July 07, 2010 06:41 PM UTC

Maes: $45,000 Pocketed for "Mileage" Nets "Parking Ticket"

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Grand Junction Sentinel’s Charles Ashby reports on GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes’ deepening chutzpah issues–apparently the $45,000 personal campaign cash machine he is alleged to have repeatedly tapped is no big deal at all. Thanks for clearing that up!

About $27,000 in fines that gubernatorial candidate Dan Maes has agreed to pay for various campaign-finance violations are akin to paying parking tickets, the Republican told his supporters in an e-mail Friday.

In that e-mail, sent to Sheryl Fernandez, volunteer coordinator for the Dan Maes for Governor campaign, the Evergreen businessman said his opponents would manipulate facts and bend the truth with “blatant lies” as the Aug. 10 primary nears.

“This suit is timed to be publicized in conjunction with the primary vote,” Maes wrote in the e-mail. “It is our judgment to agree to the claims, which amount to parking tickets in the grand scheme of things. An example is as minor as not correctly listing the occupation of a donor correctly.”

Maes was responding to a complaint filed by Grand Junction resident Christopher Klitzke, who alleged the candidate violated campaign-finance laws when he reimbursed himself nearly $45,000 for mileage, accepted a contribution from a corporation and failed to note occupations for several donors.

So, um, yeah, the $45,000 is kind of the big deal here, not so much the “as minor as” example cited. We’ve noted previously how Maes’ campaign seems to be a weird personal indulgence rather than an actual campaign, with the GOP primary success he’s enjoyed so far a reflection of frontrunner Scott McInnis’ glaring weakness–not Maes’ strength.

Well, $45,000 for “mileage” is certainly indulgent.