Scrapping between Denver mayoral campaigns began in earnest today, the day after the May 3 ballot was set.
Denver Councilman Michael Hancock, one of 10 candidates running for mayor, issued a press release challenging opponent Chris Romer to run a clean campaign.
Romer’s team hired Grindstone Research from Tennessee to do opposition research — a common campaign tactic.
The research included an open records request to the city for information about Hancock and fellow councilman Carol Boigon, who is also running for mayor.
The requests sought council meeting attendance records, travel information, purchases and all e-mail correspondence for the past seven years.
Hancock said Romer’s camp was digging for material to start a negative campaign.
“At a time when the city is strapped for resources, this research request uses valuable city staff time for a fishing expedition that will be used to wage a negative ad campaign,” Hancock’s release says.
Romer later issued a statement through his spokesman:
“We aren’t engaged in any kind of personal research of the councilman. We were simply doing what any responsible campaign does, which is to research the public stands and public positions taken by the other candidates in the field. I think we all hope that the Councilman takes his own advice and refrains from any further negative attacks in this campaign.”
Hancock’s spokeswoman Amber Miller said the councilman’s campaign will not do opposition research.
Boigon’s campaign says it will do opposition research.
“Every competent campaign does opposition research on the other candidates and themselves,” said Boigon’s spokeswoman, Rachel Chaparro.
Berrick Abramson, campaign manager for mayoral candidate James Mejia, said opposition research is part of the process.
“Part of any professional campaign is researching every candidate’s history — the veracity of the claims they make, whether they are about creating jobs, supporting the business community and commitment in serving all Denverites,” Abramson said.
Mejia was chief executive officer of the Denver Preschool Program, an organization that already has received open records requests about his stint in the organization. It is unclear who submitted the request.
Denver Public Schools on Feb. 17 received open records requests from an Austin, Texas, research firm hired by the Mejia campaign seeking information about the $750 million financial transaction orchestrated in 2008 by Romer’s former employer, JP Morgan.
Romer has said he had no involvement with the complex and controversial transaction.
It appears that the Romer campaign wants to know who is looking for information.
The same person contracted by Romer’s campaign to research Hancock and Boigon on Feb. 28 asked DPS to disclose any open records requests that have come into the district in the past year.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
