BREAKING: OGI Calls On Rep. Max Tyler To Repay Hotrod Funds

Published on June 20, 2012 by

Following an exposé by the Peak, the center-right watchdog, Open Government Institute has sent a letter to Rep. Max Tyler (D-Lakewood) requesting that he repay his campaign the funds he used to pimp his ride.

The letter, which acknowledges that the statute of limitations has expired on pursuing an ethical complaint with the Secretary of State’s office, cites the guidelines for the use of campaign funds:  

“If you were elected, you may also use your unexpended campaign funds for voter registration, political issue education (e.g., educating your constituents or yourself about relevant political matters; contributions to issue committees are not permitted), post-secondary educational scholarships, or to defray reasonable and necessary expenses related to your official duties as an elected official (including communicating with your constituents).”

If adding Corvette parts to his vintage truck is part of his official duties, his constituents ought to consider whether he’s the best representative during this economic downturn.

After reviewing the Secretary of State’s maze of rules and regs, OGI pinpointed where Tyler took a wrong turn:

“While it is reasonable that some expenses related to your use and maintenance of the vehicle for campaign or office-related use would be reasonably expensed to your campaign, we have confirmed that you have excessively used your account to fund continued restoration of the vehicle that falls outside of ‘reasonable and necessary’ expenses.”

As a reminder, Max Tyler told Denver Post veteran reporter Lynn Bartels that his wife bought him the truck for his 50th birthday. Unfortunately, he also admitted that he “hot-rodded the original engine with Corvette parts, and then added disc brakes to stop it. It runs sweet!”  

Not only does it run afoul of campaign finance laws, but we’re sure that donors did not give money so Tyler could have a “sweet” ride.  

(Photo Credit: Max Tyler’s Facebook Page)

 

ECHOES OF MAES MILEAGE? Max Tyler Uses Donor Dollars For Hobby Car

Published on June 11, 2012 by

On Saturday, The Denver Post’s The Spot blog reported on the quirky and fun antique truck owned by State House Rep. Max Tyler (D-Lakewood). While it's cute that his wife gave it to him as a gift, what's not so adorable is that Tyler has been using his campaign finances to restore the truck.

The story immediately brought to mind infamous fraudster Dan Maes and his habit of reimbursing himself for campaign mileage during his failed gubernatorial bid. There's just something about candidates lining their own pockets with campaign cash for their own personal vehicles that tends to rub voters the wrong way. 

Beyond voters, we wonder how his donors would feel about contributing to Tyler’s expensive hobby.

Here’s what Tyler had to say about his truck:  

“’My wife Susan got it for me for my 50th birthday and I spent five years of spare time restoring and customizing it,’ Tyler said, in an e-mail. ‘I hot rodded the original engine with Corvette parts, then added disc brakes to stop it. It runs sweet!’”  

We're sure his top donors love that he’s spent their hard-earned, generously-given money on “hot-rodd[ing] the original engine with Corvette parts” and, then, “add[ing] disc brakes to stop it”.  

Here is a screen shot of the expenses charged to his campaign over the years to restore this carbon-emitting beast (taken from the Secretary of State’s TRACER web site):  

Over $1,000 has been dropped into this beast courtesy of Tyler's campaign backers. That's a nice little chunk of change to benefit Tyler's hobby vehicle. Sure wish we had a campaign account to fix up our car. 

Included in that figure is $27 for a “parking ticket for campaign truck”. The IRS doesn’t allow small business owners to write off parking tickets as expenses, why should Max Tyler be allowed to do so?

Oh, that’s right, because the rules that apply to the hardworking small business owners in Colorado don’t apply to this Renaissance man.


 
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