The attorney for Republican state Senate candidate Matt Knoedler on Wednesday demanded that Comcast stop broadcasting a “false” and “libelous” campaign ad attacking Knoedler’s record on illegal immigration.
John Zakhem, who represents Knoedler and the state Republican Party, said he also plans to file legal action against the Democratic group that paid for the commercial.
If Comcast does not pull it, Zak hem said, “then we have a claim for defamation under Colorado and federal law.”
A Comcast spokeswoman said the company was reviewing Zakhem’s request but had taken no action Wednesday.
John Willard, spokesman for Clear Peak Colorado, said the group stands by the message that Knoedler, a state representative from Lakewood, voted against Colorado’s new immigration reform law.
The ad says that Knoedler, who is locked in a tough race to unseat Democratic Sen. Betty Boyd of Lakewood, voted against House Bill 1023, which requires that the state verify most residents’ legal status before providing services.
Knoedler said he voted against the bill in the House “because we thought it was too weak.” Republican Gov. Bill Owens, Knoedler pointed out, also opposed the bill as it left the House.
But, he said, after the bill was strengthened in the Senate, he voted to support it.
Boyd said she has not seen the ad and therefore has not decided whether she would support her opponent’s call to have it pulled.
Knoedler’s explanation, Willard said, sounds similar to former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry’s Iraq war votes.
“What Knoedler’s trying to say is that he voted against House Bill 1023 before he voted for it and he really likes the bill,” Willard said. “He voted against 1023, and he steadfastly opposed Democratic efforts to pass immigration reforms until the leaders of his party gave him the marching orders that it was OK to support 1023.”
The ad, Willard said, will appear on cable news and sports channels for 30 days in Jefferson County’s Senate District 21.
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-954-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
