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Illegals focus of Jeffco campaign

Commissioner assailed over crew that gave out fliers

By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 14, 2008 at 8:16 p.m.

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Kevin McCasky's Democratic rival says the Republican Jefferson County Commissioner hired undocumented workers to pass out campaign fliers.

Mike Siletti, spokesman for McCasky, said the campaign did not knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

Democrat Jason Bane's charge comes at the same time McCasky, seeking a second term, proposes to crack down on illegal immigration.

Bane faces McCasky in the Nov. 4 election.

Bane said while walking door- to-door in Arvada, he came across day laborers leaving campaign door hangers for McCasky and Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey, who is also seeking a second term.

"They didn't speak a word of English," Bane said.

An English-speaking relative of one of the door-hanging crew members told a Rocky Mountain News reporter Tuesday the crew member is undocumented.

Siletti said McCasky's campaign hired WizBang Solutions to print the fliers and distribute them. WizBang hired Door Hangers Direct to deliver the fliers to homes, Siletti said.

"We hired WizBang Solutions, and I have full confidence that it checks out its employees and they're not hiring illegals," he said.

Storey said he was embarrassed to learn about the "inadvertent" hiring.

Storey said he hired Siletti and he was unaware some of the work had been subcontracted. "I certainly didn't intend to have people who are here illegally delivering my door hangers," he said.

Marty Soudani, WizBang Solutions owner, said he found Door Hangers Direct via the Internet.

Door Hangers Direct owner David Sowers did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday. Soudani said, "It's the first time we used his company. He'll never be used again by this company."

Siletti accused Bane of taking a "cheap political shot." Bane shot back, saying, "McCasky is out there talking about getting tough on illegal immigration, yet he had illegals working for him."

Bane said he learned of the men's legal status in a matter of minutes. After coming across one laborer, Bane said he asked about the door hanger service.

The worker, who didn't speak English, phoned an older man who showed up in a van with California license plates, Bane said.

The driver didn't speak English and phoned his son in California, who told Bane his father (the driver) was paid to deliver the fliers.

The Rocky called the driver's son, who identified himself as Manuel but refused to give his last name. Manuel admitted his dad was here illegally and said his dad is "afraid of getting deported."

Siletti said if the workers are undocumented, "we hope Jason (Bane) goes to the authorities and shares what he knows."

washingtonam@RockyMoun tainNews.com or 303-954-5086

Comments

  • October 14, 2008

    8:48 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    WHATRIGHTS writes:

    Oh and the irony of it all.....the DA.....well, we now know the businesses that really hire the illegals....our government....ROFLMAO

  • October 14, 2008

    9:03 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    JeffcoGOP writes:

    Let me get this straight. McCaskey says he's going to crack down on illegal immigration. So he'll do this when? After he stops paying them to work on his election?

  • October 14, 2008

    9:09 p.m.

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    ghoax writes:

    imagine that, the democrat is complaining about illegals working.

    So if mr democrat keeps in stride with his liberal pals, he'll make sure those illegals get benefits and a union card along with the handouts the democrats continue to vote for.

    Hey mr democrat, wake up, the results of your feel good legislation is that we the people can't even order a cheeseburger in English these days...

    so, instead of going after the company and taking care of a problem, the dem chooses to make it a political issue and attacks his opposition, now that's working for the people isn't it?...what a jerk.

  • October 14, 2008

    9:11 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    ObiWan writes:

    This is hardly a big deal. Candidates, especially incumbents, contract out a lot of their work. They can't sit there and double check every person that might work for the subcontractor.

    This hardly reflects poorly on either McCasky or Storey, both of whom were probably too busy with their real jobs to sit there and check the status of everyone hired by Company C who was hired by Company B who was hired by Company A, who received the original contract from the incumbent.

  • October 14, 2008

    9:14 p.m.

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    WHATRIGHTS writes:

    Yep, nothing like inspecting what you expect....

  • October 14, 2008

    9:18 p.m.

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    JerrySeagraves writes:

    Wait a second,

    I heard Kevin McCasky speak, mentioning Scott Storey several times, about his plan to curb immigration in the county. He seemed relatively ecstatic what with his unrealistic plans to deport 25 immigrants in place of 6.

    Now this comes out? This is just another shining example of the running hypocrisy that is Kevin McCasky. As an ashamed JeffCo resident, we need to remove him and others like him before our government no longer carries the mantle of Colorado's running joke in government. Thank god Congrove is leaving. Now we just need to rid ourselves of J. Kevin, and perhaps we'll finally see some progress at the Taj.

  • October 14, 2008

    9:27 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    anya writes:

    Once again mccasky is caught doing something wrong. The problem with this guy is that he doesn't seem to be able to do ANYTHING right. He has no leadership skills, and has done a lot of damage to Jefferson County through hiring his cronies and driving competent people away. He mainly uses his position to do favors for his pals with no thought for the cost or consequences for his actions.

    Jeffco needs a thorough house cleaning; the four years he has been in office have been very bad.

  • October 14, 2008

    9:40 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    AstRoger writes:

    I wonder if McCasky handles his county business the same way he handles his campaign mail: By passing the buck on to someone else. As an elected official it's his responsibility to be accountable and to surround himself with county and election staff who take the time to check out the details he isn't able to.

    This story just makes me wonder how many county contracts, permits, agreements, etc. he approved without ever taking the time to find out what their impact will be and who might be involved. It's his JOB to know!

  • October 14, 2008

    9:57 p.m.

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    Stan_Weekes writes:

    What this actually shows is how pervasive the illegal alien problem has become.

    Mr Bane needs to file a complaint with the Div of Labor, Dept of Labor, demanding an Audit of the contracting companies.

    The form is on line:
    http://www.coworkforce.com/lab/evr/10...

    Further info on State Laws concerning criminal employers, including:
    * Fact Sheet
    * Complete Guide
    * Law
    * Sample Affirmation Form

    http://www.coworkforce.com/lab/evr/de...

  • October 15, 2008

    12:45 a.m.

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    bottomofclass writes:

    Conservative talking with both sides of the mouth...i didn't know....i hired someone else ... I honestly hope fairness wins for the middle class. Average person can't handle another eight years of double speak. Read about policies, candidates, and vote.

  • October 15, 2008

    2:46 a.m.

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    Shadow writes:

    More proof that there are few real republicans around. Most are nothing but RINO's. A lot of talk but no substance. E-verify works but no one is useing it. It is a simple process to have done. The problem with it though is all it does is confirm a SSN# as being active. No real teeth to it.

    As for a politician hiring ILLEGAL ALIENS, nothing new here. We have a Governor that supports such actions. A mayor of the state capitol that supports this, and finally a state legislature that also supports the right for ILLEGALS to work here.

    Before we know it there will be a union that its members are all illegals and have a union contract approved by Ritter to work any where in the state.

  • October 15, 2008

    2:46 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    happymike44 writes:

    This guy needs to be prosecuted and fined to the full extent of the law.
    Ignorance is not a defense of breaking the law.
    If he hired illegals then he needs to pay the fine and do the time.
    When will our candidates stop this and the loss of our jobs to illegals and to third world nations.
    I guess we the people need to impose a higher tax on companies who choose to sell products but not bring jobs to the United States.
    If you bring jobs to the United States then you will get a tax break better then your competitors.

  • October 15, 2008

    4 a.m.

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    Sue3275 writes:

    I would REALLY investigate this to find out if it is true-----as the pro-illegal supporters tried this EXACT same tactic in Oregon as well!!!

    They do not want you to support the anti-illegal candidate!!!

  • October 15, 2008

    7:08 a.m.

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    Barney writes:

    ObiWan wrote "This is hardly a big deal. Candidates, especially incumbents, contract out a lot of their work. They can't sit there and double check every person that might work for the subcontractor."

    Yes it is a big deal to Jeffco citizens. A person running for elected office preaching ILLEGAL immigration crackdowns should be intelligent and thorough enough to have one of his sycophants check into who is being hired. ALSO, THE BUCK STOPS WITH MCCASKEY. THIS IS A SIGN OF WHAT MCCASKEY WILL DO WHEN HE GETS INTO MORE TROUBLE IF RE-ELECTED. HE WILL BLAME IT ON SOMEONE ELSE INSTEAD OF TAKING OWNERSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY. Having subordinates work out details of normal business operations should not be a problem for a REAL commissioner. Congrove and McCaskey have been nothing but an embarrassment to Jefferson County and the Republican party.

    With as many times as McCaskey's name has been in the paper and associated with negative activity since he started his run as commissioner, I can't believe anyone would be ignorant enough to re-elect him.

  • October 15, 2008

    7:17 a.m.

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    Rangerjoe1 writes:

    "Whatsright" your are Right the govt. is the main employer of Illegals in Colorado. Look at all the illegals working on road projects. Here in Arvada they even have illegals building new fire fighter stations. These politicians ask for our vote but are constantly tell the Colorado working class to go to hell.

  • October 15, 2008

    7:39 a.m.

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    UglyDuck writes:

    I find it interesting that while the Dems point fingers at the Repubs for failing to curb the illegal alien problem, what is it the Dems are doing? Hmmm? When Bane accuses McCasky of not honoring his pledge to crack down on illegals, what plan does Bane have to correct the problem? What, he doesn't have one? Chances are, he favors allowing the flood to continue. Truth is folks, neither party is doing what's best for our nation and unfortunately all of us are the ones who will suffer the consequences.

  • October 15, 2008

    7:49 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    strohslite writes:

    This is exactly the reason we need a mandatory e-verify system here in Colorado! It works in Arizona and Oklahoma where it is mandatory. And it is 99.5% accurate. NUMBERSUSA.com, F.I.R.E.Coalition.com Both good sources of information.

  • October 15, 2008

    9:51 a.m.

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    Cwillyrun1 writes:

    Let's help Jason Bane out here........ McCasky hired a company that hired illegal day laborers. McCasky didn't hire them directly and didn't have knowledge. Bane is an idiot, and twisting and spinning something to make McCasky look bad only makes Bane look stupid. Bane should have the correct information instead of throwing out false allegations.

    This is like saying King Soopers or Safeway hires illegals because they buy meat from Swift, and Swift has employed illegal aliens.

  • October 15, 2008

    10 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Cowboy63 writes:

    Did ACORN immediately show up to get the workers all registered to vote?.. (12 times each of course!)

  • October 15, 2008

    10 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Cwillyrun1 writes:

    uglyduck, your post was dead on. Both parties do no favors for the average citizen of this country.

    Anyone with reasonable intelligence can see Bane is barking up the wrong tree. Did Bane call ICE about the illegals he found out about?

  • October 15, 2008

    10:02 a.m.

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    ron65ron writes:

    Well it just goes to show you that we have illegals everywhere, and our elected officials do not care about it. It then becomes "someone elses" problem, meaning that it becomes the problem of the people who elected that government official.

  • October 15, 2008

    10:13 a.m.

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    JeffcoGOP writes:

    The point here is the hypocrisy of McCaskey, who says he wants to clamp down on illegal immigration yet is hiring them to do his campaign work. I'm sure most candidates running for office in Colorado don't have illegal immigrants working for them, so this is no comparison to King Soopers or Safeway

  • October 15, 2008

    11:02 a.m.

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    Buffer24 writes:

    Besides the fact that McCasky used illegal aliens to deliver campaign material, doesn't it strike anyone as funny that he doesn't bother to do his own work? Is that what he does as commish? Bane, on the other hand, was actually out walking and talking to people. Weird.

  • October 15, 2008

    4:25 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Cwillyrun1 writes:

    Actually Jeffco, it's a solid comparison. McCasky pays a company for services. They employ illegal aliens, and is McCasky supposed to ask for records of each employee to verify if they're legal or not? Let's look at the comparison now. King Soopers or Safeway pays a company (Swift) for products. They (Swift) employ illegal aliens, and is King Soopers or Safeway supposed to ask for records of each employee to verify if they're legal or not?

    Touche!

  • October 15, 2008

    4:29 p.m.

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    JeffcoGOP writes:

    If you were paying someone to drop off literature, wouldn't you check to make sure they were actually doing it? I would.

    But the bottom line is still the hypocrisy. That's what bothers me about this story.

  • October 15, 2008

    5:32 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    PoliticalJunkie2 writes:

    Are you kidding me? Let's see - we have the candidate who hired Phaseline who hired WhizBang who hired Door Hangers Direct who hired people to distribute the flyers. So the candidate should know who is distributing the flyers? Four levels away? Come on people, let's be fair here.

  • October 15, 2008

    7:12 p.m.

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    JeffcoGOP writes:

    You're right. Candidates shouldn't have to take responsibility for their campaigns.

  • October 17, 2008

    3:23 a.m.

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    ObiWan writes:

    Buffer24 writes, "Besides the fact that McCasky used illegal aliens to deliver campaign material, doesn't it strike anyone as funny that he doesn't bother to do his own work? Is that what he does as commish? Bane, on the other hand, was actually out walking and talking to people. Weird."

    If McCasky were out doing his own door-hangings, you'd be screaming to high heaven that he was neglecting the people of Jeffco, and that he wasn't doing his job of commissioner.

    What job does Bane have other than that of full-time campaigner and muckraker? Weird.

  • October 17, 2008

    2:40 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Buffer24 writes:

    I'm talking about weekends and nights!