Gov. Bill Ritter’s decision to hire outside legal counsel to help the state with federal stimulus funds is unusual among the 10 states in the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest.
And the decision to use an open- ended contract without a financial cap is in a class by itself.
Of the 10 states, only New Mexico joined Colorado in hiring outside legal counsel. Like Colorado, New Mexico, through a no-bid contract, hired a firm with prominent Democratic fundraisers and whose lawyers have contributed to its governor’s campaigns.
Unlike with Ritter, New Mexico Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson’s contract with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP was for three months and capped at $15,000. It expired last month. Ritter, a Democrat, hired his former law firm, Hogan & Hartson, in an open-ended contract. The firm has been paid $40,000 from federal funds through June.
The eight other states are using an array of financial and legal experts who already work for the government or are volunteers.
Jon Hanian, spokesman for Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, said his state has tapped into the governor’s legal counsel as well as a bipartisan panel of three former governors and four former financial directors rather than hiring outside legal help.
“We just don’t think the taxpayers have money to spend on that,” he said.
Firm called key to state’s benefits
Ritter spokeswoman Myung Oak Kim said Colorado taxpayers have benefited from the hiring of Hogan & Hartson. The firm, she said, was instrumental in helping the state get financing for $338 million in Certificates of Participation for the Colorado History Center and the Ralph L. Carr Justice Complex. The project is expected to create 2,000 jobs.
But how much work the firm did on that project, or any other, remains a secret. The governor’s office, citing attorney-client privilege, has declined to make public any documents showing what the firm does for its money.
Office employs leading Democrats
The Denver office of Hogan & Hartson has employed a number of politically connected Democrats over the years. Its current heavy hitter is managing partner Cole Finegan. Denver-based Brownstein Hyatt also has a number of powerful Democrats, including the firm’s president, Steve Farber. He was the key fundraiser for the Democratic National Convention last year and, along with numerous other Brownstein employees, has donated thousands of dollars to Richardson’s gubernatorial campaigns and his 2008 presidential run.
Neither Farber nor a spokesperson from Richardson’s office could be reached Friday afternoon.
Karen E. Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
Has it helped?
If the goal of hiring outside legal help for the state’s stimulus office was to increase the dollars flowing to Coloradans, it has not yet made a noticeable impact compared with some of the state’s neighbors.
Stimulus funding per resident
States not hiring outside legal counsel
Arizona, $633
Idaho, $900
Montana, $1,015
Nevada, $541
Oregon, $575
Utah, $620
Washington, $920
Wyoming, $1,074
States that hired outside counsel
Colorado, $623
New Mexico, $943
Sources: The Denver Post; The Wall Street Journal
