DENVER—A Denver judge has approved a motion by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers that clears the way for him to try to have anti-tax activist Douglas Bruce held in contempt of court.
The decision Thursday found that Bruce has been served with a subpoena to testify in a case involving three tax-cutting measures on the November ballot, even though officials haven’t been able to reach him after repeated attempts.
Mike Saccone, Suthers’ spokesman, said the attorney general now will file a motion seeking to have Bruce held in contempt of court.
Bruce told The Gazette in Colorado Springs that the subpoena wasn’t properly served and that he can’t be held in contempt of court.
“It’s just another witch hunt,” Bruce said. “They need a whipping boy or something.”
State officials say they have tried 30 times to subpoena Bruce by going to his Colorado Springs home and other sites and through e-mail and express mail. They want him to testify in an administrative case investigating who’s financing three anti-tax measures on the November state ballot.
The initiatives would limit the ability of local and state governments to borrow and spend money.
Bruce wrote the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment approved by Colorado voters in 1992 to limit government spending and taxing. But Bruce has said he’s not involved with the latest tax-cutting measures.
A Colorado administrative court has ruled otherwise. The court ruled last week that Bruce helped get the proposals on the ballot and that three other people involved should have disclosed their contributions. Those three people were fined $2,000 each for not reporting their contributions.
Bruce wasn’t fined.
