The attorney for a conservative group that filed an ethics complaint against Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper did exactly what the governor is accused of doing.
Before Geoff Blue went into private practice, he worked for Republican Attorney General John Suthers and accompanied Suthers on trips for which the Republican Attorneys General Association covered some expenses.
Blue represents Compass Colorado, which says Hickenlooper violated the gift-ban provision of the state’s ethics law by allowing the Democratic Governors Association to pick up expenses for him and some staffers at a policy conference last year in Aspen.
The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission on Monday will deliberate the governor’s motion to have the complaint dismissed.
Asked if Hickenlooper was guilty of violating the state’s ethics law, Blue said, “We’ll find out, won’t we?”
“The commission is going to decide whether that conduct is or is not an ethics violation,” Blue said.
The commission also will consider a request to reconsider its decision that Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler violated the state’s ethics law.
Both the Democratic Governors Association and the Republican Attorneys General Association have nearly identical mission statements: to support officeholders and candidates of their party.
But both Hickenlooper and Suthers said the conferences the organizations put on are a huge benefit to Colorado because of the relationships developed, although Suthers agreed “there is all kinds of political schmoozing going on.”
Suthers said his deputy for legal policy usually accompanied him on RAGA trips. Blue held that post from 2008 to 2011. More recently, Suthers hosted the RAGA conference in Colorado Springs in 2012 and attended the RAGA conference in Hawaii last year.
“If you couldn’t go to the meetings unless you paid for it out of your own pocket, some of us could pay for it but most of us could not,” Suthers said. “That would be a huge detriment to the state of Colorado.”
If the commission decides Monday that a hearing is warranted on the complaint, the governor’s chief legal counsel said he plans to call Suthers as a witness. Blue already has indicated Compass Colorado would oppose Suthers being called.
The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission was created as part of Amendment 41, which voters approved in 2006. Critics of the ethics measure say it was poorly worded, and experts contend the gift-ban provision is the most difficult to interpret because of its nuances and exemptions. The governor’s office says those exemptions allowed the DGA to cover costs for Hickenlooper.
The commission last year said Gessler, a candidate for governor, violated the ethics law when he used public money to attend a GOP lawyers conference in Florida in 2012. Gessler’s attorneys filed a motion last week asking the commission to reconsider.
“The commission should not apply one standard for a Republican candidate for governor and a different, more lenient, standard for a Democrat candidate for governor,” Gessler’s attorneys wrote.
Gessler used state money to pay for the trip, while Hickenlooper’s expenses were paid for by the DGA. Hickenlooper’s attorneys have pointed out that two previous court rulings allow the governor to use staff at political gatherings.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327, lbartels@denverpost.com or twitter.com/lynn_bartels
