A Colorado Department of Transportation employee could face disciplinary action for sending co-workers an e-mail depicting President Barack Obama as a shoeshine man.
The e-mail, forwarded to at least four other CDOT employees and to people who weren’t state workers, showed a doctored image of Obama shining the shoes of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The original sender of the message, who was not a state employee, wrote, “It appears he (Obama) has found his niche.”
The CDOT employee, a 73-year-old woman who works as a program assistant for the Denver metro region’s traffic and safety section, forwarded the e-mail to co-workers Dec. 22. Someone outside the department who got a copy of the e-mail, with the CDOT e-mail address attached, complained to agency officials about it Tuesday.
“It is an inappropriate e-mail that could be offensive to many people,” CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane said, adding that state employees are barred from using work computers to send such e-mails.
The worker, a 29-year veteran of state government who earns $51,684 a year, could face discipline ranging from a written reprimand to a suspension or firing, Crane said.
Under state employment rules, before any discipline is meted out, the employee must meet with the agency’s personnel officials first and then has the opportunity to respond in writing to the concerns raised. The meeting with the employee is scheduled for next week.
Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, spoke to CDOT officials about the matter. “I find the e-mail itself very distasteful,” Ritter said in an interview Wednesday.
The governor, however, declined to say what action, if any, should be taken against the employee. Ritter said it was a personnel matter and he could not comment on it.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
