October 24, 2011 09:00 PM UTC

"If Tipton Is the Umpire, He's Just Been Paid"

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• by: Colorado Pols

Campaign finance issues have derailed many a campaign in recent years, and while this latest issue with Republican Rep. Scott Tipton isn’t anything close to a game-changer, it certainly doesn’t make him look very good.

Tipton recently organized a meeting between oil company SG Interests and The Thompson Divide Coalition, a group of citizens in Carbondale opposed to a plan for drilling in the area. So what’s the problem? Tipton apparently accepted $10,600 in donations in the third quarter of 2011 from executives, investors and other folks connected to SG Interests. David Donnelly of Public Campaigns, a national nonprofit interested in campaign finance reform, told The Aspen Times that Tipton’s organizing this meeting was like a baseball umpire taking money before a World Series game. “If Tipton is the Ump, he’s just been paid,” said Donnelly.

That’s a nice quote for a future TV ad, wouldn’t you say?