Calling former state Sen. Deanna Hanna’s conduct “reprehensible” and “inappropriate,” a Jefferson County grand jury nevertheless said Tuesday it would not indict the Lakewood Democrat for demanding campaign money from a real estate group.
The grand jury was looking into whether Hanna committed bribery or attempted to commit bribery in her dealings with chapters of the Colorado Association of Realtors.
While not directly explaining its decision, the grand jury noted there was no evidence “Hanna altered her positions or votes on any issues of concern to the Realtor organizations.”
The grand jurors, however, said Hanna implied “she could exercise her discretion in a manner unfavorable to the Realtors if her demand for a contribution was not met.”
Scott Gessler, a Denver attorney representing a group of Lakewood citizens who were planning to recall Hanna, said the group is satisfied she is out of office.
“It would be very difficult for a jury to convict, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t peddling influence,” he said. “The goal of the committee was not to engage in a vendetta, but to get her out of office.”
Hanna did not return phone calls and was not at home when reporters stopped by. Her attorney issued a statement, saying what she did was “foolish” but not criminal.
“I thank this grand jury for their ability to understand my intentions were ‘ill conceived’ but not sinister,” Hanna said in the statement.
The incident started last year when a committee of Colorado Association of Realtors gave $1,400 to Hanna’s opponent after initially saying it would stay out of the race.
After the election, Hanna asked that the group then give her $1,400. When the association came up with only $400, Hanna wrote the group a letter, saying there would be important issues ahead and she was requesting “reparations.”
A fellow Democrat filed a complaint against her before the Senate Ethics Committee, and in March, Hanna resigned the seat she had held since 2000.
Politicians of both parties agreed that criminal prosecution would probably have been excessive punishment.
“I never thought she committed a criminal offense,” said Sen. Ken Gordon, a Denver Democrat who made the initial complaint. “I thought what she did was wrong, and the consequences were that she had to resign from the Senate.”
Sen. Andy McElhany, a Colorado Springs Republican who had called for Hanna’s resignation, agreed.
“Any bribery charge would have required a quid pro quo,” said McElhany, in a voice-mail exchange.
Colorado Common Cause executive director Pete Maysmith said the case shows problems with the political system.
“If someone even feels it might be OK to trade a vote for cash, we have to find out how to improve the system,” he said.
This is the second politically sensitive case that the Jefferson County district attorney has investigated but is not pursuing. Earlier this month, prosecutors decided to drop a case against 7th Congressional District candidate Peggy Lamm for allegedly registering to vote in an area where she was apparently not living at the time.
Jefferson County DA spokeswoman Pam Russell said it is not unusual for a grand jury not to indict, but usually those cases are never made public.
A spokesman from the Realtors did not return a call.
Staff writer Mark Couch contributed to this story.
Staff writer Arthur Kane can be reached at 303-820-1626 or akane@denverpost.com.
