Scott Gessler in The Newsballot initiatives,
campaign finance,
conflict of interest,
dunk tank,
election,
expanding government,
fear mongering,
glitches,
inactive voters,
lawsuit,
minority voters,
moonlighting,
partisan,
reimbursement,
self-payment,
special interest influence,
theft,
vote suppression
Scott Gessler improperly takes piles of Westwords...so he can autograph their covers?February 06, 2013 - Westword As if Scott Gessler didn't have enough trouble. The Secretary of State is already being investigated by the Independent Ethics Commission to determine whether he violated the law by using office funds on a trip to Florida. (Gessler has sued the commission; a hearing is set for Thursday). Meanwhile, the Denver District Attorney's Office is still looking into whether Gessler misappropriated taxpayer dollars. And now come suggestions that Colorado's Secretary of State might have violated another state law.Yes, the Honey Badger has allegedly been flaunting this state's newspaper-theft statute -- by taking more copies of Westword than he is entitled to. Read full article (Westword website)Keywords: campaign finance, partisan, theft Gessler waived most of activists' campaign finesAugust 30, 2012 - Denver Post Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler waived tens of thousands of dollars in campaign disclosure fines for three men who pushed three ballot initiatives to cut taxes and restrict the state's finances in 2010. Jeff Gross, Louis Schroeder, and Russell Haas racked up more than $20,000 in late fees each for failing to file campaign finance disclosures after a judge's order. Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest, special interest influence State Integrity: Tiny Fine for Big Campaign Finance ViolatorsAugust 30, 2012 - Colorado Public Radio It’s a pretty sweet deal. Three men, facing tens of thousands of dollars in fines for campaign finance violations, wound up getting slapped with the equivalent of a parking ticket. But how? CPR's Megan Verlee takes us through one tale of campaign finance waivers. Then Megan talks with host Ryan Warner about how the public can use the same database she did to find this story. Read full article (Colorado Public Radio website)Keywords: ballot initiatives, campaign finance, conflict of interest, special interest influence Scott Gessler rule changes rejected, watchdog groups pleasedAugust 15, 2012 - Westword Secretary of State Scott Gessler wants to make it easier for political groups to remain secretive about their spending by rewriting election rules and weakening disclosure laws. That's according to two watchdog groups, who praise a court ruling that blocks most of Gessler's efforts. Denver District Court has struck down key campaign finance rule changes adopted earlier this year, but the case isn't closed yet: Gessler says he plans to appeal. Read full article (Westword website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest, election, special interest influence Judge rejects Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler's changesAugust 11, 2012 - Denver Post A Denver District Court judge has invalidated several — and upheld one — of the changes Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler made to campaign-finance regulations in March. Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, election, lawsuit, special interest influence Gessler’s proposed changes to election rules draw heated objectionsJuly 26, 2012 - Colorado Independent Over the course of a five-hour rulemaking hearing Monday, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler probably got the message that a lot of people are unhappy with proposed rules that would stop county clerks from mailing ballots to inactive voters in some elections, change the way canvass boards are selected and give county clerks more power to determine how much access election watchers have. Read full article (Colorado Independent website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest, expanding government, fear mongering, inactive voters, vote suppression Why We're Suing Colorado SOS Scott GesslerApril 25, 2012 - Huffington Post Colorado's Secretary of State Scott Gessler has just put into effect a new set of political financing and disclosure rules that open up new opportunities to hide big money in politics from the public's view, throwing out the welcome mat to potential, political corruption in Colorado. Read full article (Huffington Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, lawsuit, vote suppression Guarding against the corrupting influence of moneyApril 08, 2012 - The Denver Post Ingenious efforts to thwart the people's right to know who is spending to influence elections have always kept a step ahead of disclosure laws. In light of the Colorado Supreme Court's recent "magic words" ruling, the disconnect is greater now than ever. And, it will only get worse if Secretary of State Scott Gessler's new campaign finance regulations, which among other things would effectively repeal the requirement that 527s disclose their spending, survive inevitable legal challenges. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, special interest influence, vote suppression Watchdog groups sue Colorado secretary of state over campaign-finance lawsApril 07, 2012 - The Denver Post Two organizations sued Secretary of State Scott Gessler on Friday, saying he weakened Colorado's campaign-finance laws when heissued a rewrite of the state's rules earlier this yearand that he didn't have authority to do so. Keywords: campaign finance, lawsuit, special interest influence, vote suppression Colorado Democrats want Secretary of State Scott Gessler removed from officeMarch 29, 2012 - The Denver Post Colorado Democrats unleashed some of their strongest criticism yet of Secretary of State Scott Gessler Wednesday, saying he should be removed from office afterhe opposed an election-related bill that was later killed by fellow Republicans. Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest, election, vote suppression Should elected officials talk to all journalists, progressive, conservative, or rabid?March 20, 2012 - ColoradoPols Secretary of State Scott Gessler recently made an appearance Colorado's flagship Tea-Party radio show, KLZ's Grassroots Radio Colorado. I was jealous because Gessler's office won't talk to me, and it's possible that even my audience of three people is bigger than KLZ's. Read full article (ColoradoPols website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest Our Secretary of State as a Punch LineMarch 08, 2012 - The Huffington Post Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler has become a punch line. I witnessed this recently in a local restaurant. I heard "Scott Gessler" across the room, followed by peals of laughter. No joke. I follow the secretary of state closely because of his self-described attempts to "further the conservative agenda" and voter suppression efforts that match those of the national Republican Party. Read full article (The Huffington Post website)Keywords: ballot initiatives, campaign finance, minority voters, special interest influence, vote suppression Secretary of State Scott Gessler rewrites Colorado campaign finance rulesFebruary 23, 2012 - Secretary of State Scott Gessler adopted a full rewrite of Colorado's campaign finance rules Wednesday, a move critics say is outside of his authority and will allow big money to dominate elections. Read full article ( website)Keywords: campaign finance, expanding government Scott Gessler, in his own words...February 20, 2012 - The Colorado Statesman Secretary of State Scott Gessler is clearly no stranger to publicity. Even before being sworn into office in January of 2011, his name was familiar in political circles. The Democrats had Mark Grueskin as their top election law guru, Republicans in the state usually turned to their own cadre of leading experts, with Gessler at or near the top of their list. There were plenty of stories over the years which showcased Gessler’s ties to Republicans and the political organizations they formed to advance their causes. Read full article (The Colorado Statesman website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest, fear mongering, minority voters, vote suppression How Much Do You Trust Scott Gessler?February 18, 2012 - ColoradoPols Last year at this time, Colorado's then-newly elected Secretary of State Scott Gessler was just beginning to recover from a major scandal that hobbled his first weeks in office. Gessler had announced in mid-January of 2011 his intention to continue working for his old elections-specialty law firm, the Hackstaff Law Group (formerly Hackstaff Gessler)...The top-listed item under Gessler's list of external personal income is money paid to him, an unknown amount and for an unknown purpose but sometime within the 2011 calendar year, by the very same Hackstaff Law Group he was going to moonlight for! Read full article (ColoradoPols website)Keywords: campaign finance, moonlighting Scott Gessler provides inaccurate data for spending report -- but should he be blamed?January 19, 2012 - Westword Could Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler have provided inaccurate data for a national report -- a prospect that comes to light during the same week that NPR sent him an audio love letter? Read full article (Westword website)Keywords: campaign finance Gessler critics say plan to limit campaign fines helps big-money groupsJanuary 09, 2012 - The Denver Post
Opponents of the rule change say Gessler doesn't have the authority to alter guidelines voters approved as part of a 2002 constitutional amendment. They also question whether Gess ler's motives are as benevolent as he says, or if the Republican is just looking out for the kind of big-money organizations — in particular, groups known as 527s — that the former elections attorney used to represent. Keywords: campaign finance, special interest influence COLORADO'S WORST POLITICO, 2011: Secretary of State Scott GesslerJanuary 03, 2012 - ColoradoPols It's quite possible that this "award" could end up being permanently named for Gessler, who isn't likely to be much less of a disaster in 2012 than he was in 2011. Gessler has been WTF-awful since he was first elected in November 2010, using what has historically been a benign position to cause all sorts of unnecessary problems all across the state. Just how has Gessler erred? Let us count the ways: Read full article (ColoradoPols website)Keywords: ballot initiatives, campaign finance, conflict of interest, inactive voters, moonlighting, vote suppression Gessler issues 2012 campaign-finance rules for ColoradoDecember 28, 2011 - The Denver Post Candidates for Colorado's 2012 primary election must begin filing biweekly campaign-finance reports Jan. 30 under a rule issued Tuesday by Secretary of State Scott Gessler.
The rule comes on the heels of a dispute between state lawmakers and Gessler over whether he had the authority to change the campaign-finance reporting schedule and when candidates would be required to start filing. Keywords: campaign finance Gessler, lawmakers clash on campaign-finance deadlinesDecember 16, 2011 - The Denver Post Lawmakers and representatives from Secretary of State Scott Gessler's office sparred for a second day Thursday over campaign-finance filing deadlines, with a state senator accusing Gessler of "retribution" and Gessler's office saying lawmakers are talking out of both sides of their mouths. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest Gessler, lawmakers clash on campaign-finance deadlinesDecember 16, 2011 - The Denver Post Lawmakers and representatives from Secretary of State Scott Gessler's office sparred for a second day Thursday over campaign-finance filing deadlines, with a state senator accusing Gessler of "retribution" and Gessler's office saying lawmakers are talking out of both sides of their mouths. Keywords: campaign finance Committee shoots down Gessler campaign rulesDecember 15, 2011 - Pueblo ChieftainThe legislative committee that reviews regulatory rules rejected changes Secretary of State Scott Gessler adopted that reduce the number of campaign-finance reporting periods in the run-up to primary elections. Nonpartisan lawyers from the Office of Legislative Legal Services found Gessler overstepped his authority to enact the rule. “The secretary has effectively created new policy on a very controversial issue affecting the disclosure of campaign and political finance reports in the absence of any direction from the General Assembly,” said Bob Lackner of legal services.Read full article (Pueblo Chieftain website) Carroll admonishes Gessler in advance of campaign finance hearingDecember 15, 2011 - The Colorado Independent State Senator Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, a strong advocate for campaign-finance transparency, Wednesday penned an open letter to Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler, asking him to rethink rules he is proposing that would dramatically thin laws governing political issue committee donation disclosure reporting (pdf). Gessler’s office is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed rules today. Read full article (The Colorado Independent website)Keywords: campaign finance, election Critics say changes considered by Colorado Secretary of State Gessler would leave vote machines open to hackingDecember 08, 2011 - The Denver Post Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, election Brown: Scott Gessler, meet Natalie MeyerDecember 02, 2011 - The Denver Post Scott Gessler is also a Republican, but he really ought to talk to Natalie Meyer about how to run the secretary of state's office. "I think he got off to a very bad start," Meyer says Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, election, inactive voters, minority voters, vote suppression Sec. State Gessler eyeing cost savingsDecember 01, 2011 - The Fort Morgan Times Gessler also said he wants to map out his office's procedures to make them more efficient, which may mean changes in rules or the statutory framework. That is why he is proposing a cost-saving package to the legislature this coming legislative session. Read full article (The Fort Morgan Times website)Keywords: campaign finance, expanding government, inactive voters Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler proposes rewriting of state campaign-finance rulesNovember 24, 2011 - The Denver Post Secretary of State Scott Gessler has proposed a wholesale rewrite of Colorado campaign-finance rules — changes Gessler says are long overdue but critics call a heavy-handed attempt to allow big money to dominate elections. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance GOP's Stapleton, Gessler jab HickNovember 18, 2011 - The Colorado Statesman Gessler also slammed a Denver judge for remarks delivered from the bench during a hearing challenging a rule issued by his office. A pair of watchdog groups contend the rule violated the state constitution when he raised a reporting threshold for issue committee expenditures from $200 to $5,000, but Gessler said the state was forced to raise the limits by a federal court of appeals decision. Predicting a ruling against his office by Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones, Gessler vowed to appeal the decision as soon as it comes down. Read full article (The Colorado Statesman website)Keywords: ballot initiatives, campaign finance Gessler loses round on campaign reportsNovember 18, 2011 - The Pueblo Chieftain A district judge on Thursday rejected a rule enacted by Secretary of State Scott Gessler that would have raised the minimum campaign contribution reporting requirement for issue committees from $200 to $5,000. Read full article (The Pueblo Chieftain website)Keywords: campaign finance Judge Says Gessler's Campaign Finance Changes UnconstitutionalNovember 17, 2011 - Denver Post "The constitutional definition of issue committee is based, in part, on a dollar amount," Jones wrote in his order. " Changing the dollar amount necessarily changes the constitutional definition." Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest, special interest influence Legislature's attorneys say Secretary of State Gessler exceeded authority Read more: Legislature's attorneys say Secretary of State Gessler exceeded authorityNovember 17, 2011 - Denver Post "The secretary lacks the authority to assume the legislature's policymaking role and, accordingly, has exceeded his rulemaking authority," the memo said. "The substantive policy decision is the prerogative of the General Assembly." Keywords: campaign finance, expanding government Judge warns Colorado secretary of state went too far in raising campaign-finance thresholdNovember 09, 2011 - The Denver Post A Denver judge unloaded on Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler on Tuesday, suggesting he overstepped his authority when he raised the campaign-finance threshold for "issue committees" and saying Gess ler isn't "some roving do-gooder" who may unilaterally fix problems with state law. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance Secretary Of State Attends Fundraiser To Raise Money For Fine He LeviedSeptember 22, 2011 - CBS News Secretary of State Scott Gessler attended a fundraiser in Fort Collins Thursday evening. The fundraiser is raising money to pay for a fine that Gessler levied against the Larimer County Republican Party. The fundraiser took place at a private home. It was originally scheduled at a park, but media attention about the fundraiser pushed organizers to scale it back. Gessler was set to appear in a dunk tank to raise money. Read full article (CBS News website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest, dunk tank SoS Gessler sticks to his gunsSeptember 19, 2011 - The Colorado Statesman Embattled Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who has come under recent fire by Democrats and public watchdog groups for agreeing to participate in a Sept. 22 fundraiser to help the Larimer County Republican Party pay a $15,700 fine which his own office has levied, isn’t backing down. Read full article (The Colorado Statesman website)Keywords: campaign finance Colorado secretary of state will help GOP pay off fine levied by his officeSeptember 10, 2011 - The Denver Post The county party was fined for failing to file numerous campaign finance reports during the 2010 election cycle. However, Gessler's office ultimately determined the county GOP was merely negligent in not filing the reports and reduced the fines from $48,700 to $15,708 Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: campaign finance, conflict of interest Democrats say lawsuit against candidate was 'bogus' from the startOctober 25, 2006 - Rocky Mountain News A Republican attorney filed a campaign finance complaint against a Democratic state House candidate, then blasted her in a mailing paid for by the political attack group he set up. Democrats are crying foul, saying attorney Scott Gessler knew when he filed the complaint against Democrat Jeanne Labuda, of Denver, that it would be dismissed because he had waited too long before making his case. But they said he filed it anyway so he could mention the complaint in the mailing to voters in House District 1. Read full article (Rocky Mountain News website)Keywords: campaign finance, election, lawsuit, special interest influence |
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