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May 12, 2015 03:35 PM UTC

Who Is Lisa Pinto? Jeffco Parents Might Not Like The Answer

  • 28 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

nopinto3Lisa Pinto’s resume, marked “NO” by a Jeffco employee involved in the search process.

Former Colorado GOP chairman Ryan Call, Jefferson County Communications Officer Lisa Pinto.
Former Colorado GOP chairman Ryan Call, Jefferson County Communications Officer Lisa Pinto.

Since being hired last January, Republican media consultant Lisa Pinto has been the point person for the unenviable task of messaging the controversial actions of the Jefferson County Board of Education’s conservative majority. Pinto, a former official with ousted GOP state chairman Ryan Call’s much-balleyhooed “SuperPAC” along with another GOP media type who pled guilty to campaign finance violations earlier this year, has worked to smooth over ongoing embarrassments from far-right board member Julie Williams, and brought in conservative media relations firm Novitas Communications to help improve the district’s rapidly deteriorating image.

Last January, local blogger Paula Reed wrote in detail about Pinto’s hiring, including the conclusion by members of the interview committee that Pinto was unqualified for the job of communications director for Jefferson County Public Schools. Yesterday, some of the correspondence related to this hiring process appeared on our desk–and while we’re protecting identities involved with redactions, it’s clear that Pinto had some serious issues going into her interview.

nopinto1

These handwritten notes from a Jeffco Schools employee describe Pinto as “lacking deeper experience in PR,” “guarded” and “political” and given to “lawyer speak,” with “no current experience,” “not great media contacts,” no recent on-camera experience, and (critically for this job) “no K-12 experience.” Another email strongly recommends against hiring and possibly even conducting further interviews with her, based on discrepancies in her resume:

nopinto2

Not a very auspicious review. Here’s a little more detail:

nopinto4

We’ve done some Googling as well, and we haven’t found anything close to 200 media appearances by Lisa Pinto in any capacity. Now, that’s not to say that Pinto has no on-camera experience. One of the few media appearances we were able to find with her was an episode of Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher from 2002–certainly a high-profile appearance, albeit nearly fifteen years old. But there’s a problem: appearing as a Republican-leaning pundit, this clip of Pinto being smacked down by Maher and William Shatner isn’t one that would encourage us to hire her to speak for a school district:

BILL MAHER: People say ‘why aren’t you married,’ I never go up to you and say, ‘why aren’t you divorced yet?’

LISA PINTO: But you know what, the species can’t continue if we don’t have children and raise them nicely…

WILLIAM SHATNER: Well you don’t have to be married to do that…

PINTO: I mean, children, children who have single parents don’t do, they don’t thrive. They commit crimes, they do drugs, they’re depressed…

SHATNER: What?!

(Audience boos)

PINTO: It’s true! The ‘shoe-bomber’ is a, has a single mother! This guy who came here…

SHATNER: The ‘shoe-bomber’ has a single mother? Size 9 1/2!

PINTO: It’s true though! We can mock marriage and family, but that’s the cornerstone…

SHATNER: Wow.

MAHER: Even Dan Quayle couldn’t have made that leap. [Pols emphasis] Even Murphy Brown, and that’s like…

Yikes! We’d say Ms. Pinto owes the children of single parents in Jefferson County Public Schools an apology.

With all of this in mind, it’s painfully obvious why Pinto got the $120,000 job of chief communications officer for Jeffco public schools. With limited PR experience at best and no K-12 experience at all, her qualifications are political in nature, based on her political compatibility with the far-right majority on the Jeffco school board. Her practical qualifications as a communications employee are directly undermined by her need to hire contracted comms staff from Novitas to help her do her real job damage control as public opinion turns against the board majority, digging up dirt on dissenting students and parents, and running cover for what Jon Caldara calls “Dougco-like reforms” being plotted in one of the state’s largest and best public school districts.

Lisa Pinto may not be succeeding at this job either, but partisan political hack is a job for which she does at least appear qualified.

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28 thoughts on “Who Is Lisa Pinto? Jeffco Parents Might Not Like The Answer”

  2. Already established that Pinto was a political hire and the search effort was a charade. But Jeffco has some serious operational issues if they are not able to keep personnel and search records confidential.

    1. Where is the line?  I believe that I heard, during the board meeting where her hiring was announced, from one of the board minority, that she was not recommended to be hired by the district staff.  That was made public.  She was hired anyhow because, as I understand it, the final decision is McMinimee's.  What personnel records are confidential, and which are public records subject to CORA requests?

  3. It's like all those young inexperienced people GW sent to run the civilian side of Iraq because they gave the right answer on abortion and graduated from Liberty College (or U. I forget. The Falwell one.)

    1. Or the Dept. of Justice hires as well…

      What I don't understand is why they needed to hire her when a much more qualified person was available right here in Colorado.  Didn't they even consider Michael "Heck of a job Brownie" Brown?

  5. She should have known better than to go up against Captain Kirk.

    She would have been better off taking on Jean Luc Picard what with him being French and all.

    1. I'd take Jean Luc over Kirk any day because even though Kirk was younger than Picard was when he was Captain he was undisciplined, too emotionally volatile and never the sharpest knife in the drawer. Picard, always in control, would have wiped the floor with him. He'd just have to wait (for as long as maybe a few seconds) for Kirk to do something stupid. Or get distracted by the blue or green space babe du jour. Or get stuck in one of those signature mid-sentence pauses.

      Heard an interview with Patrick Stewart in which they talked about the fact that he was supposed to be French as Picard but had an English accent in the role. He said they tried having him do it with a French accent but he sounded too much like an imitation of Peter Seller's Inspector Clouseau which kind of spoiled the gravitas.

              1. I remember hearing Shatner on the Mike Douglas Show doing Tambourine Man (I will spare you that travesty).  But found this in the comments section.  BC, your guess as to Shatner's sobriety is probably right on the mark:

                ritter89 2 months ago

                This one is much better than the Rocket Man cover, imo. I heard he was drinking heavily during the recording sessions for the album, which makes the whole thing even funnier. That crazy screaming at the end is the best (2:45 to the end)

          1. What? No Commander Sisko? No William Riker? Come on now..If we're going to go into the relative hotness of Star Fleet commanders, let's do it right.

            Elliot should be glad, at least we're no longer talking about whats-her-name, and how she's trying to remake Jeffco Public Schools into Vacation Bible School or the prep school for Liberty University. She'd be a piss-poor Starfleet Commander. As would Mini Me. 

            1. I was grading on competence but as a teen I always preferred Spock to Kirk on the original and much much later liked Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathon Archer on the short lived Star Trek Enterprise. Was sorry to see that one canceled. Liked it's darker less bright and shiny early Enterprise vibe. Next Gen is my fave and loved all the regulars but had no particular hotness fave there. Worf certainly filled out a Star Fleet officer's uniform nicely, though. And without all that stuff on his forehead actor Michael Dorn is super handsome. We're going to get in trouble for thread jacking if we don't STOP!!!!!! Which reminds me of the immortal Trouble with Tribbles Star Trek Classic episode……

              1. 35 year Star Trek reruns are more interesting than a lawyer lying on her resume.  But I was glad to see ol' EF jumpin' to her defense.  IOIYAR must be doubly or triply true if you are also a fellow shyster in Fladenville.  How dare we criticize a Republican lawyer????!!!!

  6. Agreed that this looks like whistleblowing. There are some serious issues if this horrible candidate was pushed through the interview and vetting process to get the job. And look at the awful job she is doing…

  7. Yale should be embarassed that one of its graduates writes so poorly. I'd check to see if her education credentials are legitimate were I an enterprising young journalist. Which I'm not.

    2. Her Linked In profile is full of grammatical errors.

      Also, she doesn't appear to be licensed as an attorney in Colorado, although she touts that she is an attorney.

      1. She's admitted to the bar in NY.  She can be "an attorney" here, she just can't do any attorneying without being admitted to the CO bar (which she probably could do through reciprocity).

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