Two lawmakers under scrutiny for alleged ethical lapses offered public mea culpas Monday amid partisan questions about the standards of both Democrats and Republicans at the Capitol.
House Minority Leader Joe Stengel – under fire for collecting per diem reimbursements for all but major holidays during the legislative off-season – said he would return $891. That amount covers money for nine days he said he was vacationing in Hawaii and taking the state bar exam.
Stengel said he also wants to introduce legislation stripping the $99 per diem legislative leaders can claim for working when the legislature is not in session.
“I’m admitting bad judgment,” the Littleton Republican said. “I’ll accept that, and I’ll take the consequences, and I’ll refund the money.”
Lakewood Democratic state Sen. Deanna Hanna, meanwhile, apologized on the Senate floor for sending a letter requesting a $1,400 campaign contribution as a “reparations request” from a group that backed her election opponent.
While no one has filed an official complaint about Stengel, Hanna’s letter is the subject of an official ethics investigation.
“I can clearly see that my words and phrases were terribly inappropriate,” she said Monday.
House Speaker Andrew Romanoff said he was considering Stengel’s request for permission to initiate legislation this far into the session. He and other Democratic leaders last year filed for off-session per diem payments, but not as many as Stengel.
After Hanna’s apology, Senate Republican leader Andy McElhany took to the floor to call for her resignation.
“What she did was illegal,” he said later. “It was a very serious act, and it impugns the Senate and the political process.”
Last summer, Hanna wrote the Colorado Association of Realtors asking the group to pay her what it paid her opponent.
“My reparations request stands. It seems a rather small price to pay for creating a fracture in my relation with your organization. It is my hope that you will make our relationship whole again. There are going to be some very important issues ahead of us. You have a choice. So do I,” Hanna wrote.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon made a formal complaint against Hanna, prompting formation of a special committee.
In his complaint, Democrat Gordon wrote “a reasonable interpretation” of Hanna’s letter “is that Sen. Hanna was attempting to put the Realtors in fear that she would not be supportive of their interest in the ‘important issues ahead’ if they did not make the contribution that she was requesting.”
Back in the House, although he admitted to using bad judgment, Stengel said he did nothing illegal.
Pete Maysmith, executive director of the good-government advocacy group Colorado Common Cause, said he did not think Monday’s apologies should mark the end of either controversy.
“I think contrition is good, but it doesn’t solve the problem,” Maysmith said. “I think both issues still need to be fully investigated.”
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-820-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
