March 30, 2007 04:22 PM UTC

Stafford Clams Up About "Threats," New Rules Coming

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• by: Colorado Pols

Attempts to put a lid on Rep. Debbie Stafford’s allegations of “threatening” conversations with House Republican leadership got some help this morning from the Denver Post’s Karen Crummy.

Complaints from a state legislator have prompted House Speaker Andrew Romanoff to draft new ethics rules prohibiting lawmakers from threatening each other.

Although state Rep. Debbie Stafford of Aurora says she was the recipient of political advice from a fellow Republican colleague, and not threatened, Romanoff said the matter showed a gap in House ethics rules…

Stafford’s intraparty squabble started when she felt pressured by lobbyists whose clients opposed a construction-defects bill backed by Democrats. After a recent bill she sponsored was heavily opposed by homebuilders, and subsequently killed, Stafford said she was “mad at the homebuilders because they are extremely punitive.” But, she said, she was trying to remain open on the construction-defects bill.

However, “heavy-handed lobbying” from the industry started to anger her. Additionally, she found herself supporting the bill.

“I will not be blackmailed,” she said. Then, House Minority Leader Mike May, R-Parker, talked to her about adding Republican-backed amendments to the bill. He was followed by Rep. David Balmer, R-Centennial. At that point, Stafford alleges Balmer told her: “If you run for another office, someone like (lobbyist) Steve Durham may use it against you.”

“It wasn’t a threat,” she said. “He was trying to give me advice that it would likely be used against me in an election.” [Pols emphasis]

Balmer denies that he ever said anything like that. “It didn’t happen,” he said.

May said that even if Stafford’s version of what happened was accurate, politics is politics…

Stafford said she supports a change in the ethics rules, such as that suggested by Romanoff. But for now, she just wants “the discussion to come to an end.”

We bet she does, especially after the brutal lectures we understand she’s had from fellow Republicans in the last few days about her ‘disruption’ and taking an ‘internal matter’ like this into the public arena — she won’t be talking to the press about those, however.

As for May, just a few days ago he said that Stafford’s claims “never happened,” but now he says that if it did happen, well, politics is politics. We’d write more here, but there’s plenty between the lines.