Complaint alleges campaign finance abuses
By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published April 9, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Labor interests filed a complaint Tuesday alleging campaign finance law violations by a group calling itself the Colorado Right to Work Committee.
A lawyer representing the Protect Colorado's Future coalition alleged the right-to-work group has filed only minimal financial information with the state after registering late as an issue group last fall. The letter to the secretary of state's office was written on behalf of Mike Cerbo, who serves as executive director of the Colorado AFL-CIO.
"This has been a big perplexing issue," Cerbo said of his side's attempt to figure out who has provided the support for a contentious statewide ballot initiative that would make Colorado a "right-to-work" state.
"We want to know who we are dealing with," Cerbo told the Rocky Mountain News.
"And where are they getting their money?" Cerbo asked. "That's why we have campaign finance laws."
The filings apparently have been made by a group handling the gathering of signatures needed to get the issue on the ballot. Another group calling itself "A Better Colorado" filed as an issue group last week so it can handle the right-to-work ballot campaign.
Details about the backers of the proposed right-to-work amendment have been slow to emerge. The only financial contribution, totaling $1,000, made to the Colorado Right to Work Committee campaign effort came from a group calling itself Protect Colorado Jobs.
The initial proponent, Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier, has declined to talk about his involvement in recent weeks, referring all questions to a campaign spokesman.
CoorsTek executive Jonathan Coors has recently acknowledged his own involvement in pushing for the ballot initiative. But campaign organizers have yet to divulge any other information about who backs the measure or has provided financial support.
"This complaint is another indication that the unions will do anything possible to keep the "right-to-work" initiative off the ballot," said Kelley Harp, campaign spokesman for the right-to-work measure. "They know that providing workers with the freedom to decide for themselves is a winning initiative."
The labor-backed coalition Protect Colorado's Future already filed a complaint last week alleging problems with the signature-gathering process on the right-to-work measure.
"We've had problems all around here," the AFL-CIO's Cerbo said.
A spokesman for the secretary of state's office said it will look at the complaints and decide whether they require inquiry.
kelleyj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5068
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April 9, 2008
9:53 a.m.
Suggest removal
polyglot writes:
Perhaps Cerbo should get a new lawyer - when the supporters of employee rights (right to work) were gathering signatures they are not considered a campaign committee as their issue is not officially on the ballot. It is not until they are officially on the ballot that they are considered a committee and required to file.