Gardner Ran the NRSC from 2017-2018 & Let the Ad Run Hundreds of Times Before Responding to Pleas It Be Removed
Erin Martinez: “After talking to [Senator Gardner], I wonder if he really understands the harm [the ad] has inflicted.”
Hickenlooper for Colorado Communications Director Melissa Miller released the following statement after Senator Cory Gardner waited days to return calls from Firestone survivor Erin Martinez, who asked that the “horrifying political ad” running on his behalf come down. Gardner ran the organization behind the ad in 2017-2018, and has accepted its financial support throughout his reelection.
“Erin Martinez called for this despicable ad to be taken down within hours of its release six days ago. Cory Gardner ignored that plea, ignored her direct phone calls, let hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising run and then gave the pathetic excuse that he had no influence over the NRSC, an organization he used to run. As usual, he chose the cowardly approach over the right one.”
Erin Martinez provided the following statement in response to inquiries about Senator Gardner’s inexcusable delay:
“While I am glad that Sen. Gardner has finally realized the ad should be taken down, I am sorry that it has taken him and his staff more than four days to respond to my phone call and request for some relief for my family.
“Our family’s trauma should not be the subject of a horrible political ad. We have worked very hard to create a positive legacy for my husband Mark and my brother Joey to ensure no one relives our nightmare.
“Sen. Gardner underestimates his power to have the ad taken down if he publicly speaks forcefully to make it happen. After talking to him, I wonder if he really understands the harm it has inflicted.”
Fact checkers have already called claims in the ad “misleading” and outright false. As Governor, John Hickenlooper held oil and gas companies accountable, ordered inspections of gas lines immediately after the explosion, levied tough fines for violations and implemented industry-wide reforms. The company responsible for the Firestone tragedy was fined $18.5 million, following an investigation initiated under Hickenlooper’s administration.
