At their meeting today, May 17, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) unanimously ruled the third ethics complaint they received about Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters is non-frivolous. The vote means they will proceed to act on it.
The third complaint, assigned Complaint #22-22, is about Peters’ acceptance of a purported $800,000 donation from fellow election denier Mike Lindell, CEO of the My Pillow Company, in violation of Article 29 of Colorado’s Constitution, which limits the value of any gifts an elected official can accept to $65.
Article 29, “Ethics in Government,” was put in place to limit corruption by government officials and keep them from profiting personally from their elected position. It states, in part,
“(1) The people of the state of Colorado hereby find and declare that:
(a) The conduct of public officers, members of the general assembly, local government officials, and government employees must hold the respect and confidence of the people;
(b) They shall carry out their duties for the benefit of the people of the state;
(c) They shall, therefore, avoid conduct that is in violation of their public trust or that creates a justifiable impression among members of the public that such trust is being violated;
(d) Any effort to realize personal financial gain through public office other than compensation provided by law is a violation of that trust;”