Face The State Editorial
At a Capitol hearing on his alleged ethics violation this week, state Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, told his fellow legislators, “We all have ties, particularly if we have lives.” Perhaps true, but for the rest of us, our “ties” don’t result in half-million dollar contracts.
TapiaState of CO
While we tend to hammer on our media colleagues for not being concerned enough about legislative transparency, The Denver Post’s coverage of Tapia’s potential conflicts of interest has been thorough. We learned last week that Tapia has carried several bills devoted to propping up the faltering Colorado State Fair—held in his hometown—and currently facing more than $3 million in debt. All the while, his engineering firm, Abel Engineering Professionals, has raked in more than $440,000 in contracts with the fair.
The connection may have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for the fact that Tapia sponsored a bill that gave the fair an extension to pay off its debts. Subsequent news reports have focused on the structure of the investigation against Tapia, with some legislators questioning the current process. Under current law, Tapia is first investigated by a bi-partisan four-person advisory panel of his fellow legislators. A decision by the panel concerning whether there was a conflict is expected as early as today. But the panel has no subpoena power and can only issue advisory opinions.
Panel members are indicating that state law may not be clear enough to determine whether an actual legal conflict exists. But why should lawmakers decide? As the Post points out, a 2006 advisory panel gave then-state Rep. Tom Plant “the green light to vote on bills giving money to the nonprofit that he was paid to run.”
There is a clear need for an independent investigation outside the political confines and temptations under the state Capitol dome. Under current state law, Tapia’s actions are not invalid simply because his engineering firm benefited from its relationship with the taxpayer-subsidized state fair. They only become questionable when legislators don’t reveal such conflicts.
Tapia says he doesn’t remember sitting through an interview for a $103,000 fair project his firm received. And maybe he doesn’t. After all, this contract was just one of many his firm was awarded through the state fair — a nice thank you to Tapia for the $1.1 million he helped secure for the fair as head of the Joint Budget Committee.
Even if Tapia’s peers find him innocent of breaking the law, he is certainly guilty of violating the public trust. While we sympathize with the complexities of running a business and also serving as a legislator, Tapia chose his situation. It sounds like life as a businessman in Pueblo is pretty lucrative. Maybe it’s time for him to head home, for good.
