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Search Results for: jefferson county corruption

Why Was Jim Congrove Honored on the Senate Floor?

Posted on by Colorado Pols

Last week, State Senator Evie Hudak co-sponsored a resolution honoring former State Senator (and Jefferson County Commissioner) Jim Congrove on the floor of the Senate. Congrove, who opted not to run for re-election in 2008 after becoming embroiled in several corruption scandals, died earlier this year.

From the Colorado Senate Majority:

DENVER─ Today, the Senate honored former Republican Senator Jim Congrove in a bipartisan memorial resolution sponsored by Senator Evie Hudak (D-Westminster).  Senator Congrove was a Vietnam War veteran and former undercover narcotics officer. He was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1994 and to the Colorado State Senate in 1996.  Senator Congrove also served as a Jefferson County Commissioner from 2005-2009.  He passed away on January 10.

Below is the full text of Senator Congrove’s Senate memorial:

WHEREAS, Our respected former colleague, Jim Congrove, a past  member of the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives, departed this life on January 10, 2012, at the age of 65, in Arvada; and

WHEREAS, Senator Congrove was born on May 5, 1946; and

WHEREAS, Senator Congrove graduated from Boys Town in Nebraska, where he was named head commissioner in the cottage where he resided; and

WHEREAS, After serving in the Vietnam War, Senator Congrove returned to Colorado and enrolled in Adams State College; and

WHEREAS, Senator Congrove served first in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1994 to 1996, during which time he served on the House Finance and State Veterans and Military Affairs committees; and

WHEREAS, From 1996 to 2000, Senator Congrove served in the Colorado Senate, where he was a member of several committees, including the Health Environment Welfare and Institutions, Local Government, and State Veterans and Military Affairs committees; and

WHEREAS, While serving in the Colorado General Assembly, Senator Congrove, who was a former undercover narcotics officer, sponsored a bill that further restricted no-knock warrants; and

WHEREAS, While serving in the Senate, Senator Congrove also sponsored a bill granting disabled veterans free entrance to parks, legislation affecting the governance of charter schools, and legislation updating the certification system of the Peace Officers Standards and Training Board; and

WHEREAS, Senator Congrove’s public service did not end with his tenure in the General Assembly; in 2004, he was elected as Jefferson County Commissioner for District 1; and

WHEREAS, Senator Congrove said that the primary job of a county commissioner was to be a good steward of the taxpayers’ dollars and support property rights, government accountability, and limited taxation; and

WHEREAS, As a pilot himself, Senator Congrove had a particular interest in improving the Jefferson County Airport, which he called “the absolute crown jewel of Jefferson County”, and he was instrumental in changing its name to the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport; and

WHEREAS, In addition to his involvement with public service, Senator Congrove cherished his family and loved spending time with them, especially his two daughters and three grandchildren; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

That, in the death of Jim Congrove, the people of the state of Colorado have lost a dedicated public servant and outstanding citizen, and that we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, do hereby extend our deep and heartfelt sympathy to the members of his family and pay tribute to a man who served his state well and faithfully.

Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Memorial be sent to Senator Congrove’s wife, Judy Congrove; his two daughters, Jennifer Fawcett and Jamie Lombardi; and his sister, Marie Hebdon.

We’re sure that this resolution means a lot to Congrove’s grieving family. That said, however, Congrove’s reputation as a crook most certainly overshadows the positive contributions he did make to public service.

After all, this is the same Jim Congrove who was a card-carrying member of the Jeffco “Kings of Corruption,” alongside former Commissioner Kevin McCasky and former Treasurer Mark Paschall. This is the same Jim Congrove who was accused of using public funds to spy on county employees, county critics, private citizens, and even other elected officials; who cost Jeffco taxpayers thousands of dollars in legal fees; who was accused of lying to investigators about his role in the mysterious disappearance of legal files. The list goes on and on.

What was Senator Hudak thinking? We understand the mentality behind memorializing recently-deceased politicians, but usually, those politicians left behind a legacy worth honoring. Jim Congrove’s repeated ethical missteps as a county commissioner should have totally precluded the passage — or even the introduction — of this resolution.

Put simply, you can’t whitewash over Congrove’s ethical missteps just because he passed away.

Congrove might have believed that his job as a county commissioner was to “be a good steward of the taxpayers’ dollars” and to champion government accountability. The problem is the gigantic chasm between what Congrove said and what he did. It’s absurd to celebrate his words while ignoring his actions.

Evie Hudak and the General Assembly could pass hundreds of gushing resolutions honoring Jim Congrove, but they won’t make his tainted legacy go away. You can’t forgive the unforgivable.

After all, people will remember Jim Congrove not for the kind words spoken about him in the halls of government but instead for the gallons of newspaper ink directly tying him to scandal.  

Welcome to Jeffco, Rod Blagojevich

Posted on by Colorado Pols

Disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will no longer be calling the Land of Lincoln “home.” Instead, he’ll be settling down right here in Jefferson County, Colorado. Not by choice, of course! From 9News: LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) – Convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich entered a federal prison in Colorado on Thursday to begin a […]

Welcome to Jeffco, Rod Blagojevich

Posted on by Colorado Pols

Disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will no longer be calling the Land of Lincoln “home.” Instead, he’ll be settling down right here in Jefferson County, Colorado. Not by choice, of course!

From 9News:

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) – Convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich entered a federal prison in Colorado on Thursday to begin a 14-year sentence for corruption, the latest chapter in the downfall of a charismatic politician that seemed more like a bizarre reality TV show than a legal battle.

Followed by helicopters and television news crews broadcasting his every move, the 55-year-old Democrat pulled up in a black SUV at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in suburban Denver just before 1 p.m. after stopping for lunch and taking a break to make a cellphone call.

“I think it’s kind of surreal to him, but he seems in good spirits,” said Brian Pyle, who owns the Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers in Littleton where Blogojevich had lunch with three other people…

Blagojevich sounded an optimistic and even defiant note, as he has done repeatedly before and after he was convicted on several corruption charges that included attempting to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.

“I’m leaving with a heavy heart, a clear conscience and I have high, high hopes for the future,” said Blagojevich, wearing a dark shirt, sport coat and blue jeans.

Next time you’re driving down Kipling, just south of Hampden, you might just be lucky enough to catch Blago wistfully combing his perfectly-coiffed hair behind a barred window.

And hey, maybe Kevin McCasky will drop in during visitation hours to get some advice on how he too can turn his ethical problems into a primetime spot on The Apprentice.  

Casey Tighe to Take on John Odom

Posted on by Colorado Pols

Jefferson County Democrats have been struggling to field candidates in the two countywide commissioner races this cycle.

Commissioner Faye Griffin is vying for a second term in 2012, and Commissioner John Odom, who filled the vacancy created after Kevin McCasky’s controversial move to the Jefferson County Economic Council, is seeking a full term. No Democrats had announced to take on either Griffin or Odom until attorney Casey Tighe filed papers late last month for Odom’s District 2 seat.

From the Columbine Courier:

Democrat Casey Tighe has the lofty goal of unseating Jeffco Commissioner John Odom in November, and the Colorado Department of Transportation audit director is ending his 24-year career to focus completely on his campaign.

Tighe, a longtime Golden resident who filed his candidate affidavit on Jan. 27, said he does not foresee a highly charged, partisan race for the District 2 seat, which in recent years has been dominated by Republicans.

A Republican vacancy committee appointed Odom to fill the seat vacated by former commissioner Kevin McCasky a year ago, when McCasky accepted a job as head of the Jefferson County Economic Development Corp.

“I don’t know that this will be a real partisan race,” Tighe said. “You’re looking for someone who will run an effective government.”

The last Democrat to fill an elected office in Jefferson County was former commissioner Kathy Hartman, who in 2010 was defeated by District 3 Commissioner Don Rosier, a Republican. Hartman was also the first Democrat elected to the seat in 14 years when she won the office in 2006.

But despite the local electorate’s historically conservative leanings, Tighe, 52, said his auditing expertise will make him a competitive candidate.

“I can provide a fresh set of eyes and perspective as a county commissioner,” said Tighe, who was serving on the county audit committee last year when the current Board of Commissioners dissolved it. “I try to make my decisions based on the facts … and not purely on ideology. There’s a lot of talk right now about cutting government … but you need to make the right decisions about where can you cut and where you focus the government’s efforts.”

Further, county residents are interested in a business-friendly atmosphere, he said, an insight that does not appear lost on the current board.

“I know Jefferson County. I know what the people are looking for. … People are interested in business development. They want to see businesses grow,” Tighe said, adding that county services should be streamlined and helpful. “The government should be elegant in that the customer has a positive experience. … It should be an efficient process. You shouldn’t have to go back again to get service.”

That political newcomer Tighe is the only Democratic candidate set to take on Odom in District 2 shows just how intimidating the commissioner’s races are for Democrats. Odom, who lost his first ever political bid against Cheri Jahn for the SD-20 seat in 2010, is arguably much more vulnerable in his re-election bid than Griffin – he lost his last campaign for a much smaller office and never before has been on the ballot countywide. Even with that inherent vulnerability, however, no big-name Democrats were willing to challenge him for the District 2 seat, leaving the race open to the relatively unknown Tighe.

Can Tighe win? He’s got an interesting pedigree, at the very least. The longtime CDOT audit director also served as the chairman of the Jefferson County Audit Committee, qualifications which will enable Tighe to campaign on government transparency and accountability. Those talking points may resonate in light of Jeffco’s own “Bridge to Nowhere” scandal if Tighe can make the case that he’s better qualified than Odom to root out county corruption.

With no contribution limits in county races, however, Tighe’s talking points won’t be relevant unless he can raise enough to televise them. Tighe may have some contacts with the Colorado Trial Lawyer’s Association, but he doesn’t have a record as an elected official. Without it or any other indicator of previous success, Tighe will struggle with convincing donors that he can win the election against Odom. There’s just no way that Tighe’s fundraising list, as a political newcomer, will be long enough to really give incumbent Odom a run for his money.

The commissioner’s race is an important challenge for Democrats – a strong presence at the countywide level will boost turnout for State House and Senate Candidates, especially given that there are no statewide offices up this year with the exception of CU regent at-large.

Tighe may prove a worthy adversary for Odom, but the numbers aren’t on his side. There are more residents in Jefferson County than in the entire state of Wyoming, and unless Democratic challengers can raise the kind of money characteristic of a congressional race, incumbent Republicans will continue to dominate county level politics. Without previous elected service and with a low name-ID, it’s unlikely that Tighe will be able to pull in enough cash to be viable.  

Still no word on who, if anybody, will take on Faye Griffin.  

Ethics Watch: “Top Ethical Failures of 2011”

Posted on by Colorado Pols

‘Tis the season for annual shame lists, from Colorado Ethics Watch’s release today: In its annual effort to round up the year in ethics in Colorado, Ethics Watch honed in on the largest controversies and qualified them as the Top Ethical Failures of 2011.  The most egregious of ethical failures took place in Adams County, […]

Ray LaHood Responds to Jeffco’s “Bridge to Nowhere”

Posted on by Colorado Pols

Like many, we’ve been keeping a keen eye on Kyle Clark’s reporting on Jeffco’s so-called “Bridge to Nowhere,” a rarely used pedestrian bridge at Wadsworth Boulevard and Bowles Avenue in south Jeffco.

It’s a story with legs, so to speak. In fact, taxpayers (aided by Clark and 9News) have raised such a stir that even Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has had to defend the use of federal funds on the project.

From 9News:

9Wants to Know asked U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood about the project during a recent interview opportunity provided by White House officials.

LaHood bristled at the suggestion that federal funds were being spent on expensive and unnecessary projects.

“These are hard earned tax dollars and we take serious our responsibility to make sure that the money that we allocate is spent correctly on projects that people want in their communities,” LaHood said.

LaHood’s staff subsequently reached out to 9Wants to Know for more information on the pedestrian bridge project but then did not respond to multiple phone calls offering additional information and seeking comment on federal involvement in the project

The real story here – given Jeffco’s rather unique history of commissioner corruption – isn’t that the commissioners wasted millions of tax dollars on a useless bridge. It’s who convinced them to make that decision.

With a $1.5 million contract awarded to build the bridge, we’re pretty sure Muller Engineering knows the answer. Somebody within the Jefferson County government needs to provide a (real) answer as well.

Clark agrees:

Bauer said an engineering study was done to determine projected usage of the bridge. In emails to concerned taxpayers, Bauer cited the study’s projection of 100 pedestrians/bicyclists per day, not mentioning that the figure was for the year 2030.

The study was conducted by Muller Engineering of Lakewood. In one internal email, Jeffco Transportation and Engineering Director Kevin French says Muller “milked” the project for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

County records indicate that Muller was awarded about $1.6 million in contracts for the entire Wadsworth-Bowles intersection improvement project that, including the pedestrian bridge, totaled $8 to $9 million.

Additionally, two Muller employees are listed on the membership roster of a steering committee that recommended building the bridge. Muller president Robert Carlson denied that his employees were on the steering committee but could not explain why the names of two Muller engineers appear on a steering committee list provided by the county.

In a written statement, Carlson denied “milking” the project for money, as suggested by French.

“Muller Engineering’s involvement in the pedestrian bridge project on Wadsworth Boulevard north of Bowles Avenue came as a result of Jefferson County contracting Muller to provide a feasibility study for the bridge,” Carlson said. “At no time was it Muller’s position to be an advocate for the bridge.”

The final paragraph of the Muller study used to justify the building of the bridge reads in part that the bridge “will provide a viable and desirable transportation enhancement.”

Reached via telephone and asked whether that summary constituted advocacy for the bridge, Carlson hung up the phone

Jeffco’s Transportation and Engineering Director Kevin French best encapsulates the whole situation in noting that that Muller was “milking” the project.

But who helped Muller “milk” the county, and why? Two Muller employees sitting on the committee that ultimately recommended the bridge certainly raises questions about conflicts-of-interest. But considering the historic relationship county commissioners have had with interested third parties when it comes time to divvy out county funds, we’re sure Clark and his team at 9News will start focusing on the conversations Muller had with the Board of Commissioners at the time the bridge was approved.

With former Commissioner Kevin McCasky already having to answer uncomfortable questions about the Jefferson Economic Council and Faye Griffin facing re-election next year, neither could be thrilled that this story is starting to turn heads nationally.

The thing is, though, taxpayers really hate when their money gets wasted. Somebody’s going to have to explain why Muller was awarded such a lucrative contract despite the county’s financial woes. When that explanation is unearthed, we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just the latest scandal to rock county politics here in Jeffco.

It’s a shocking story, but it’s not surprising. Welcome to Jefferson County.  

Why does Congrove want Paschall off the hook? Hello?

Posted on by JeffcoBlue

( – promoted by Colorado Pols) UPDATE — ANOTHER MISTRIAL. My God, can Storey convict ANYONE?! It was on tape! Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey said he hasn’t decided whether former county Treasurer Mark Paschall will be tried a third time for an alleged kickback scheme. A jury deadlocked Thursday on whether Paschall solicited […]

Candidate Jason Bane – how local politics shape energy policy

Posted on by wade norris

(I think this Jason guy posts here occasionally… – promoted by DavidThi808) This year, we have an opportunity to make a big impact on Jefferson county, and our entire state. Jason Bane is challenging Kevin McCaskey for County Commissioner, and after you hear some of the scandalous activity this board of commissioners has engaged in, […]

Paschall Trial Begins This Week

Posted on by Colorado Pols

Former Jefferson County Treasurer Mark Paschall goes on trial this week on charges that the Republican official solicited a kickback from a former employee. As the Rocky Mountain News reports: The former state lawmaker faces two felony charges for allegedly asking a top aide last year to give him a $9,000 cut of a $25,000 […]

No Deal Reached, Paschall Headed for Trial

Posted on by Colorado Pols

Former Jefferson County Treasurer Mark Paschall, one leg of the so-called “Kings of Corruption” in Jeffco (along with Commissioners Kevin McCasky and Jim Congrove) is apparently going to have his day in court after all. As The Canyon Courier reports: Former Jefferson County treasurer Mark Paschall has either not been offered a plea bargain, or […]

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