January 28, 2011 03:40 AM UTC

Ethics Watch CORAs Employment Agreements for Gessler, Stapleton

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• by: Colorado Pols

From a release this afternoon:

Today, Colorado Ethics Watch, a nonpartisan, nonprofit legal watchdog group, sent Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests in writing to State Treasurer Walker Stapleton, Secretary of State Scott Gessler, and Attorney General John Suthers requesting information relating to the outside employment of Walker Stapleton while he is State Treasurer and Scott Gessler while he is Secretary of State, specifically any employment agreement or consulting contract.  Stapleton, Gessler and Suthers have three days to provide the requested documents according to state law.

“There’s no question that the planned moonlighting by Scott Gessler has raised serious questions about conflict of interest, but we don’t want to lose sight of potentially serious conflicts possible in Walker Stapleton’s outside employment as well,” said Luis Toro, director of Colorado Ethics Watch.  “At the very least, the public has a right to know the terms of both arrangements.  When employees who work for the Treasurer or Secretary of State want to get a second job, they need permission from their boss.  In this case, the Treasurer’s boss and the Secretary of State’s boss is the Colorado voter.  As the employers of Treasurer Stapleton and Secretary of State Gessler, the voters deserve to know the terms of their outside employment arrangements.”

Full release, and links to Ethics Watch’s Colorado Open Records Act request letters here.