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Broomfield election complaint filed with state

Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 23, 2007 at midnight

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A watchdog group filed a complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State on Tuesday, saying three incumbents in the Broomfield City Council had a city staffer fill out candidate questionnaires for them.

That is a violation of the Fair Campaign Practices Law, said said Chantell Taylor, director of Ethics Watch, a non-profit that aims to hold Colorado officials accountable to the law.

Broomfield City Manager George Di Ciero said he doesn't view it as a violation of campaign reform laws.

The charge said Broomfield Assistant City Manager Kevin Standbridge, with the approval of Di Ciero, directed staff to fill out questionnaires for incumbents Lori Cox, Walter Spader and Linda Reynolds. The questionnaires were from FRIENDS Unlimited, a non-profit group that works with developmentally disabled people.

"The law is clear; public officers like Di Ciero and Standbridge are strictly prohibited from spending public funds to influence the outcome of campaigns for political office," Taylor said. "These candidates should be reprimanded for using their positions to gain an unlawful advantage in their re-election campaigns."

But Di Ciero said that "All the staff was doing was providing information asked of them."

He said the organization "asked some pretty technical questions of the candidates."

After the staffers got the answers, they were e-mailed to all city council members, "not just those running for re-election," Di Ciero said. "Apparently one of the other candidates thought we were playing favoritism. But we don't do that. That's not what we're all about."

Taylor said the incumbents can't accept a contribution from the city. "Even if the contributions were lawful, none of the candidates reported the contribution in their campaign finance disclosures in violation of the FCPA."

The Secretary of State's office confirmed that it had received the complaint and is looking into it.