Thirty-Five Years Ago This Week: Several Colorado members of the U.S. Congress announced they were sending checks to the Colorado treasury in an effort to alleviate some of the burden on taxpayers and the state from the fallout from the Savings & Loan crisis. By mid-1990, 1,300 out of 4,000 S&Ls in the United States had failed.

U.S. Sen. Tim Wirth gave $98,950 and Rep. Hank Brown gave $9,000. Rep. Dan Schaefer said that he would consult his campaign records to see if he had any S&L contributions. Meanwhile, Jason Lewis, candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, called for his opponent, Rep. David Skaggs, to return his campaign contributions.

“Over the next two years, I see the S&L issues dominating the national news just like Watergate did in 1972-74,” said Eric Sondermann, a Denver political and business consultant.

“There’s only one side to be on in the S&L issues,” said Democrat pollster Floyd Ciruli, “and that’s the side of pure outrage. It’s an issue that raises righteous indignation with every voter. Its the number one issue on everyone’s mind.”

In a letter to The Colorado Statesman, Wirth wrote that from the beginning he had “operated with the intent that no ethical or moral questions should ever be raised about any actions which I have taken or votes which I have cast. The S&L crisis will not be an exception.”

That was why, Wirth wrote, he had signed a check for nearly $100,000 to the Colorado Department of Revenue, comprising “each and every campaign contribution” raised from the S&L industry.

Wirth noted that some contributors had allegedly used S&L loan funds as the source of their political donations, which may have been made with taxpayer-guaranteed deposits. Some of those loans then gone into default, meaning that in effect the taxpayer made the political contributions.

“The S&L scandal has shaken public trust in government,” Wirth wrote. “Coloradans are angry, and I share their anger. A relative handful of greedy and unprincipled individuals … have ripped off millions of Americans. The guilty must be brought to justice.”

Wirth advocated for aggressive action to lower the deficit, campaign finance reform, and nurturing financial institutions that allow the economy to work.

“This step today will reinforce my continued and aggressive independence on behalf of Colorado taxpayers,” Wirth wrote.

Twenty-Five Years Ago: Former Rep. Douglas Bruce, R-Colorado Springs, was cited for contempt of court by a Denver District Court judge. The self-proclaimed anti-tax crusader had failed to testify as to the identity of the person who funded three November ballot initiatives to cut taxes and government spending.

Bruce was suspected of funding, writing and organizing the petition drive for Amendments 60, 61 and Proposition 101, but always claimed he had no involvement.

Bruce “remains in disobedience” according to the ruling issued by Judge Brian Whitney, for thwarting attempts to serve papers to have him appear in court. Bruce evaded El Paso County Sheriff’s Deputies 30 times when they attempted to serve papers to appear at a hearing before an administrative law judge. Bruce claimed he’d been vacationing in Pennsylvania.

The initial complaint had been filed by Kim Haarberg, a former president of the Colorado Contractors Association, who claimed that representatives of the anti-tax ballot initiatives had violated campaign finance and practice laws by failing to register as issue committees and failing to report financial contributions.

“This court decision made clear Douglas Bruce’s contempt for Colorado election laws,” said Don Hopkins, spokesman for Colorado for Responsible Reform. “The ballot initiatives could lead to mass unemployment and drive Colorado into a second, deeper recession,” he claimed.

Rachael Wright is the author of several novels including The Twins of Strathnaver, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University, and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics, the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Denver Gazette.