May 11, 2007 06:11 PM UTC

Coffman In It Up to His Knees

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• by: Colorado Pols

The more Secretary of State Mike Coffman tries to distance himself from this scandal, the worse it gets.

The state auditor has launched an investigation into the side work of Coffman’s political appointee, Dan Kopelman. As the Rocky Mountain News reports:

The state auditor has broadened an investigation of the Colorado secretary of state’s office to determine whether any employees have misused state resources to enrich themselves.

The expanded inquiry by state Auditor Sally Symanski was sought by the watchdog group Colorado Citizens for Ethics in Government.

Symanski could not be reached for comment Thursday. But secretary of state spokesman Jonathan Tee and state Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, confirmed a broader audit.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Coffman reassigned a technology supervisor and longtime political ally who operated a side business selling voter information for mainly Republican interests.

Dan Kopelman was reassigned from election operations to a job where he will not have access to voter data. His $85,000 annual salary was cut by $9,240.

An internal investigation by the secretary of state’s office determined that Kopelman did not access or sell state voter information, according to Tee. But he said Kopelman broke two state personnel rules by engaging in outside employment without gaining Coffman’s permission and by hosting a partisan political Web site while working in the elections division.

Coffman is claiming ignorance on this one, but the editorial board of the Rocky Mountain News isn’t buying it:

But selling voter information definitely conflicts with work in the elections division, even if it’s done after-hours. Coffman maintains an internal investigation revealed that Kopelman didn’t access or sell voter information, but he’s called in the state auditor’s office to check further. If it turns out that Kopelman did exploit his job, then further discipline would be required.

Coffman said he didn’t know about Kopelman’s Web site until it was brought to his attention the other day. That’s somewhat surprising, but even more surprising is that he didn’t take special pains to make sure Kopelman quit his voter data business while working in the elections division. The Web site was especially offensive since Kopelman had updated his biographical information to note that he was in fact working for the secretary of state.

Coffman didn’t know about Kopelman’s Web site? He and Kopelman are longtime political allies, and Coffman paid Kopelman for political work during his campaign last year. This could get worse before it gets better for Coffman.