By RMV Contributor | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
Elon Musk has exposed the grift of the politically-connected who abuse their access and offices to convert public dollars to private gain using tax-funded, non-governmental organizations (NGOs, typically non-profits). We have uncovered a local politician here in Colorado who appears to be doing this – and both she and several family members are benefitting financially.
The politician in question is Lorena Garcia, the state house lawmaker for District 35, representing parts of Adams and Jefferson Counties.
Garcia was appointed to the Colorado legislature in early January 2023 after Adrienne Benavidez resigned for unspecified reasons (the mess created by questionable resignations and vacancy appointments in Colorado is a topic for another day).
Garcia is the executive director of an NGO called Colorado Statewide Parents Coalition (CSPC), and she has had a long-term career in the NGO industry.
CSPC received very little money from the state before Garcia was appointed to the Colorado legislature. Weeks after she was appointed to the Colorado legislature, CSPC began receiving much larger payments from the state.
CSPC has received more than $1,000,000 in state funding since Garcia has taken office, whereas before she was in office, it received less than $15,000 total in tax dollars.
How was the decision made to start giving such large amounts of tax dollars to Garcia? Did she have any role in the process?
It certainly looks suspicious given the timing of when she was appointed. This screenshot from the TOPS expenses website shows payments made by the state of Colorado.
What makes the situation raise even more ethical questions is how multiple family members benefit. CSPC employs Garcia at $132,000 a year, her wife at $87,500, and both of Garcia’s parents for a combined $60,000.
Garcia discloses in her public financial disclosures that her wife Jaimile Flores is employed by CSPC in communications and social media for $87,500, as seen in this screenshot from her financial disclosures.
CSPC’s Form 990 also discloses, under interested party transactions, that it also employs both of Garcia’s parents. Her father makes $45,000 and her mother makes $15,000, at least as of the 2023 Form 990 filed by CSPC.
The Form 990 says her father gets that money for the “Las Familias program,” and her mother gets it for the “Paso/Exito program.”
Both programs have similar functions – hosting sessions to educate parents about their kids’ educational rights.
So the NGO Garcia is executive director of suddenly started getting seven figures of funding shortly after she took office. And then she hired her family members – now they take home almost $300,000 a year.
Did CSPC follow the law and ethics guidelines when it hired Garcia’s entire family?
Was there a competitive hiring process – and her wife and both of her parents just happened to be the very best people for the jobs?
This is potential corruption.
It’s possible it was legal (albeit at least ethically questionable) but this warrants an investigation for confirmation.
It looks a lot like the shady government dealings that taxpayers have been learning about with increasing frequency. We’re tired of our hard earned tax dollars being used in ways like this – funding the expensive lifestyles of the politically connected.
But I doubt this will be investigated in Colorado and, if it isn’t, that would show a breakdown in our government.
Government officials like Attorney General Phil Weiser know this has the appearance of the law being violated. However, Democrats in our state too frequently look the other way when it’s one of their own.
If a Republican politician had done the same thing, I’d be calling for an investigation just as strongly.
Taxpayers deserve better. We need to defund the NGOs. Tax dollars shouldn’t flow to NGOs that push an agenda (any agenda) without transparency or accountability.
Editor’s note: RMV published this commentary on the condition of anonymity, consistent with standard journalistic practices when protecting the identity of sources who may face professional or personal risk.
Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.