Complaint filed over election ad

MONTROSE — The district attorney’s office is investigating complaints that Election Day advertising did not comply with the law.

Commissioner Bill Patterson turned in a letter of complaint Nov. 7, alleging a nonprofit called “Citizens for Responsive Government” unduly influenced the election through advertising placed in the Montrose Daily Press Nov. 2, 3 and 4.

The ad, similar to one people who attempted to recall Patterson from office last year took out,    urged people to vote for Patterson’s opponent, Ron Henderson, who ultimately defeated Patterson, but had no hand in placing the advertisement.

Patterson said the ballot-box outcome was not the reason he filed the complaint. “This is a direct violation of the law,” he alleged. “It’s (election) not supposed to be about trickery and deceit. That’s what this was. This was trickery and deceit.”

The ad featured a picture of Patterson with words questioning his “honesty, integrity and judgment.” It retained from the original recall committee ad a reference to the number of people who signed a petition to place the recall question on the ballot.

The recall effort was effectively withdrawn when the recall committee dropped its suit against the county clerk, who’d declared the petitions insufficient.

The advertisement quotes Patterson as saying “I was fired from the (airport advisory) board and accused of being dishonest and not having integrity or judgment.”

The problem, Patterson said, is that the comment was in response to questions raised during last summer’s recall attempt, and was not made when he was removed from the airport advisory board several years ago.

Patterson was removed for questioning the timeliness of payments made by the board. He said he noted a $250,000 shortfall between money going out and money coming in. Patterson was appointed to the board again, as a city councilman, after the then-county commissioners dissolved and reformed it.

Daily Press publisher Stephen Woody said the new advertising was paid for by Stephen Stuhmer, the CEO of JetAway Aviation, which is locked in a heated legal battle with the county over airport contracts.

Patterson in his letter said the Citizens for Responsive Government was a “delinquent nonprofit corporation.” Therefore, the person who placed the advertising should have disclosed his or her identity.

“I would say that it’s slander; the problem is, as (I am) an elected official, it doesn’t matter,” Patterson said. “The primary thing is, they advocated for a candidate and they did not follow that section (of law). If you advocate for a candidate, it has to identify who is placing the ad and where it comes from.”

The ad stated it wasn’t authorized by any party or candidate and was paid for by the CFRG. That committee is registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s business division as a nonprofit corporation, spokesman Rich Coolidge said, but is no longer licensed there and hasn’t filed a report for more than a year in that division.

“In order to advocate for a candidate, you have to be registered as a candidate committee, or you have to disclose your personal name,” Patterson said. “You can’t put down a defunct corporation.”

He claimed undue influence. “They directly advocated for a candidate and they did it in a false and misleading way,” Patterson said. “Not only do they say bad things about me, they say in order to correct this, you need to vote for Ron Henderson.”

Nonprofits that advocate for a candidate have to file an expenditure report within 48 hours; Coolidge said previously the CFRG hadn’t done so, nor, according to the county clerk’s office, had the report been filed here. Coolidge also said the SOS had no record of independent expenditures filed in connection with the Montrose County Commissioner race for District 1.

Patterson is claiming the CFRG also violated campaign finance rules, both by directly advocating for a candidate as a nonprofit and by failure to file the necessary report.

Henderson joined Patterson at the DA’s office on Election Day to discuss the matter.

He said he wasn’t sure whether he would file his own complaint. “I’ve been talking with my attorney. I’m glad Bill did, but I’m not sure whether I have anything to gain or do anything about it.”

Henderson said Patterson was within his rights to file the complaint. “If I need to be a part of it as a witness, or anything, I will,” he said.

District Attorney Myrl Serra confirmed Monday that he was investigating the complaint.

“I turned it in, I cited the statute I felt was violated,” Patterson said. “It’s up to the district attorney.”