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In its latest attack on a Republican candidate, liberal watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch is calling on Secretary of State Bernie Buescher to launch an immediate investigation into one candidate's purported violations. The move is raising questions about what the role of the secretary should be when it comes to dealing with such allegations.

BuescherFTS File Photo

CEW executive director Chantell Taylor is specifically calling on Buescher to “launch an immediate inquiry into whether former U.S. Congressman Scott McInnis is in violation of state campaign finance law,” but Buescher spokesman Rich Coolidge says someone needs to first file a complaint against McInnis before the office will take action.

In response, Taylor points to an election rule that allows Buescher to initiate an inquiry even if a public complaint has not been filed. Taylor questions whether McInnis, a Republican, had publicly announced his candidacy for governor and subsequently solicited, received, or expended campaign funds before properly registering as a candidate committee. The group is also asking Buescher to investigate whether McInnis illegally coordinated with a 527 political organization. McInnis officially filed paperwork with Buescher's office Tuesday declaring his candidacy for governor.

Prior to McInnis filling his paperwork, Taylor sent an initial letter on May 7 asking Buescher to look into McInnis's campaign activity. On Monday, she sent a follow-up letter citing McInnis’s behavior at a Lincoln Day Dinner over the weekend as further evidence he might have broken the law.

CEW has a history of filing unsuccessful complaints targeted almost exclusively at Republican candidates. In 2007, it filed a complaint against the Senate Majority Fund arguing the group improperly acted as a committee. CEW lost the initial complaint, which is now on appeal. CEW also went after former SoS Mike Coffman, a Republican, last year by filing an ethics complaint alleging Coffman violated state law after it was discovered that one of his senior employees was operating a partisan side business. Coffman was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, but not before several newspaper articles repeated the allegations against him. In a statement he released after the decision, Coffman called the allegations "frivolous," and said, "Make no mistake: Ethics Watch is a highly partisan political organization that disguises itself as a nonpartisan and nonprofit group dedicated to ethics reform...The outcome of this case speaks volumes about Ethics Watch and its failed partisan scheme.”

Scott Gessler, a Republican election law expert who plans to challenge Buescher in 2010, elaborated on the strategy. "They catch people who make minor errors, and all the rest is political vendettas."

Taylor defended her group's actions, saying she is not filing a complaint against McInnis but just "wants more information." In the letter, she writes: “According to the secretary of state’s rules, if the secretary discovers a possible violation of state campaign finance laws he shall provide notice to the person allegedly in violation and the person, within seven days of the notice, must correct the violation or explain in writing why no violation was committed. If the person does not adequately respond, the secretary can file a campaign finance complaint.”

“Ethics Watch wants the secretary of state to do their dirty work for them," Gessler said. "No secretary of state should ever use this rule. Nothing in the constitution or the law gives the secretary of state independent investigatory power."

Before Colorado's Fair Campaign Practices Act was passed in 1996, according to Gessler, the secretary would frequently investigate possible violations of state campaign finance law. The complaints, however, were too often politically motivated. Since 1996, secretaries of state have not initiated investigations and instead rely on complainants to drive the process. Gessler argues the current arrangement helps insulate the office from manipulation for political purposes.

Coolidge says Buescher will not invoke the rule but would be obligated to respond to a complaint if one is filed. “Ethics Watch has filed complaints with us in the past and is very familiar with the process,” said Coolidge. “The constitution dictates that campaign finance is a complaint driven process.”

CEW has sent a letter like this before asking former Secretary Gigi Dennis to invoke the rule. Dennis declined the request, and while Taylor admits previous secretaries of state have not invoked this rule, she says that should not stop Buescher. “I hope that he will be more proactive than past secretaries of state. He should not rely on this secondary method of enforcement,” she said, referring the public complaint process as the “secondary method.”