Scofflaw Sheriff candidate violates conditions of suspended sentence, campaign integrity watchdog group files to revoke “penalty parole”
Denver, Colorado — After being found guilty of 10 counts of campaign finance legal violations, the candidate committee for Douglas County Sheriff candidate Tony Spurlock failed to comply with a Court Order directing the committee to “correct deficiencies” as a condition of suspending imposition of $3,050 of the total $4,050 penalty imposed for multiple violations of Colorado’s Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA).
The Committee to Elect Tony Spurlock for Sheriff not only failed to comply with the court’s order graciously extending the period to correct deficiencies by 30 days, but also had the chutzpah to request a further reduction of the total penalty to a mere $50 – pleading for mercy as a “first-time offender” and offering up a variety of excuses for the deficiencies.
The court resoundingly rejected the excuses offered by the Spurlock committee:
“None of this additional information, assuming it is true, warrants a further reduction in the penalty. Respondent had the obligation to review the report being filed on his behalf. Respondent admits that he had personal knowledge of the information that was missing from the report, but neglected to review the report to ensure its accuracy. Respondent’s neglect in authorizing the filing of a public report that contained multiple errors, without reviewing the report to ensure its accuracy, is no defense and is worthy of a significant penalty.” [Emphasis added]
The Spurlock campaign had also argued, both in public comment in multiple venues (and on the campaign’s website, under “Response to Campaign Finance Issue” http://www.spurlockforsheriff.com/response-to-campaign-finance-issue.html ) that its failure to appear in court was due to “omission of a suite number” in the Complaint’s Certificate of Service – insinuating that the “omission” was an oversight on the part of Campaign Integrity Watchdog, which filed the campaign finance complaint.
However, the Court likewise called the Spurlock campaign to account for this blatant misrepresentation of fact:
“The reason Respondent failed to receive notice, however, was due exclusively to the fact that he failed to provide the Secretary of State with an adequate mailing address. Again, this is a matter of neglect on Respondent’s part that does not warrant further reduction of the penalty.”
Campaign Integrity Watchdog was satisfied that justice had been served with the Court’s original ruling, including the suspension of the majority of the penalty imposed ($3,050 of the total penalty amount of $4,050) conditioned on the Spurlock committee filing an amended report correcting the deficiencies.
However, the Spurlock campaign’s failure to correct the deficiencies, as ordered by the court, and the candidate’s subsequent actions and shirking responsibility in the matter, necessitated today’s filing to vacate the suspension of penalty and revoke the Spurlock campaign’s “penalty parole” in order to uphold the integrity of the process and hold the serial scofflaw accountable under Colorado’s Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) law.
Campaign Integrity Watchdog is a non-partisan, closely-held entity that seeks to promote the integrity of Colorado’s campaign finance law through three distinct service offerings: watch (campaign finance management and reporting for candidates and issues committees), guard (protect committees when campaign finance complaints are filed against them), and pursue (hold flagrant offenders accountable for campaign finance statutory and regulatory violations).
Click here for additional detail and information on the campaign finance complaint and ruling
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