Harvey Investigated for Mortgage Fraud One Month After Trying to Reduce Industry Regulations

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Mar 03, 2010 at 16:45:35 PM MST

A Colorado state senator and the mortgage company where he works are being investigated for allegedly misleading consumers by sending out advertising flyers that look like official tax documents, a state official said Wednesday.

Investigators believe Republican Sen. Ted Harvey and American Home Funding-the Greenwood Village company where he works as a broker-violated state laws by sending the ads, said Colorado Division of Real Estate Director Erin Toll...

...The flyer features the Statue of Liberty and Federal Housing Administration notice codes that rate the notification "Urgency: HIGH" and warns that "a call to action is required." It has a notice in small print on the side that says it's not a government document...

...Harvey said the notices are no different than those from other financial institutions. He rejected suggestions that he or the company broke the law.

Sure, that sounds bad. But here's the kicker: Earlier this year Harvey tried to introduce legislation that would have restricted the state's ability to regulate mortgage brokers.

Harvey said he got into a dispute with the division about a month ago after he proposed legislation that would remove Toll's authority to investigate mortgage brokers and set up a board, similar to boards in the same division that hear complaints against real estate agents and appraisers. The legislation also would have set up an appeals process. [Pols emphasis]

The dispute escalated when a member of Toll's staff showed disrespect when he tried to explain his proposed bill, Harvey said. He said he shook his finger in the staffer's face to get their attention, but he denied trying to intimidate the staffer.

Barbara Kelley, executive director of the Department of Regulatory Agency, Toll's boss, rejected the proposed legislation in a letter dated Feb. 18, which was obtained by The Associated Press under the Colorado Open Records Act. She told Harvey and other lawmakers that the division is following state law, which requires that a director oversee the mortgage loan originators program, because the board system is too expensive.

Coffman Will Report Serious Coin

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Jul 01, 2008 at 17:07:11 PM MDT

First, a press release from the campaign of CD-6 candidate Mike Coffman:

Highlands Ranch, CO - Sixth Congressional District candidate Mike Coffman announced today that he will report having raised over $300,000 in contributions this quarter, bringing his overall total to over $750,000 to date.

"The fact that each quarter we have been able to surpass our fundraising total from the previous reporting period is very encouraging. These strong numbers will ensure we have the resources needed to make a strong push in the final six weeks of the campaign", said Coffman Campaign Manager Dustin Zvonek...

...Coffman for Congress will file a full financial report with the Federal Election Commission on July 15th to include all contributions and expenditures during the second reporting period of 2008.

Coffman's fundraising should keep him firmly atop the CD-6 leaderboard, and the amount he raised in Q2 alone will likely be more than candidates Ted Harvey and Steve Ward raise in total when all is said and done.

Elsewhere in CD-6, Harvey announced the endorsement of The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and their Colorado affiliate, the Credit Union Association of Colorado (CUAC). Wil Armstrong added to his list of endorsements by announcing that he has the support of gasbag radio host Dan Caplis. Yay for them.

Coffman Poll Shows CD-6 Race Basically Over

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jun 02, 2008 at 11:07:04 AM MDT

Highlands Ranch, CO - Sixth Congressional District candidate Mike Coffman released today results from a recent poll of likely Republican primary voters.  

Question: "If the Republican primary election for Congress were held today and you had to make a choice, for whom would you vote?"

Response:
Mike Coffman   47%
Wil Armstrong  19%
Ted Harvey      7%
Steve Ward      4%

The poll was conducted for the Coffman for Congress campaign by the Tarrance Group between 5/27/08 and 5/28/08 with a margin of error of +/- 5.8%

"These numbers are very encouraging, especially considering the fact that there are only 39 days until absentee ballots will be mailed out to voters and just over 70 days until the Primary Election", said Coffman Campaign Manager Dustin Zvonek.  

"One of the most significant aspects of these numbers is that margin between Mike and his closest competitor is now greater than the number of undecided voters", added Zvonek.

These are certainly strong numbers, and although they should be taken with a grain of salt coming from an internal poll, it's hard to argue the logic of the results. Coffman has both the money and the name ID, and none of the other candidates can match him in either department. Whether or not Coffman really polls at 47% is irrelevant; what this poll shows is that his numbers are strong enough to indicate that this race is all but over.

Coffman Goes Up on TV and Radio Today

by: Colorado Pols

Thu May 01, 2008 at 13:23:58 PM MDT

Ted Harvey, We Hardly Knew Ye

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Apr 16, 2008 at 11:07:42 AM MDT

Mike Coffman (R): $244,239 ($323,897 COH)
Wil Armstrong (R): $226,815 ($283,006 COH)
Ted Harvey (R): $42,418 ($21,872 COH)

Coffman and Armstrong aren't likely to slow down in their fundraising battle, which means that Harvey would have to do astronomically well in Q2 to even be in the ballpark before the primary. This one is a two-man race, folks.

Coffman Raises $244,239 in Q1

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Apr 15, 2008 at 12:35:20 PM MDT

Coffman Demands Meaningless Pledge

by: Colorado Pols

Tue Mar 18, 2008 at 15:17:52 PM MDT

Highlands Ranch, CO - This past Friday, March 14th, the Coffman for Congress campaign sent a letter to all of the candidates in the race for the 6th Congressional District urging them to sign a pledge to disavow any and all negative 527 activities.

"The voters of the Sixth Congressional District deserve a campaign that is centered on issues and ideas, not petty personal attacks", said Coffman.

Coffman for Congress Campaign Manager, Dustin Zvonek added, "After what took place in the 2006 primary for the 5th Congressional District and in the primary for the U.S. Senate in 2004, we believe it's important for the voters and the Republican Party to have a clean and honest election. We hope our opponents agree and will sign the pledge".

Sign the pledge. Disavow away. Who cares? No candidate is supposed to "know" anything about 527 campaigns anyway. It doesn't take a lot of backbone to disavow something you aren't supposed to acknowledge anyway. Or perhaps this is Coffman's way of pre-emptively giving himself cover for 527 attacks that he knows will come against his opponents.

Full letter follows.

Harvey Pulls Out Crystal Ball

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Mar 03, 2008 at 14:06:21 PM MST

Harvey's campaign sent out a silly press release last Friday (click below for the full release) predicting that Coffman would bypass the caucus process:

Today, State Senator Ted Harvey's campaign for Congress predicted that fellow 6th Congressional District candidate, Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman, will soon announce that he will bypass the Republican Party's grassroots-based caucus nominating process and opt to gather petition signatures to place him on the Primary Election ballot.

"I hope Mike will join me to directly engage our grassroots Republican activists but it's clear he lacks the base support I have and feels he can't afford to lose this first contest for our party's nomination," said Harvey.

Harvey is obviously trying hard to set himself up as the establishment Republican Party candidate, even though he didn't raise squat during the Q4 fundraising period ($35,000 compared to more than $200,000 each for Coffman and Wil Armstrong). This release would make a lot more sense AFTER the caucus rather than issuing a goofy statement predicting something to happen.

Ted Harvey Raises $35,190

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Jan 31, 2008 at 22:46:54 PM MST

Coffman Touts Huge Lead in Own Poll

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jan 28, 2008 at 15:21:54 PM MST

Question: "If the Republican primary election for Congress were held today and you had to make a choice, for whom would you vote?"

Response: Mike Coffman 44%
Wil Armstrong 10%
Ted Harvey 8%
Steve Ward 1%

The poll was conducted for the Coffman for Congress campaign by the Tarrance Group between 1/22/08 and 1/23/08 with a margin of error of +/- 5.8%

That Coffman is ahead at this point should be no surprise, but the margin is a little shocking (although 37% are apparently undecided). In terms of name recognition, Coffman is heads and shoulders above any of his other opponents, and apparently few average voters are interested in the fact that Coffman is a complete disaster as Secretary of State. That last point shouldn't be a surprise, either, because voters in CD-6 continually turned a blind eye to Tom Tancredo's congressional ineptitude and re-elected him repeatedly.

Perhaps Coffman shouldn't be such a favorite in CD-6, but as we've said from the beginning, his name ID alone makes him the man to beat in a district that, by and large, is not that politically-savvy.

Click below for the full press release.

Coffman Raises $200,000 in Q4

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 15:19:52 PM MST

Who Will Win? (CO-6)

by: Colorado Pols

Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 12:17:12 PM MST

The last poll was purely hypothetical, but this one is real now that Rep. Tom Tancredo is officially out. Vote below on who you think will win this race.

Comings and Goings in CD-6

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Nov 08, 2007 at 09:49:48 AM MST

State Sen. Ted Harvey formally announced his candidacy in CD-6 yesterday, and if you had any doubt that he would try to lay claim to being the most conservative of the GOP candidates, his press release should end any of those questions. "Conservative  Republican State Senator Ted Harvey Announces Candidacy for 6th Congressional District" [Pols emphasis] was the title of Harvey's press release, which included an impressive list of some of the most conservative members of the legislature (including Sen. Dave Schultheis and Rep. Kevin Lundberg).

Harvey will need those endorsements in a race that is shaping up to be a classic Colorado Republican insider battle. Wil Armstrong is widely expected to announce his candidacy at some time in the near future, and when he does, don't be surprised to see traditional power brokers such as Bruce Benson, Bill Owens and Bob Beauprez standing in his corner (thanks, no doubt, to the influence of his father, former U.S. Sen. Bill Armstrong).

Coffman Makes it Official; Harvey Next

by: Colorado Pols

Wed Nov 07, 2007 at 08:54:26 AM MST

Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman made it official yesterday: He's running for congress in CD-6. As the Rocky Mountain News reports:

Secretary of State Mike Coffman on Tuesday formally filed to run for Congress, angering some Republicans who fear a Democrat will take over his state job but thrilling others who want an Iraq war veteran in Washington.

Coffman notified the Federal Election Commission that he will run in the 6th Congressional District, said Sean Tonner, his campaign spokesman.

Although some of the state's top Republicans have tried to talk Coffman out of running, Tonner said many rank-and-file party members and veterans are thrilled with the idea.

"He's been absolutely inundated the last four days," Tonner said.

Coffman, of Aurora, is expected to be one of at least four candidates seeking the GOP nomination in next year's primary. State Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, will announce today.

Coffman enters the field as the likely favorite given his strong name ID from three statewide victories. But the Republican primary will likely be a race to the right, and look for Harvey to try to position himself as the most Republican of the Republicans in the race.

Tancredo's Out; What's Next?

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 10:02:07 AM MDT

UPDATE: Rep. David Balmer is already out. He posted a comment below to that effect.

Now that Rep. Tom Tancredo has offically announced his plans to not run for re-election in CD-6, what's next? Or, more accurately, who is next?

We've updated The Big Line, but expect to see a lot of changes in the coming months. Republican voters outnumber Democrats by a 2-to-1 margin in CD-6, which is nearly the same margin as the GOP leads in CD-5. While CD-6 isn't nearly as naturally conservative as CD-5, it is one of the richest congressional districts in the entire country and the GOP candidate will have a decisive advantage in the general election. This is also a huge GOP prize, because the winner will likely hold the seat for as long as they want (or at least until redistricting).

With no known or obvious Democrats to consider at this point, here's an early look at the potential candidates on the Republican side:

Who Might Win? (CD6)

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 10:00:00 AM MDT

This is a little different than our polls yesterday (on CD-5, CD-4, and CD-2) and today's poll on the U.S. Senate race.

In this poll, we want to know who you think would win a primary in CD-6 if Rep. Tom Tancredo didn't run again (which many Republicans anticipate).

Click below to vote...

Tancredo Inching Closer to Presidential Run

by: Colorado Pols

Mon Mar 26, 2007 at 18:14:56 PM MDT

Tom Tancredo continues to move closer to becoming a full-fledged candidate for President.

Political commentator Bay Buchanan announced today that she is leaving CNN to become Tancredo's senior advisor, and expects a formal announcement on a Tancredo candidacy in about a week. As the Associated Press reports:

CNN commentator Bay Buchanan said Monday she will temporarily oversee the presidential campaign of Colorado Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo and has resigned from the cable network.

Buchanan said she will function as campaign manager until someone is appointed to that job.

Tancredo said last week he had not yet formally decided whether to run.

"I'm certainly encouraging it," Buchanan said. She said she expects Tancredo to formally announce his plans in the next week or so.

Two things are abundantly clear after this news: 1) The GOP primary fight in CD-6 is about to heat up, and 2) Bay Buchanan is going to be looking for a job in 18 months.

Open the CD-6 Floodgates

by: Colorado Pols

Thu Mar 22, 2007 at 18:35:01 PM MDT

Tom Tancredo announced today that his Presidential exploratory committee has raised more than $1 million, which means, as the Rocky Mountain News reports:

...he had set a goal of raising $1 million for his exploratory committee, Tancredo for a Secure America, by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Crossing that goal, "kicks my enthusiasm level up about a million times," Tancredo said in phone interview. "It just simply means it's certainly more likely that we will announce I will be a candidate for president," he said.

He'll make a final decision within two weeks.

And as Colorado Confidential explains:

More importantly for Colorado, Tancredo's fundraising success means that he is less likely than ever to run for re-election to his congressional seat. Several Republicans, including state Sens. Tom Wiens and Ted Harvey, and Wil Armstrong, son of GOP patriarch Bill Armstrong, have already been putting together shell campaigns for taking a run at CD-6 in the event that Tancredo doesn't run for re-election; expect them, and others, to speed up the process in the next couple of weeks.

Gentlemen...engines...start...ready?