Testimony ties Holtzman camp to anti-Ref C group

Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 27, 2006 at midnight

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A former employee of an issue committee that ran TV ads opposing Referendum C last fall testified Wednesday that staffers from Marc Holtzman's gubernatorial campaign were directly involved in running the group, which would be a violation of Colorado campaign finance law.

Andy George appeared before Administrative Law Judge Robert Spencer in a case that highlights the bitter division in the Colorado Republican Party over Ref C and the ongoing battle between Holtzman and U.S. Rep. Bob Beauprez for the party's nomination for governor.

George testified that he was one of two full-time staffers hired to work for the "If C wins, you lose" committee. That group sponsored an ad blitz that featured Holtzman criticizing the referendum, but made no mention that he was running for governor.

Under provisions of Colorado's campaign finance law, which was approved by voters in 2002, issue committees are required to be independent of other political campaigns. Holtzman could appear in an ad for the group, but his campaign would not be allowed to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the committee.

The Holtzman campaign insists it followed the law and calls the case a politically motivated vendetta.

But George said that Holtzman campaign staffers were intimately involved in every aspect of the committee's work. He said Holtzman campaign manager Dick Leggitt hired him last summer and made it clear the committee was a part of the campaign.

"He said he was putting together an issue committee to defeat Refs C and D, and Marc Holtzman would be the primary fundraiser," George told the court. "He said we were going to raise a whole bunch of money and beat up on Gov. Owens."

Gov. Bill Owens was a key supporter of Ref C, a stance that angered many conservatives in the party. Holtzman has been trying to win those voters' support in the Aug. 8 primary.

The complaint against the Holtzman camp was filed by veteran Colorado lobbyist Steve Durham, who is supporting Beauprez. Durham's attorney presented George's cell- phone records as evidence of the ties between the groups. They showed George making dozens of calls to Holtzman campaign staffers in the weeks before the election.

Leggitt will likely respond to George's allegations in court today. But in an interview he rebuffed most of George's story and described him as a former employee with a grudge against the campaign.

"These conversations he said he had with me are total fiction," said Leggitt. "Almost everything he said will be refuted."

If the judge rules in Durham's favor, the Holtzman campaign could be fined and forced to pay Durham's legal expenses.

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