August 14, 2007 06:42 PM UTC

I Am the Law!

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• by: Colorado Pols

We’ve written before about the scandals that have plagued the Jefferson County government, but one Republican official just doesn’t seem to understand how bad he looks in trying to hide everything he does.

Commissioner Kevin McCasky once installed a mute button at county commissioner meetings in order to cut off public comments that he doesn’t like, and he has given The Canyon Courier the middle finger when it comes to obeying by the open meetings law.

Now McCasky is refusing to divulge mileage records in regards to the county-provided vehicle he drives. As The Canyon Courier reports:

A Courier story in November 2006 reported that all three then-county commissioners were violating Jeffco’s policy, and possibly Internal Revenue Service rules, by failing to keep records of the time they spent in county-owned vehicles.

Shortly after that story was published, the county acknowledged a “breakdown in communications” had led to several violations, and promised a complete revamp of the vehicle policy “early in 2007.”…

…On Monday, the county had not complied with most of the records request, made under the Colorado Open Records Act on July 30. Although the law requires the county to at least set a date when the records will become available to the public within three days of receiving a request, the Courier has received no such answer.

However, Democratic Commissioner Kathy Hartman, who promised publicly during her campaign for office last year that she would fully document her time in county vehicles and while on county business, appears to have lived up to her word.

Hartman personally sent the Courier her vehicle records, which include very detailed information on where she spends her work time, who she meets with and how much she has been reimbursed by the county for miles driven in her personal vehicle while on official business.

Republican Commissioner Kevin McCasky said Friday he would not disclose his detailed logs at all, saying they were not public records.[Pols emphasis]

I’m not above the law – I AM the law!