Location is everything, so they say. In the case of former state Sen. Gail Schwartz, a Democrat running against Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, this is especially true. Her campaign team is hosting a campaign event…at a courthouse. See below.
Beyond the potential campaign finance violation, let’s just talk a minute about the optics of a candidate (Schwartz) who is running on the same ticket as Hillary, a woman running for president (and running from an indictment), hosting an event at a courthouse. Think about it….
Ok, back to the campaign finance violation.
According to this site, admittedly written a few years ago, Colorado’s Fair Campaign Practices Act prohibits government facilities to be used for campaign purposes, even if the cost to taxpayers is reimbursed.
“The FCPA prohibits a Government from (1) making any contribution in a campaign involving the nomination, retention, or election of any person to any public office; and (2) expending any public moneys from any source to urge electors to vote for or against any state-wide ballot issue, local ballot issue, referred measure, or measure for the recall of any officer. See Section 1-45-117(1)(a)(I). Therefore, in most cases, the employees and officials of a Government must not use any Government money or resources to support a candidate’s campaign or to attempt to convince voters to vote for or against an election question, including questions that have been placed on the ballot by the Government itself….