Arapahoe County treasurer candidate Sue Sandstrom didn’t know about her opponent’s financial troubles before the election, but she said she was aware of questions regarding Doug Milliken’s performance as treasurer of Centennial.
Still, Sandstrom said Wednesday, she decided not to use such questions against him during the campaign.
“In general, I don’t believe in negative campaigning,” said Sandstrom, who lost to Milliken last month by less than 2 percent of the vote.
Since the election, revelations about Milliken’s 1993 bankruptcy and an impending foreclosure on his house have some questioning his competency.
On Tuesday, county commissioners increased their insurance on the county treasurer from $10,000 to $500,000, although they said the move had been in the works and did not necessarily reflect a lack of confidence in the treasurer-elect.
Milliken, who takes office in Arapahoe County in January, did not return phone calls for comment. As treasurer, he will oversee $2 billion annually in county money.
He has been criticized by some local leaders, including former Centennial Councilwoman Betty Ann Habig, who said Milliken was stripped of much of his money-handling duties in 2002 because the council felt he was unable to do his job.
Centennial Mayor Randy Pye said Wednesday that while the council did transfer such duties to the city manager, it wasn’t because Milliken couldn’t do the job. He said the city manager requested that he have more responsibility because the treasurer position was a part-time job and handling the city’s finances was a full-time proposition.
“I can’t tell you whether Doug is competent or not,” Pye said. “That was not necessarily the issue.”
Pye did say there were some minor issues with Milliken, including one time when he didn’t handle a wire transfer properly and payroll was delayed by a day or two.
The mayor, however, took offense to Milliken’s claiming during his campaign that he was responsible for the city’s $5.1 million surplus because “he had no role in that,” Pye said.
Contacted Wednesday, Habig declined to comment on the matter further. While Arapahoe County awaits its new treasurer, Centennial is in need of a new one. Once Milliken leaves, the council will have 60 days to appoint a treasurer, who will serve until voters decide a replacement in the November general election.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
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