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
Reader: Scott Gessler's partisan actions disqualify him from officeJanuary 24, 2013 - Westword As a citizen, voter and taxpayer, I was offended by Secretary of State Scott Gessler's implication that being concerned about making a living necessarily makes you a "conservative." Read full article (Westword website)Keywords: conflict of interest, partisan, vote suppression Suthers backs Gessler effort to set up personal criminal defense fundJanuary 11, 2013 - Colorado Independent Colorado Attorney General John Suthers’ office this week made what’s sure to be a controversial decision to officially support Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s effort to establish a legal defense fund. The move likely prevents AG attorneys from advising ethics commission weighing legality of fund. Read full article (Colorado Independent website)Keywords: conflict of interest, partisan, self-payment, theft Scott Gessler is always right...right?January 10, 2013 - Westword At 9:36 a.m. on August 28, Minerva Padron, an administrative assistant to Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, answered a call to the office's election number. On the other end of the line was an agitated male who said he wanted to talk to someone about letters that Gessler had sent to nearly 4,000 registered voters whom he suspected might not be American citizens, urging the suspected immigrants to offer proof that they were legal citizens — or otherwise remove themselves from the voter rolls. Read full article (Westword website)Keywords: conflict of interest, fear mongering, inactive voters, partisan, self-payment, theft, vote suppression Editorial: Gessler needs to repay taxpayersOctober 23, 2012 - Denver Post Through numerous steps taken in his first two years on the job, Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler has ensured that his actions will be scrutinized. In recent weeks, his office budget has been put under the microscope — and the results are concerning. First, it was learned that a discretionary account intended to cover official state business was tapped to pay for a partisan junket to Florida. Reporting by The Denver Post also showed that, at the end of the fiscal year, Gessler reimbursed himself $1,400 for expenses for which he has no documentation. Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, reimbursement, self-payment, theft Michael Hancock: Scott Gessler's actions similar to nationwide voter-suppression effortsOctober 22, 2012 - Westword Even though Mayor Michael Hancock says he likes to give people the benefit of the doubt, he believes Secretary of State Scott Gessler's actions echo a concerted nationwide effort to suppress votes. The mayor weighed in on this topic last week, and while he declined to directly slam Gessler, he still came down hard on the controversial chief election officer, who has faced a steady stream of opposition in the final days before this year's election. Read full article (Westword website)Keywords: conflict of interest, fear mongering, minority voters, vote suppression Colorado Secretary of State discusses discretionary fundOctober 19, 2012 - KMGH Ch. 7 Colorado's Secretary of State Scott Gessler talks about a discretionary fund that he didn't have receipts for. Marshall Zelinger reports. Click link below to watch the video interview. Read full article (KMGH Ch. 7 website)Keywords: conflict of interest, reimbursement, self-payment, theft Raising money, Honey Badger styleOctober 19, 2012 - Denver Post In a fundraising letter sent by Coloradans for Gessler this week, the Republican secretary of state asks for donations to combat the “liberal left.” “If proactively cleaning up our state’s voting processes equates to being fearless and driven, then the Honey Badger nickname is one I can live with,” Gessler says in the letter. “Liberal politicians are willing to turn a blind eye toward voter fraud — and that’s something I will not accept.” Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, minority voters, vote suppression Watchdog group: SoS Gessler’s GOP travel tab an anomalyOctober 16, 2012 - Colorado Independent Luis Toro, director of left-leaning government watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch, said on Monday that a preliminary review of documents suggests Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s decision to bill taxpayers for travel to partisan political functions stands out when compared to decisions made by other statewide office holders.
Keywords: conflict of interest, reimbursement, self-payment, theft Scott Gessler should be investigated for misuse of public funds, says Colorado Ethics WatchOctober 16, 2012 - Westword Scott Gessler is not only making it harder for people to vote, he's using public funds to help support the Republican Party. At least that's the charge of Colorado Ethics Watch, an advocacy group that is accusing the Secretary of State of spending public dollars to fund trips to political events. With a call for a criminal investigation, these allegations may be the most controversial Gessler has faced in the months before the election. Read full article (Westword website)Keywords: conflict of interest, fear mongering, vote suppression Secretary of State Scott Gessler: Left doesn't care about voter fraudOctober 05, 2012 - Denver Post Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler told a conservative audience Thursday that his critics really don't care about voter fraud and are "willing to lie" and "play the racism card." Gessler, a Republican, made his comments during a panel discussion Thursday titled, "Stealing Elections: What the Left Doesn't Want You to Know About Voter Fraud," held at a gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Denver. The secretary of state appeared on the voter fraud panel along with representatives of several conservative organizations, including True the Vote, a highly controversial group that styles itself as an elections integrity organization but which critics say uses voter intimidation tactics. Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, fear mongering, minority voters, vote suppression Scott Gessler to share conservative voter-fraud panel with controversial True the Vote groupOctober 02, 2012 - Westword Secretary of State Scott Gessler likes to say that it should be easy to vote and tough to cheat, but his critics argue that he is a lot more focused on the latter -- especially when it comes to voters who aren't Republican. While Gessler has tried to disprove those accusations, his appearance this week at a conservative voter-fraud panel is not doing much to appease critics. Keywords: conflict of interest, minority voters, special interest influence, vote suppression PERRY: I VOTE FOR CHANGING GESSLER FROM ELECTIONS CHIEF BACK TO BEING PARTISAN GOP LAWYERSeptember 06, 2012 - Aurora Sentinel And the non-Christian, misguided, freedom-hating, government-bashing, communistic, left-leaning Colorado residents who don’t believe in the fundamental goodness of America are supposed to trust this Midwest carpet-bagging lawyer to be honest and fair in administrating election law? In a swing state with so much at stake in November, we’re supposed to believe that Gessler won’t morph into the notorious Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris on Election Day? Read full article (Aurora Sentinel website)Keywords: conflict of interest, fear mongering, minority voters, special interest influence, vote suppression 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 Database: 88% of questioned people on voter rolls are U.S. citizensAugust 30, 2012 - Denver Post About 88 percent of the approximately 1,400 suspected noncitizens run through a federal database by the Colorado secretary of state's office were determined to be U.S. citizens — and are eligible to vote. The Department of Homeland Security is continuing to review the remaining approximately 168 people to determine whether any of them also are citizens, said Michael Hagihara, voter registration manager for the secretary of state's office. Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, election, fear mongering, minority voters, vote suppression U.S. citizens among those who got letters questioning right to voteAugust 29, 2012 - Denver Post The largest portion of the letters — 46 percent — went to unaffiliated voters, but 40 percent went to registered Democrats while only 12.5 percent went to Republicans. The remainder went to voters with other parties. The fact that more than three times as many Democrats got the letters as Republicans prompted those on the left to accuse Gessler, a Republican, of partisan motives. A controversial secretary of state, Gessler has clashed with Democrats and liberal groups many times since taking office in 2011. Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, fear mongering, minority voters, vote suppression 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 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 Colorado Democrats launch online petition drive against Secretary of State GesslerMarch 31, 2012 - The Denver Post
Days after calling for the removal of Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler, Colorado Democrats on Friday launched an online petition drive to bring attention to what party officials say is partisanship emanating from his office. "Many of the problems he has created are pretty technical. ... We will be able to gauge what further actions might be worth pursuing" based on the response to the petition, Colorado Democratic Party spokesman Matt Inzeo said in a statement. Keywords: conflict of interest, election, fear mongering, 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 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 Colorado Secretary of State Gessler nixes talk of run for governorFebruary 15, 2012 - The Denver Post
Democrats say they are thrilled with the idea of a Gessler candidacy, considering he has made headlines since taking office in 2011, from wanting to moonlight at his old law firm to boost his state salary to fighting with county clerks in his own party. "Instead of 'Coloradans for Gessler,' the committee should be called 'Coloradans Suing Gessler,' " joked House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino of Denver. Keywords: conflict of interest, election Gessler issues 2012 campaign-finance rules for ColoradoJanuary 06, 2012 - The Denver Post The legislature's Legal Services Committee voted this month not to include the rule in the annual list of rules approved by the General Assembly, saying Gessler had overstepped. Typically, that would have meant the rule would expire May 15, or sooner if an earlier legislative vote occurred. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, election, expanding government 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 Colorado Secretary of State Gessler embraces being targeted over his push for reformsDecember 24, 2011 - The Denver Post I'm probably going to be in court more than any previous secretary of state, Gessler said, according to several people in the room. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, inactive voters, moonlighting, vote suppression 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 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) 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 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 Gessler won't be dunked, but he'll still raise funds to help GOP with fineSeptember 16, 2011 - Denver Post Secretary of State Scott Gessler won't be in a dunk tank after all, but despite being inundated with criticism, he's still participating in a fundraiser to help pay a fine his office levied against the Larimer County Republican Party. Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, dunk tank, special interest influence Colorado secretary of state will help GOP pay off fine levied by his officeSeptember 10, 2011 - Denver Post Just weeks after reducing a fine against the Larimer County Republican Party, Secretary of State Scott Gessler is helping the party host a fundraiser to pay down the penalty his office ultimately levied. The fundraiser will feature Gessler, a Republican who took office in January, sitting in a dunk tank so that local Republicans angry about the $15,700 fine can throw balls at a target and send him splashing downward. Read full article (Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, dunk tank, special interest influence 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 New secretary of state rules out toiling at old firm tooFebruary 02, 2011 - The Denver Post "Over the past two weeks, many have asked that I publicly disclose client names," Gessler, a Republican who defeated incumbent Secretary of State Bernie Buescher in November, said in a statement. "My former law firm has expressed great discomfort with this arrangement. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, moonlighting Gessler's old law firm uneasy over disclosing clientsJanuary 30, 2011 - The Denver Post Gessler, a Republican, wants to do contract work with Hackstaff Law Group, which used to be Hackstaff Gessler, to supplement his $68,500 job as secretary of state. He estimated he would be working about 20 hours a month. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, moonlighting After criticism, Colorado secretary of state vows to disclose clients if he moonlights at law firmJanuary 25, 2011 - The Denver Post Secretary of State Scott Gessler said Monday he'll reveal who his legal clients are if he ends up moonlighting for his old law firm while working in his new elected position. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, moonlighting Editorial: Gessler needs to clear up conflictJanuary 25, 2011 - Denver Post Secretary of State Scott Gessler's plan to moonlight for his old firm, which has been one of the most active election-law practices in the state, is a troubling idea. Even though Gessler says he will be doing 20 hours a month of contract law unconnected to election matters, the arrangement raises serious issues. First and foremost is transparency. It is imperative that Gessler reveal who he does work for so the public may judge whether the secretary is putting himself in a position where he has a conflict of interest or even the potential for a conflict.
Read full article (Denver Post website) Keywords: conflict of interest, moonlighting Secretary of State Gessler stands firm as liberal group challenges his plan to moonlightJanuary 23, 2011 - The Denver Post Gessler, a Republican who defeated Democratic incumbent Bernie Buescher in November, said he's going to be working about 20 hours a month for the Hackstaff Law Group, formerly Hackstaff Gessler, one of the most well- known elections and campaign law firms in town, and distinguished for representing many Republican soft-money organizations. Gessler, who will earn $68,500 as secretary of state, said that salary wasn't enough to support his family. Read full article (The Denver Post website)Keywords: conflict of interest, moonlighting |
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