Category: Ethics

Activism, Consumer advocacy, Ethics, Good Republicans, Good things about Mesa County, HOAs, politics

Rep. Janice Rich rescues homeowners locked out of common space

by Anne Landman • April 16, 2022 • 1 Comment

A bill that House Rep. Janice Rich introduced in response to the plight of Grand Junction residents who were unjustly shut out of their common space by an overzealous HOA, “Homeowners’ Reasonable Access to Common Areas,” gets signed by Governor Polis at the state Capitol in Denver on April 12, 2022. (Left to right: House Rep. Edie Hooton, Rep. Janice Rich, Gov. Polis, Sen. Tammy Story)

A year ago this blog highlighted the plight of homeowners who suddenly found themselves repeatedly locked out of their own common space park for months at a time by an overzealous homeowners association (HOA). The example was the Moonridge Falls subdivision in Grand Junction where, without consulting homeowners, the HOA locked the ornamental gates to the home owners’ small open space park in winter due to a sudden fear that ice on the 2-foot deep irrigation pond in the park posed a danger. No one had been injured on the pond, there hadn’t been any accident or incident involving the pond, the pond ices over every year and the park hadn’t been locked before as far back as most neighbors could remember.

Accused felon & election denier Tina Peters leads Republican primary for Secretary of State

by Anne Landman • April 12, 2022 • 38 Comments

In an event that shows just how far out of touch with reality Colorado’s Republic Party has become, election denier Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was indicted a month ago on multiple felony charges related to tampering with election equipment, was the runaway winner for the Secretary of State nomination at the Colorado Republican Party state assembly April 9, 2022 in Colorado Springs. Peters won a whopping 62% of the vote, making her the Republicans’ front runner for Secretary of State in the primary election on June 28. Peters will oppose former two-term Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder and former president of the Colorado County Clerks Association Pam Anderson, on the primary ballot. Anderson petitioned her way onto the ballot. (Anderson’s mother-in-law is former longtime Colorado Senate Majority Leader Norma Anderson.) While Pam Anderson is a Republican, she not an election denier. Peters also faces Mike O’Donnell, a candidate from Yuma County.

Lindell steps in it, seals the case for the ethics complaint against Tina Peters; makes a statement that could leave her liable for a $1.6 million fine

by Anne Landman • April 5, 2022 • 16 Comments

My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell just sealed the case for Complaint #22-07 (pdf) to the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission against Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters for her skirting Colorado’s anti-corruption law by raising unlimited amounts of money through her legal defense fund.

In an apparent effort to try to get out of the ethics complaint, Peters recently shut down her Colorado-based legal defense fund website and moved her legal fundraising to a Minnesota-based “legal offense fund” operated by her fellow election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell.

At an election denier rally today at the state Capitol in Denver, a 9News reporter asked Lindell how much he has raised for Peters’ legal defense fund. Lindell said, “I just put in all the money myself.” When the reporter asked Lindell how much that was, he answered, “I don’t know, I put in 3,4,5, maybe $800,000 of my own money.”

$800,000 would be the largest amount ever given to a Colorado politician or elected official.

Tina Peters shifts legal defense fundraising out of state, continues to accept largesse from Pillow Guy Mike Lindell

by Anne Landman • March 30, 2022 • 28 Comments

See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksNf_iQcjTQ

A report yesterday evening from Kyle Clark of 9News in Denver confirmed that indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has closed down her legal defense fund website, StandWithTina.org, and shifted her legal fundraising out of state to a Wisconsin fund operated by My Pillow CEO and fellow election conspiracist Mike Lindell. Lindell told Clark he is now funding Peters’ legal defense through the site, and is using some of his own funds to help her as well.

GovTrack.us lists Rep. Boebert as a participant in Jan. 6th insurrection

by Anne Landman • March 27, 2022 • 13 Comments

Lauren Boebert identifies with the extremist right wing groups that carried out the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021

GovTrack.us is a free Congress-tracking website in operation since 2004 that aggregates information on the status of legislation, congressional voting records, and other facts and statistics from official government websites and then uses the latest technology to make the information more easily accessible. GovTrack takes the old legislative-tracking website Thomas, which expired in 2016, further by including biographical information on members of Congress, geographic information on their congressional districts, cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office and more.

Rep. Boebert takes credit for accomplishments achieved by Democrats

by Anne Landman • March 26, 2022 • 8 Comments

Republican House Rep. Lauren Boebert, CD-3, (Photo:Youtube)

Colorado House Rep. Lauren Boebert is lying and taking credit for accomplishments achieved in a spending bill she voted against. HR 2471, an omnibus spending bill passed in March, achieved Democratic priorities of increasing spending on Americans and reversing the priorities of Trump-era budgets that held the country back.

New info in 18-page indictment against Peters and Knisely

by Anne Landman • March 17, 2022 • 29 Comments

Mug shots of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters (L) and Chief Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisely (R): Partners in crime. (Photo: YouTube)

If you haven’t had time yet to read the entire 18-page indictment of Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters (pdf) filed March 8 that led to her arrest on seven felonies and three misdemeanors, probably the newest and most interesting additional information in it is about the infamous “Gerald Wood,” who we all thought was the unauthorized person Peters smuggled into the secure room where the election equipment is kept.

Turns out he wasn’t.

One of Tina Peters’ attorneys is himself ethically and legally challenged

by Anne Landman • March 14, 2022 • 7 Comments

Jason Jovanovich, the Glenwood Springs-based attorney Tina Peters is using for her recent felony indictments (Photo: Facebook)

Jason Jovanovich, an attorney and former district judge from Glenwood Springs, is the attorney handling Tina Peters’ recent criminal indictment for alleged election equipment tampering.

Republican Governor Bill Owens appointed Jovanovich as a judge in Garfield County in 2005.

In 2006, while overseeing a hearing about a dog attack, Jovanovich compared pit bulls to sharks and lions and said “they belong in zoos and should be illegal.” He added,

“If I had a big red button right here that would kill all the pit bulls, I wouldn’t hesitate to press it.”

Tina Peters filed improperly notarized quit claim deed to obtain ex-husband’s house

by Anne Landman • March 10, 2022 • 4 Comments

Tina Peters’ mugshot for her latest arrest on 3/9/2022, charged with 8 felonies and 3 misdemeanors related to election tampering

An investigation by the State of Colorado (pdf) has revealed that the quit claim deed filed by Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters last year for property that belonged to her ex-husband was not notarized in accordance with Colorado law.

The case involves a home on Orchard Mesa purchased by Tina’s ex-husband, Thomas Peters, that Tina Peters obtained by filing the questionable quit claim deed.

On December 23, 2021, Thomas M. Peters, filed a lawsuit (pdf) against his ex-wife, Tina Peters, alleging she breached her fiduciary duty and engaged in “theft by deception” to illegally seize a home he had purchased for himself with his own funds after they divorced in October, 2021.

Grand Jury indicts Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters on felony charges; warrants issued for arrest of both Peters and Belinda Knisely without bond

by Anne Landman • March 9, 2022 • 8 Comments

WANTED: An arrest warrant has been issued for Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters after a grand jury indicted her this morning on a mix of 13 felonies and misdemeanors.

The grand jury indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters this morning (pdf) on 13 counts related to her official misconduct and tampering with election equipment. The charges include a mix of felonies and misdemeanors.

Peters is charged with three counts of attempting to influence a public servant (a Class 4 felony), one count of attempting to influence a public servant (a Class 5 felony), one count of criminal impersonation (a Class 6 felony), one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation (a Class 6 felony); one count of identify theft (a Class 4 felony) and one count of first-degree official misconduct, a Class 2 misdemeanor. Peters is also charged with one count each of violation of duty and failure to comply with the Secretary of State, both unclassified misdemeanor offenses.

The grand jury also indicted Deputy Mesa County Clerk Belinda Knisely on violation of duty, failure to comply with the Secretary of State, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, and multiple counts of attempting to influence a public servant.

Tina Peters now says she is running for Secretary of State, but there’s no evidence of it so far

by Anne Landman • February 14, 2022 • 6 Comments

Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters grins for her mug shot at the time of her arrest in Grand Junction on 2/10/2022

Update: Tina Peters finally filed a candidate affidavit saying she is running for Secretary of State on 2/23/22.

Adding a whole new level of crazy to her repertoire, after getting arrested last week on charges of obstruction, and then telling an adoring election conspiracy-theory endorsing crowd in Castle Rock immediately afterward that no one can stop her, Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters announced this morning that she is running for Secretary of State (SOS), and will challenge incumbent SOS Jena Griswold for the seat.

No proof of candidacy for SOS so far

The only problem is Peters declared on the steps of the Mesa County Justice Center on January 13 that she was running for re-election as Mesa County Clerk. She can’t run for both offices at once, and so far the only candidate affidavit on file with the Secretary of State’s office is the one that says she is running for County Clerk. There is no affidavit on Tracer showing she is actually running for Secretary of State. A call to the Secretary of State’s Campaign Finance Office (CFO), where candidates must submit their affidavits to officially be considered running for any office, revealed that so far no affidavit for Peters’ run for SOS exists either on their website or in the pending queue of the CFO, and Peters hasn’t taken any action to nullify her affidavit to run for clerk.

Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters unrepentant, tells crowd “They cannot stop me”

by Anne Landman • February 11, 2022 • 11 Comments

Tina Peters speaks to a far right wing crowd on the same day she was charged with crimes by the Mesa County Sheriff's Office.

On the same day the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office booked County Clerk Tina Peters on charges of obstructing a police officer and obstructing government operations, she was a guest speaker at an “Emergency Town Hall” held by the far right wing group “Faith, Education and Commerce United “(FEC United) in Castle Rock, Colorado where she got a standing ovation with rousing applause.

Haitz calls another D-51 School Board Special Meeting on short notice, this time to be held Wed., 2/9 @ 3:15 p.m. in the Butler Board Room

by Anne Landman • February 8, 2022 • 3 Comments

School Board President Andrea Haitz is clearly rattled in this 7 minute video of last night’s meeting (2/7/22, above), taken before the Board went into Executive Session. Her voice quivers, and she gets items for the meeting out of order.

District 51 School Board President Andrea Haitz has scheduled another Special Board Meeting on Wednesday, February 9 at 3:15 p.m. in the Harry Butler Board Room at R-5, same location as yesterday’s meeting. Like the one on Monday night, this one was also scheduled with very short notice. People have noticed the time of day when Haitz plans to hold the meeting will make it difficult for teachers to attend.

Tina Peters handcuffed by law enforcement at Main Street Bagels for failure to turn over IPad pursuant to warrant

by Anne Landman • February 8, 2022 • 0 Comments

Tina Peters

Word is that rogue Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was handcuffed this morning at Main Street Bagels, around 11:00 a.m. in the front area of the restaurant. Peters was wearing a red jacket, was surrounded by law enforcement officials in county uniforms, including one woman, and some plain-clothes cops. Peters was cuffed with her hands behind her back in the front portion of the restaurant. More soon.

Update, 1:08 p.m., 2/8/22 – There’s information on Twitter from Jesse A. Paul of the Colorado Sun, formerly of the Denver Post, that Tina was “briefly detained and released,” that her detainment did not have to do directly with the breach of an election system, and that authorities are going to release additional information soon.

Looks like District 51’s conservative school board majority is getting ready to fire Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and Director of Equity & Inclusion

by Anne Landman • February 6, 2022 • 19 Comments

Meeting agenda quietly put up on the School Board’s website on short notice announcing a special meeting the next day to discuss employment contracts of the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and Director of Equity and Inclusion

The District 51 School Board’s new conservative majority — Andrea Haitz, Angela Lema and Willie Jones — appear to be getting ready to fire School District Superintendent, Diana Sirko, Assistant Superintendent Brian Hill and Tracy Gallegos, the District’s Director of Equity and Inclusion, who was hired into that position in July, 2021.

The three Board members gave short notice about a special meeting to be held on Monday, February 5 at 5:00 p.m. discuss these three employees’ contracts with attorneys they just hired in January to serve as their own representatives: David Price and Tammy Eret of Hoskin, Farina and Kampf.

The Board members produced the agenda on Saturday evening, 2/5/22, and then quietly slipped it onto the School Board’s meeting website (pdf) on Sunday evening, 2/6/21.

On internet TV show, Steve Bannon pledges less than a cent and a half to Tina Peters’ legal defense fund

by Anne Landman • February 1, 2022 • 1 Comment

Tina on Steve Bannon’s internet TV show “War Room” on Dec. 31, 2021

On December 31, 2021, Steve Bannon lionized Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters on his internet TV show “Bannon’s War Room,” in an interview titled “The Deplorables-Gold Star Mom Tina Peters Who Sounded The Alarm On Election Fraud.”

Bannon let Peters spew the usual string of rants we’re all familiar with by now: how terribly she’s been harassed, how “they’re attacking regular Americans,” how they “fired her elections manager with no due process, nothing” and how they so horribly removed her chief deputy in August on “trumped-up charges.”

A minute and a half into the 7-minute interview, Bannon starts trying to play Tina off with increasingly loud bagpipe music, he lets her mechanically drone one for another minute or so. Tina continues… “They booked my chief deputy on a class 4 felony just for coming to work” and “they had a battering ram in the driveway” that she now admits “they didn’t use.”

Bannon cuts her off roughly 30 seconds later to go for a break.

Another Rimrock Wellness Center chiropractor dispenses dangerous medical disinformation

by Anne Landman • January 28, 2022 • 13 Comments

Charles Daniel Vaden

For many people, chiropractors are de facto primary health care providers, particularly in medically underserved rural areas like the western slope. Many people find it easier and more affordable to see a chiropractor than an M.D., and tend see their chiropractors far more often than they do M.D.s., generating familiarity and a relationship of trust with these health professionals. This puts chiropractors in a unique position to deliver vital public health information to a good portion of the community. They could, for example, be educating people about positive health behaviors, informing them about what’s scientifically proven to keep people safe from contracting Covid-19, telling people what works best to keep them of the hospital if they get Covid-19, and helping them know when to seek further medical care.

But instead of using their valuable position to benefit public health, it turns out many Grand Junction chiropractors are dispensing egregiously false medical information about vaccines and how to prevent Covid-19. And these chiropractors aren’t just flushing their value as a community public health asset down the toilet. They are lying to the people who support them financially and trust them the most, misleading people in very dangerous ways and often doing it for profit.

Rep. Boebert openly insults Jews visiting the U.S. Capitol

by Anne Landman • January 22, 2022 • 6 Comments

Boebert, grinning while wearing a T-shirt that makes fun of the tragic death of 41 year old cinematographer Halayna Hutchins, who was accidentally shot by a prop gun held by actor Alec Baldwin, who was rehearsing a scene that required the gun. Baldwin called Boebert’s wearing of this shirt “unconscionable.”

News outlets are reporting on an incident that occurred at the U.S. Capitol in which Colorado House Rep. Lauren Boebert, while exiting an elevator, saw a group of Jews who were visiting the Capitol. The person leading the group was an orthodox Jew with a traditional beard, the others were wearing yarmulkes and some were rabbis. The group was there to meet with Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY).

Reports say that upon seeing the group, Boebert looked them up and down and asked aloud if they were there to “do reconnaissance.”

The question left the group confused.

When news outlets questioned Rep. Boebert about the incident, she responded by text that she was making a joke:

“I saw a large group and made a joke. Sadly when Democrats see the same they demonize my family for a year straight.”

She added that she was too short to see yarmulkes on people’s heads.

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