The Democratic race for the 2nd Congressional District turned ugly Tuesday when Will Shafroth filed a federal election complaint against opponent Jared Polis, who then threatened to counter with allegations of criminal fraud.
The allegations are based on campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Shafroth, a Boulder conservationist, is asking the FEC to investigate Polis’ “lack of transparency and failure to disclose required information.” The complaint accuses Polis of neglecting to list the employer and occupation of 42 donors who gave $49,000 to his campaign. It also says Polis did not disclose how he spent $30,084 of in-kind expenses.
Polis spokeswoman Dayna Hanson called the accusations “ridiculous.” She said the campaign has tried contacting people who did not provide their occupations when they donated, which is all it is required to do.
As for the in-kind contributions, Hanson said the campaign filled out the FEC forms correctly and offered to show itemized receipts to anyone.
She countered that Shafroth listed 48 donors as “community volunteers” and the Polis campaign believes many have employers they should have listed. Polis’ attorney is working on a criminal fraud complaint, Hanson said. Shafroth’s campaign declined to comment on that allegation.
