacement.

In her May 12 announcement of her resignation, she said the unspecified allegations would “make our fight against the pending recall effort untenable. I will not put my constituents through what will clearly be a recall campaign based on political smear tactics and false allegations.”

A 12-member Democratic vacancy committee is scheduled to meet June 2 to elect Galindo’s replacement, the Greeley Democratic Party said.

The appointment will be through the end of Galindo’s two-year term, which is up for election again in 2020.

Former Colorado state Rep. Rochelle Galindo, D-Greeley.
(File photo)
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