DENVER—The head of a liberal advocacy group accused GOP Senate candidate Bob Schaffer of hypocrisy Wednesday for advice he gave his fellow members of the state Board of Education on disclosing contributions.
ProgressNowAction executive director Michael Huttner said Schaffer told board members they should disclose donations from people doing business with the board and then accepted contributions to his Senate campaign from a board consultant.
Schaffer did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
“With Bob Schaffer’s recent failure to disclose his conflict of interest, the people of Colorado have a right to know who is giving political contributions and what business they have with the board,” Huttner said.
Huttner said Schaffer cast the deciding vote to award a contract to a company owned by David Brennan, which provides programs for charter schools, and accepted $3,600 in contributions from Brennan for his Senate campaign.
Huttner said Schaffer told fellow board members in December that government grant-making was “the most corrupt aspect of civil government in America” and then agreed to draft a conflict-of-interest policy for the board.
“Schaffer is a complete hypocrite when it comes to corruption,” Huttner said. Huttner said Schaffer should have recused himself from the vote.
Dick Wadhams, director of the state Republican Party, said Schaffer disclosed the contribution. He said if Schaffer’s opponents want to use that criteria, then Schaffer’s Democratic opponent, Mark Udall, should refrain from voting on labor issues after accepting more than $1 million from labor unions.
“The same standard will be applied to Mark Udall,” Wadhams said.
