Face The State Staff Report
Despite paying the state $15,000 for fines related to delinquent campaign finance filings just last week, Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, has since filed another late report. The latest document is raising eyebrows because it contains more than $5,000 in lobbyist contributions that may be illegal.
On April 7, one day after a Face The State investigation revealed that he owed nearly $20,000 to the state for a series of five delinquent campaign finance filings, Pommer forked over $15,000 from his candidate committee to correct the problem.
While the five previous reports were months late, his required report for the first quarter of 2009 was only an hour late, submitted at 1 a.m. on April 16. Still, Pommer owes the state a $50 fine, the daily penalty imposed for late filings. This fine is in addition to lingering fines related to his previous reports.
On the April 16 report, Pommer lists campaign contributions from registered lobbyists and special interest groups made on February 5. The date is significant, as it falls exactly a month into the legislative session. Under Colorado campaign finance law, it is illegal for lobbyists or special interest groups that lobby to give or solicit money for the campaigns of state office-holders while the legislature is in session.
"The way the law reads, it says lobbyists shall not give," said Rich Coolidge, spokesman for the Secretary of State. "The burden falls on the lobbyist."
Lobbyist contributions came from Jane Urschel of the Colorado Association of School Boards and consultant Thomas Shilling, as well as the Colorado Professional Firefighters, the Colorado Livestock Association, the Qwest Employees Political Action Committee, and the Boulder Valley Education Association. The total contributions from these six entities total $5150.
While the possibility exists that Pommer may have received the contributions prior to the start of the legislative session, state law requires that candidates report the contributions were they are received, not when they are deposited.
As a follow up to Face The State's initial investigation, the Denver Post published a report chronicling Pommer's woes, headlined "File this under 'embarrassing.'" Pommer has not returned Face The State’s repeated requests for an interview, but he did tell the Post last week, ""I screwed up a lot of paperwork."