colorado ethics watch
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Former Secretary of State Gessler takes ethics case to US Supreme Court
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Scott Gessler, a former Colorado secretary of state who lost his most recent fight with the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission over travel spending in June, has now appealed the decision of the Colorado Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gessler is seeking what’s known as a writ of certorari, basically a request for the…
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Q&A with Chantell Taylor | Her career has evolved — but not her ‘core values’
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In the mid-2000s, mere mention of Chantell Taylor’s name or her organization drew shudders in Colorado Republican circles, particularly at the Capitol. Taylor, a lawyer who founded nonprofit watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch in 2006, set out to expose ethical lapses among the state’s political players. She filed complaints and and called pols to account;…
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Former Colo. Secretary of State Gessler loses ethics fight at Supreme Court
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The Colorado Supreme Court upheld an ethics-violation finding filed against former Secretary of State Scott Gessler in a 6-0 ruling announced Monday. The case dates back to 2012, when Gessler traveled to a Sarasota, Florida, seminar hosted by the Republican National Lawyers Association. The day after the two-day seminar ended, on Aug. 26, Gessler went…
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State ethics commission challenged over open records position, again
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The state’s Independent Ethics Commission has decided to write its own rules about how and whether it is subject to the state’s open records law, and that’s drawing pushback from the Colorado Press Association, the Colorado Broadcasters Association, the Secretary of State’s Office and other open records advocates. The commission, in court challenges to its…
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Hey, taxpayer: Want to know who’s funding your local school board races?
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A lot of voters may not have a clue how much money is raised and spent in their local school board races. Plenty of those voters also may not know where all that campaign cash comes from in the first place. It isn’t necessarily for lack of interest so much as a lack of knowledge…
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Rug store flap weaves an ethics tapestry between Glendale and state watchdogs
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An ethics complaint lodged against a former Glendale city councilman has turned into a can of worms for the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission over whether home-rule cities that have their own ethics codes have the final say over ethics complaints. The ethics issue dates back to 2016, when MAK Investment Group of Glendale filed an…
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Money in politics: Denver campaign finance rules targeted for update
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If money could talk, its voice would arguably be deafening in politics. In the interest of added transparency for money in municipal elections, Denver election officials have proposed some changes to the city’s campaign finance rules. The proposed revisions to campaign contribution regulations in local politics would refine and add some key terms in its…
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Good government advocate Peg Perl will run for Denver clerk
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Marianne Goodland of the Colorado Independent was the first to report Thursday that Peg Perl will run for Denver County clerk and recorder. Perl hinted at such a move in a chat with Colorado Politics in June, and our Ernest Luning outright predicted she would jump in, if Debra Johnson chose not to seek a third…
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Colorado hemp bill’s author dismisses claims of conflict
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Legislation intended to keep federal water flowing to Colorado’s hemp crop – a growing industry in the state, if you’ll forgive the expression – has unexpectedly led to an anonymous accusation that the bill’s sponsor has a conflict of interest. So says a report in the Durango Herald. Spoiler alert: The law seems to be on the sponsor’s…
