Fort Collins – U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave’s campaign said Monday it would file a complaint over Angie Paccione’s campaign-paid trips to the salon before appearances at a fundraiser and a news conference.
Musgrave campaign manager Shaun Kenney said the $424.02 spent on “salon services” violates the Federal Election Commission rule barring campaign expenditures on personal use.
“This rule means that Paccione’s campaign cannot pay for her haircuts – unless she claims she would not cut her hair if she were not a congressional candidate,” Kenney said in a statement.
Paccione campaign spokesman James Thompson said the expenditures were specific for her image prior to major events for the campaign.
“They’re things she wouldn’t have been doing if she hadn’t been campaigning,” Thompson said.
Paccione, a Democrat, seeks to unseat Republican Musgrave in the 4th Congressional District, which includes Fort Collins and most of northeast Colorado.
Kenney said Paccione spent $244.02 Aug. 27 before heading to Washington on a fundraising trip. She spent $180 at a salon in Aurora on Sept. 11, a day before a news conference in Estes Park about a wilderness bill for Rocky Mountain National Park.
Thompson said the possible presence of TV cameras led Paccione to visit the salons.
