Colorado Secretary of State Gigi Dennis has declined to rule whether Republican gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman skirted campaign-finance laws by appearing in anti-Referendum C and D ads partially funded by a $100,000 donation from his father, leaving the question open for future challenges.
Last month, Holtzman rival Bob Beauprez’s campaign asked Dennis to issue an advisory opinion or emergency rule about whether the ads were legal.
Beauprez, a Republican congressman, complained that Holtzman was using the ads to bolster his campaign while circumventing campaign finance laws that limit candidate contributions to $1,000.
The ads were paid for by the “If C Wins, You Lose” issue committee. Issue committees have no fundraising limits. Holtzman’s father, Seymour, gave $100,000 to that group. Holtzman’s chief fundraiser, Blair Richardson, contributed $50,000.
In a letter dated Monday, Dennis refused to clarify whether Holtzman and other candidates can appear in issue ads.
“The question you pose implicates a possible impact on the fundamental right to freedom of speech guaranteed by the Colorado Constitution and the U.S. Constitution,” Dennis wrote. “Thus, any attempt to to address those specific questions in an advisory opinion or emergency rule may be deemed as incomplete or inadequate.”
However, she did leave the door open for a more formal complaint or rule-making request. Beauprez spokesman John Marshall said Thursday that the campaign hasn’t decided whether it will pursue the question further.
Holtzman’s campaign manager, Dick Leggitt, has maintained throughout the controversy that the ads were aboveboard. He said Thursday that Dennis’ response was appropriate.
“They came to the conclusion that we did, that what’s happening now is legal under Colorado law and if that’s going to change, it’s going to have to take further action down the road,” Leggitt said. “But you can’t change the rules in the middle of the game.”
Marshall said the letter means the rules will remain “murky.”
“We thought it was important to make sure that everybody was playing by the same rules,” he said. “We were pretty disappointed that the secretary of state declined to bring clarity to this issue.”
If no action is taken, the question could re-emerge next year. If the 2006 ballot includes initiatives or referendums, a gubernatorial candidate could appear in ads about those issues that are not subject to the same restrictions as candidate campaigns.
Holtzman has tied his gubernatorial bid closely to the fight against Referendum C, which would ask taxpayers to give up an estimated $3.7 billion over the next five years that would otherwise be returned to them under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. Its companion measure, Referendum D, asks to borrow $2.1 billion in loans largely for improvements to schools and roads.
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-820-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
