April 21, 2009 08:30 PM UTC

How Will Josh Penry Sidestep FOIA?

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• by: gopstudent

(It’s CORA, actually but look at them go at it! – promoted by Colorado Pols)

Josh Penry’s people have been relentlessly fueling speculation that he may run for governor.  Which raises the question; how much of this fueling is being done in the offices of the sate capital and how many phone calls, emails, and other uses of state owned resources have been used to promote the Senator’s political ambitions?  This seems like a reasonable inquiry considering that essentially all of his political resources involve his Senate offices and the State Capitol.

It’s a tongue-in-cheek joke these days that the Capitol has become Penry 2010 campaign headquarters.  Spend enough time around the Senate and House alike, and these types of comments are guaranteed to be heard frequently among both Democrats and Republicans.  It may not be so funny though if people start digging into the Senator’s records and find that a significant amount of covert campaigning has gone on behind the closed doors of his Senate offices.  It’s only a matter of time until The Denver Post, Grand Junction Sentinel, Colorado Pols and other resourceful media outlets, with the help of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), explore Penry’s phone records, text records, emails, web activity, etc.

If the Republican Party aspires to retake the governor’s seat, they better hope this happens soon.  It’s certain that Ritter’s campaign will be ready to milk this for all it’s worth, and rightfully so.  Penry and his staff have no right to use public resources for his own personal political ambitions, and FOIA is in place to help catch him if they did.

FOIA Website:  http://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/