Senator Cory Gardner’s losing campaign is out with another false attack ad that may have been personally reviewed by Mitch McConnell and reporters are already busy debunking. Instead of doing his job and holding President Trump accountable for his never-ending corruption, lies, and failure to combat COVID-19, Senator Gardner is smearing John Hickenlooper’s record of taking Colorado from 40th in job creation to the number one economy in the nation.
“With nearly 200,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus pandemic, millions of people struggling to pay their bills, and a President who admits he’s been lying to the American people about the deadly virus, Cory Gardner’s made his priorities clear by focusing instead on false attack ads and partisan politics,” said Hickenlooper for Colorado press secretary Ammar Moussa. “Colorado voters will see right through these desperate attacks. There aren’t enough car washes in the world to wash away Cory Gardner’s failure to stand up to Trump’s failed COVID response or how he’s sold out Colorado to his special interest donors as the biggest recipient of corporate PAC money in Colorado Senate history.”
Gardner is currently facing several ethics and campaign finance complaints, including an FEC complaint for accepting illegal contributions from McConnell’s super PAC. Other pending complaints include a Senate Ethics Committee inquiry into Gardner using official Senate footage in his first campaign ad and two seperate complaints involving a champagne gala Gardner attended with corporate lobbyists. There’s also a lawsuit pending on Gardner’s 2014 campaign illegally coordinating with the NRA.
FACT: Hickenlooper did not “tour Europe in a Maserati” – Republicans are attacking Hickenlooper for his trips to bring business to Colorado. The state went from 40th in job creation to the top economy in the country while he was Governor.
- A national Republican group with ties to Mitch McConnell is behind the attacks: “A vice president for America Rising began filing open records requests in March 2018, when Hickenlooper was still in office, to obtain his travel records. The results of those open records requests formed the basis for the ethics complaint, filed by the Public Trust Institute, which was formed two days before the complaints were filed by former Republican Speaker of the House Frank McNulty.” – Colorado Politics
- There are allowances to the gift ban that include: “Travel to conventions or meetings when the offer is made ex officio, is related to the person’s official duties, is of benefit to the state, the individual is representing the state, or the state pays dues to the sponsoring organization (other exceptions may apply depending on circumstances); Gifts from relatives and friends.”- Colorado Independent Ethics Commission
- “Take Colorado, which ranks No. 1 in the ‘economy’ category for the second year in a row. When Democrat John Hickenlooper first took office in 2011, Colorado ranked 26th in unemployment and 40th in job growth.” – U.S. News and World Report
FACT: Hickenlooper did not get the “maximum penalty possible.” Fines levied by the Independent Ethics Commission are set by formula in statute, and Hickenlooper paid as directed.
- Hickenlooper paid a fine based on costs determined by the IEC. There is no maximum. – Colorado Secretary of State
FACT: No positions in the governor’s office “were sold for corporate checks” – Hickenlooper and other governors have used public private partnerships to fund important projects and help public dollars go as far as possible.
- One Book 4 Colorado has gotten nearly half a million books to four-year-olds across Colorado
- Pedal the Plains brought tourism and economic development to communities on the Eastern Plains through a bike tour—to the tune of a quarter million dollars for host communities.
- Colorado’s Senior Advisor on Aging helped improve life and coordinate services for seniors across the state, leading to U.S. News and World Report to call Colorado the best state for aging.
FACT: In a recent editorial, the Denver Post called Hickenlooper “an ethical public servant” who made “an honest mistake.”
- A Denver Post editorial said, “we don’t believe Hickenlooper was trying to undermine the system, or disrespect the commission, or avoid accountability. In fact, the governor has been extremely transparent.”
- They also noted “there is ample evidence that he tried to comply with the spirit and letter of the law” and “we consider both of those infractions to be relatively minor violations of the ethics laws.”
- They further noted that Hickenlooper was “an ethical public servant” who made “an honest mistake.”
