Ethics commission failed public and politicians in Hickenlooper ruling

Juicy headlines about ethics violations on the eve of the primary election is exactly what the group that filed a complaint against former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper were hoping for. And the Independent Ethics Commission didn’t disappoint.

Amendment 41 limits the value of something a public official can accept. In 2018, the limit was $59. In 2008, former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Jean Dubofsky and I challenged the gift ban provisions of Amendment 41. Our concern was two-fold: The measure would chill First Amendment rights and it could become a political hunting license to destroy elected officials’ reputations for conduct that wasn’t unethical.

The Denver District Court agreed. However, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the case wasn’t ripe, because the IEC, was not yet in existence. A decade later, the conservative Public Trust Institute, led by former Republican House Speaker Frank Mcnulty, filed a complaint against Hickenlooper based in part on a trip he took to a conference he spoke at in Turin, Italy. The conference was sponsored by Fiat Chrysler.

Participants were told to pay their airfare and lodging, and Hickenlooper did, paying about $7,000 out of his own pocket.

The IEC found that Hickenlooper, whose campaigns I have donated to in the past, received an improper “gift” because of hospitality benefits like getting a ride to the airport from a car service, and security services provided to all attendees. The implications of treating these types of things as “gifts” are far-reaching.

Public officials routinely attend conventions, charity events and other meetings. Event organizers regularly solicit donations and sponsorships to offset their costs. Now, those donations will not be considered gifts to the organization, but gifts to a public official. The new standard places the burden on the self-paying public official to scrutinize whether the price paid to attend an event fully covers the per person cost of that event.

When and how that assessment must be made is unclear, but according to the IEC, Hickenlooper “should have known” that what he paid to attend the Bilderberg meetings couldn’t have covered his “incidentals.”

Think about that. You are at a dinner for your favorite charity, and you paid the asking price for your ticket. At some point, a speaker addresses the crowd and asks everyone for a round of applause “to thank our generous sponsors.” If you’re a public official, you better find out the per person value of the drinks, dinner, venue expense, entertainment, and security that was covered by those generous sponsors, because you are on the hook for them.

And why stop there? Cultural events and facilities are often supported by large private and corporate donors. Does that ticket to the symphony or play represent the actual cost of the event, or was part of the cost of the lighting, the programs, the performers offset by corporate donations? Public officials better find out, or better yet, avoid the hassle and don’t go. That’s the only way to avoid giving dirt to your political enemies.

What’s more, the IEC acknowledged the complainant failed to admit evidence that established the value of the hospitality costs, but nevertheless “believed” it was more than $59. As Commissioner Bill Leone noted: “I’m disappointed in not only the complainant, but also in our own investigation. We should have dug deeper on some of these things to assess their value.”

Nonetheless, the IEC fined Hickenlooper $550 (twice the $275 estimate that came from an unidentified website).

And, before those who don’t like Hickenlooper rejoice, Republicans have been targeted too. This isn’t about ethics, it’s about politics. This can’t be what voters intended when they approved Amendment 41. The amendment was meant to keep vested interests from handing out free tickets and golf weekends, not punish public officials for attending conferences and the like.

The IEC acted as prosecutor, judge, and jury in this matter, and they botched all three. They so confused their roles that they forgot to consider actual evidence or apply the law. They made guesstimates to justify something that wasn’t proven to be a violation and failed to push back against political forces determined to turn ethics commission proceedings into a sleazy campaign advertisement.

The Commission gave a loaded gun for the ultimate political hunting spree, and the losers are Colorado charities, civic and cultural organizations. If I were a public official, I would not attend another sponsored event.