Recognizing that large campaign contributions are used to buy political access and influence government actions, in 1999, Boulder residents passed a campaign finance reform law to ensure that large contributions will not cause corruption or the appearance of corruption in Boulder elections.
The law clearly states:
No candidate for city council shall solicit or accept any contribution, including any "in-kind" contribution, that will cause the total contributions from any person to exceed one hundred dollars per election.
But influential real estate developers are giving their pro-development candidates, like Angelique Espinoza, many times more than the $100 limit. Developer Lou DellaCava, for example, in addition to cutting Espinoza a personal check for $100 also gave her a $100 check from his DellaCava Hartronft Development Company, and another $100 check from the DellaCava Day Development Company, and another $100 check from the DellaCava Fox Creek Associates, and another $100 check from 2144 North Main LLC. Other Boulder developers and their attorneys such as Michael Berman and Bruce Dierking also used this scheme to provide Espinoza's campaign with multiple $100 checks.
Typically such contributions are presented in a single bundle to strengthen their intended effect. And true to form, public records show that all of DellaCava's contributions to Espinoza were received on a single day.
It's a bad sign when a candidate for city council chooses to circumvent our campaign finance laws. Angelique Espinoza could have returned all contributions in excess of $100, but she did not. And not only did her campaign accept the multiple $100 contributions, but those large contributions were used to apply, dollar for dollar, for matching funds from Boulder taxpayers. DellaCava's and Berman's $500 contributions, for example, were each matched with $500 of public funds, accounting for a large percentage of Espinoza's total.
Interestingly, Espinoza's website lists over 100 supporters, but none of the pro-growth developers and real estate speculators who provided her largest financial contributions are listed. A simple oversight? Or intentional deception? You tell me.
Ben Binder
Boulder
1 comment:
Angelique asked me to post the following on her behalf:
I believe this is an attempt to create scandal where none exists. It is quite legal for any individual to write a check from themselves and any businesses they own, and many people do just that. It is not a violation of campaign law. All financial records are public and anyone who cares to look can see where the money comes from in every campaign in this election. My supporter list on the website lists those who have gone to the site and signed up as supporters. I have not deliberately omitted anyone�s name. As for matching funds, I stated when I applied for them that I plan to raise and return all matching funds and I am already set to return almost $1000 this week. If anyone has questions about my specific opinions and policies, I am more than happy to discuss any concerns they may have. Simply email me at info@angeliqueespinoza.org with your phone number and I will call you back.
Regards,
Angelique Espinoza
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