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May 30, 2018 10:55 AM UTC

Did Wayne Williams Help Cover Up Stapleton Petition Fraud?

  • 38 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #3: As the Secretary of State’s pushback continues, Doug Robinson’s campaign responds:

Again, not our words.

—–

UPDATE #2: A detail from a Denver Post story in late March about Doug Robinson’s campaign’s discovery of fraudulent petition gathering tactics by Walker Stapleton demonstrates two very pertinent facts: a strong desire by Robinson to get to the bottom of the situation, at least then–and a direct connection from Stapleton to Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams:

Stapleton spokesman Michael Fortney, whose firm also consults for Secretary of State Wayne Williams’ re-election campaign, [Pols emphasis] said in a statement that he takes the claim seriously but he suggested the motivation for the complaint was political.

The secretary of state’s office said Robinson could take the matter to the local district attorney. His campaign said it wants the secretary of state’s investigation to continue.

“We think there is something there,” Robinson said. “And we think they should look into it.”

Folks, do you suppose the fact that Stapleton and Williams share the same campaign consultants as they both run for re-election in 2018 might imply a closer connection between them than Williams’ spokesperson would like you to believe?

If it seems to you like Williams’ office doth protest too much, that’s because it does.

—–

UPDATE: In response to this post, the Secretary of State’s spokesperson is complaining–but not explaining:

Again, here is the verbatim quote from Doug Robinson at the heart of this story:

And the Secretary of State said that if we would agree not to pursue the Walker signatures, they would go with us in front of a judge and we’d be okay. [Pols emphasis]

These are not our words.

—–

Secretary of State Wayne Williams (R).

An interview from last week of GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug “Mitt Romney’s Nephew” Robinson by April Zesbaugh of KOA-AM news in Denver is getting a lot of belated attention today, after somebody along the line realized the importance of what was said. Turning to the subject of GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Walker Stapleton’s ballot petitions, which Stapleton withdrew after they were approved by fellow Republican Secretary of State Wayne Williams, Robinson makes what seems to be a startling admission.

Transcript:

ZESBAUGH: Let’s talk about the weird balloting process this year — good people getting kicked off the ballot, because of signatures and how they were gathered. How concerned were you just a few weeks ago, when you almost weren’t going to be on the ballot because of petitions in one district — I think — we’re short by 22 signatures.

ROBINSON: Yeah, so, uh, this was a new experience for me. But we felt good about it from the beginning. You know, the facts were — basically, we accidentally discovered that Walker Stapleton’s team was not gathering the right way, and committing fraud in that process. We, uh — Walker turned in his petitions, anyways. We turned ours in. The Secretary of State approved Walker’s signatures. Walker admitted that some of his were fraudulently collected. Secretary of State said that we were barely short, as as you said. We demonstrated that that was not the case. And the Secretary of State said that if we would agree not to pursue the Walker signatures, they would go with us in front of a judge and we’d be okay. [Pols emphasis] We agreed. We went in front of the judge. It was a 10 minute conversation. We were on the ballot. So, this whole thing has been kind of a crazy process. But that’s what happened. Those are the facts.

The timeline leading up to this situation is what’s critical: Stapleton’s petitions were “validated” by the Secretary of State on April 6, even though Robinson’s campaign was raising concerns about the legitimacy of those petitions–concerns that turned out to be dead-on accurate–in late March. It was days after Williams’ certification of Stapleton’s petitions, April 10, when Stapleton appeared at a press conference to announce that some of his signatures were collected fraudulently and that he would seek a spot on the ballot via the state GOP assembly.

And then Robinson’s campaign, which correctly identified the petition fraud that Williams’ office once again missed, was ruled by the same Secretary of State to be insufficient by 22 signatures. When considered against the backdrop of an obviously flawed process to validate Stapleton’s fraudulent petitions, the punctiliousness showed by Williams against Robinson is deeply questionable.

And that’s before Williams made a deal with Robinson to keep it all under wraps. Obviously to a neophyte candidate like Robinson, confronted with a Byzantine process controlled by a partisan official that just tossed him off the ballot, a deal by that same official to “go with us in front of a judge” and fix everything up would sound pretty good! All that was necessary was to “agree not to pursue the Walker signatures” and everything would turn out just fine.

Especially for Walker Stapleton and Wayne Williams, the one who submitted fraudulent petitions and the one who “validated” them. If Robinson’s story is accurate, this appears to be a Republican secretary of state using his influence over the election process to cover up the favored Republican candidate’s petition fraud–and in the most charitable analysis, Williams’ own incompetence.

And that, gentle reader, would be a very big scandal indeed.

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38 thoughts on “Did Wayne Williams Help Cover Up Stapleton Petition Fraud?”

    1. It's exactly how Gessler operated, and it stinks to high heaven. Williams made Walker's problem go away and all it cost him was giving Robinson his non-shot at the ballot. This is what happens when the fox runs the henhouse.

  2. Fascinating, deal making revelation, kind of politically odious where it appears Williams is protecting democracy with his usual integrity. 

  3. The Secretary of State can do whatever he wants. This is complete bullcrap. Robinson's campaign was trying to get ALL of Stapleton's signatures thrown out, and all Williams did was explain that there was an easier way to get on the ballot.

    You are completely misrepresenting this story, Colorado Pols. Please delete this post.

    2. The Secretary of State can do whatever he wants.

      How authoritarian of you.  The SOS doesn't have to abide by any rules?  Is this because he is a Republican, and fascist Republicans can do whatever they want?

      Btw, how are things going with your girlfriend?  Okay?  Has she recovered from her 5% shellacking at the state convention?

        1. Jesus was a socialist.  He condemned the rich for their extravagance and urged all to treat their enemies with respect and love.  Do you hate Jesus too or do you use him instead of follow him?

    3. Heeeeey, they finally replaced the troll that they executed for trolling for the wrong gubernatorial candidate! You have very tiny shoes to fill my friend. Worst of luck to you. 

        1. Doubt it. You might not like Bartels but she's smarter than Moderanus.

          Now that Robinson's spox has blown her out of the water, Bartels will probably shut up if she knows what's good for her. Robinson clearly doesn't agree there's nothing to see here.

          2. I'm not Lynn Bartels, but it's flattering! You're just taking advantage of the fact that Democrats can't win or hold the SOS to save your life, otherwise it would be obvious that the SOS helps candidates in both parties comply with the law. That's their job. Colorado Pols should spend less time trying to meddle in GOP primaries and more time figuring out how to beat Stapleton.

            1. CPols’ primary job is to make fun of Republicans with funny GIFs and Photoshops. Figuring out how Dems can win is wayyyyyyyyy down the list. 

  4. A Radical Conservative from CO Springs spreading corruption statewide. This is why I urge everyone keep an eye on our political freak show and for Dems to network here to help fight the Republican hegemony. 

    1. * – There might not be enough D’s here to eject Lamebrain from office, but there are enough to prevent future Wayne Williams from happening. 

  5. Should let the county clerks elect a nonpartisan secretary of state to just run elections and nothing else — transfer all the other clerk duties to the Dept of Administration. The clerks would select someone focused on the efficient management and nothing else!

    1. I like the idea of county clerks choosing an administrator.

      I'd like it even more if the ballot rules were more straight-forward and less subject to judgment calls by the Secretary of State (or the courts that overrule that judgment). For example, how about computerizing the petition process, and having whoever gets the voter to sign on first get credit for that voter, rather than a paper and pen process with obviously inaccurate checks and a determination based on who turns in the entire petition first? Validation of the voter by a picture.

    2. I'd rather we elect a Secretary of State with some integrity – Jena Griswold will handle this complex job competently and fairly.

      Changing the structure of how the Secretary of State is elected would require a Constitutional amendment – not a likely scenario.

      But you are right to applaud the county clerks – R & D alike, they are public service heroes. Most clerks did not go along with Sec State Gessler's attempts to undermine Colorado elections.

       

        1. No, Williams whined about how much it would cost to mail ballots to inactive voters.

          And no, he was Gessler’s lone ally among the county Clerks, and did not sign on to the lawsuit.

          However, Williams did sign on with Pueblo's Clerk Gilbert Ortiz to be able to send out mail ballots for the recall election in a timely manner. This would not have included the Libertarian  and "faux – Dem" candidates who wanted to be included on the ballot as replacements for Senators Giron and Morse.

           

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