The Denver Post's Politics West today reports about recent corporate contributions to Denver's Democratic National Convention:Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter "wrote a thank-you note to Chicago Democratic donor Fred Eychaner for his $250,000 contribution, and got Safeway and Amgen on board in a trip to Washington." Bill Ritter must be wishing it could be easy to find that much money to cover his campaign - er, inaugural committee - debt. With more than enough money left over to fund an investigation to find the conveniently vanished computer potentially containing key evidence about Ritter's campaign fund scandal. If you were hoping for real analysis of the Democratic National Convention, then stop by Slapstick Politics. … [Read more...]
What Was All That Money Doing in Ritter’s Inaugural in the First Place?
The problems with Gov. Bill Ritter's $200,000-plus in misspent inaugural committee funds raises more questions beyond his apparent gross lack of oversight. In total, about $300,000 in inauguration funds were spent on campaign expenses. Campaign manager Greg Kolomitz returned the $83,250 that was paid to himself and his company, leaving roughly $217,000 still improperly spent. But a question I have yet to see answered is why so much money was needed in Ritter's inaugural fund in the first place. Seems quite extravagant. A quick trip back in time to the tenure of Colorado's last Democratic governor, Roy Romer, hints at a sharp contrast. From the January 3, 1991, edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette (no direct link available):In … [Read more...]