Democrats complained when GOP gubernatorial candidate Josh Penry sent campaign information to state Capitol workers at their work e-mail addresses, but it turns out plenty of candidates are e-mailing voters at their government jobs.
Denver City Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz and Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher talked to the legal department after workers received e-mails from Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.
“I don’t think you can use the city’s e-mail system for partisan, political donations,” Gallagher said Wednesday.
“It’s clearly an inappropriate use of city resources. We have been cautioned in the past on this, and we are very careful not to let anything political dealing with campaigns go out through the city mail.”
And Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, when asked about the legality of the e-mails, noted he has received numerous campaign e-mails in recent days from Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Romanoff and Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis.
“I’m pretty confident the candidates are not willfully violating the law,” Suthers said, but added that candidates need to be careful.
For some the issue is whether candidates used inside connections to get government e-mail lists. Bennet used to be the chief of staff for Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, and Penry, R-Grand Junction, is the state Senate minority leader.
Most campaigns get their e-mail addresses from a variety of sources, include paid lists, and information from friends and supporters.
Suthers suggested campaigns “scrub” their lists to get rid of government addresses.
“Having said that, I know from being a candidate that is easier said than done,” Suthers said, in an e-mail.
Bennet’s campaign manager, Craig Hughes, said the campaign has gone through its list and tried to delete everyone with a “.gov” or “.us” — indications the person is employed by government — and is doing so again after city workers complained.
Denver City Attorney David Fine said the city put a block on Bennet’s campaign e-mails, which it does when it hears about bulk unsolicited e-mails.
But it’s not only government workers who are upset.
Mesa County resident Don Pettygrove last month received an e-mail in support of Bennet that was signed by three leading Democrats: Gov. Bill Ritter , U.S. Sen. Mark Udall and Secretary of State Bernie Buescher.
Pettygrove, a Republican, said the only way Ritter and Udall have his e-mail address is because he wrote to them about policy issues. He wondered whether it was appropriate and legal to have his e-mail address used for political purposes.
In an ironic twist, Pettygrove sent his complaint to Penry.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
