Denver mayoral candidate Lisa Calderón, incumbent City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca and a slate of progressive candidates for other council offices are the targets of newly filed campaign finance complaints, alleging the group shared resources from third-party groups in ways that violate the city’s Fair Election Fund rules and City Code.
Kwon Atlas, who is running against CdeBaca in City Council District 9, is one of five people who have brought concerns to the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s office naming Calderón. In a complaint filed on March 22, Atlas wrote that he had suspicion Calderón and CdeBaca shared polling information that was beneficial to their campaigns from a third-party group without recording that polling as an in-kind contribution on campaign finance reports.
“I am not giving you any polling information. I’m not giving you the report. I am giving you some top-line items because if you are running technically you’ve got to purchase that information, but it helps to inform me about my decision and also if we were going to have a citywide strategy of a network it requires me working with all of you loosely, unofficially,” she says.
That section reads in part, “Any contributions or contributions in-kind received or expenditures made prior to the person becoming a candidate … shall be reported in the first report required under section 15-35.” The city’s new Fair Election Fund sets contribution limits to qualify — $500 max for mayoral candidates, $350 for at-large council candidates and $200 for district council candidates. The in-kind contributions described on the site would easily blow past those limits, observers said. All of the candidates named on the site participated in the Fair Election Fund program and received matching taxpayer dollars through it. Calderón has received $195,351 from the fund to fuel her campaign.
RubinoJC NColtrain Zakhem said in 25 years of campaign finance law, he’s never seen ... evidence, showing this level of “callous” violations of the law. Zakhem reviewed the [evidence] and concluded “it does appear to be a conspiracy to violate campaign finance rules in Denver.”
RubinoJC NColtrain timing is suspect, most mean they’re doing something right