Unions win court ruling

State appeals court rejects decision that limited donations to political campaigns

April M. Washington And Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 29, 2006 at midnight

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The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected Secretary of State Gigi Dennis' Aug. 2 ruling that limited union donations to political campaigns, agreeing with a lower court that she probably overstepped her authority.

The court rejected Dennis' requirement that unions obtain permission annually from every member before making political donations to campaigns from their "small-donor" committees.

The decision opens the way for hundreds of thousands of dollars in pent-up contributions to flow into candidates' coffers next week - unless the state decides to appeal.

One union alone, the Colorado Education Association, has $389,000 ready to donate, officials of the union testified in court.

The Colorado Democratic Party and union officials hailed the court's ruling as a victory for the working class, and accused Dennis, a Republican, of doing her party's bidding.

"Gigi Dennis has been doing nothing but partisan work since she got in office," said Brian Mason, spokesman for the state Democratic Party. "She's been an embarrassment to the state."

But Republican Gov. Bill Owens decried the court decision.

"Without these rules, national organizations will funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into Colorado races through anonymous contributions," he said. "I'm concerned that national organization dues will have a disproportionate influence on deciding Colorado elections."

The three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals kept the controversial campaign finance rule in place through Monday to give the state time to ask the Colorado Supreme Court to review the decision.

Dennis has not decided whether to appeal, but she defended her new campaign finance rule and her actions that set off the legal and political battle.

"We continue to believe implementation of the campaign finance rule requiring small-donor groups to get permission before transferring members' dues to political campaigns is the right thing to do," Dennis said.

Dennis imposed the new rule two months before the Nov. 7 election, arguing it was necessary to create greater openness in politics and to curb potential corruption.

Democrats, who largely benefit from unions' contributions, argued that it unfairly restricted their ability raise donations.

The appeals court upheld a preliminary injunction that halted the enforcement of Dennis' rule pending a full trial on the issue.

Its ruling said, in part: "(The secretary's rule) effectively denies the First Amendment rights of the majority of union members for the benefit of dissenting members."

If Dennis doesn't appeal, the case heads back to Denver District Judge John McMullen for a trial that is not expected to occur until after the Nov. 7 election.

Attorney Mark Grueskin, who represents unions, praised the decision.

"Both courts said that the secretary of state overstepped her authority and directly affected the political speech of elections," he said. "The rules she adopted aren't geared toward providing any more information to the public.

"They're about limiting the participation of membership organizations and unions."

For now, the temporary injunction only affects the plaintiffs in the lawsuit: the CEA and the American Federation of Teachers and the small-donor committees they formed.

"In the meantime, the rule is in effect for other membership organizations," said Deputy Secretary of State Bill Hobbs.

Earlier this month, McMullen said that Dennis' rule violated both unions' constitutional rights.

U.S. Supreme Court rulings have said such programs can legally assume their members want to participate in donating to campaigns.

Deb Fallin, spokeswoman for the CEA, said assuming Dennis doesn't appeal, the teachers union will donate tens of thousands to both Democrat and GOP candidates vying for statewide offices and the legislature.

"We won once again," she said. "We'll use it to help elect friends of public education," she said.

The Colorado Republican Party said the ruling effectively diminishes Dennis' constitutional authority to make policy to ensure the integrity of the election process.

"She (Dennis) acted to put a stop to the abuses of the process by labor unions and small-donor committees," said Bryant Adams, spokesman for the state GOP.

Dennis changed the rule at the request of two Republican attorneys who represent the state party, the GOP gubernatorial candidate and the powerful Trailhead political committee.

But Judge McMullen ruled that Dennis' decision to meet with her constituents before she made the rule change was not improper.

Reactions to judicial finding

• Gov. Bill Owens, supporter of the rule the court overturned:

"Without these rules, national organizations will funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into Colorado races through anonymous contributions. I'm concerned that national organization dues will have a disproportionate influence on deciding Colorado elections."

• Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, author of the rule:

"We continue to believe implementation of the campaign finance rule requiring small-donor groups to get permission before transferring members' dues to political campaigns is the right thing to do."

• Attorney Mark Grueskin, representing unions that opposed the new rule:

"Both courts said that the secretary of state overstepped her authority and directly affected the political speech of elections. The rules she adopted aren't geared toward providing any more information to the public. They're about limiting the participation of membership organizations and unions."

About small-donor committees

• They were created as a result of a 2002 campaign finance reform measure. As long as they don't accept individual donations greater than $50, they can contribute 10 times as much as individuals or other political committees.

• They can donate up to $4,000 per candidate in state legislative races, compared with $400 for all other donors. In the governor's race, the limit is $10,000, compared with $1,000.

• Using members' dues, unions have taken full advantage of small-donor committees, usually to help Democratic candidates. Unions pumped more than $1.3 million into state races and political committees before the secretary of state ruled against them last month.

• Democratic leaders have praised them as examples of small contributors banding together to flex their political muscle.

• Republicans decry them as a way for Democrats to funnel large sums of anonymous donations into races.Source: Rocky Mountain News Archives

washingtonam@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5086

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