Colorado Secretary of State now prosecutes Pueblo Democrats in bingo finance case it dismissed

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice

The Colorado Secretary of State’s office dismissed the complaint. Now, after a judge sent the case back, the state itself is the one prosecuting it.

On June 15, the office’s Elections Division filed its own complaint against the Pueblo County Democrat Party. The complaint alleges the Pueblo County Democrat Party failed to report contributions and expenditures tied to its affiliated Central Committee and its bingo-funded headquarters.

The filing advances a case Pueblo resident Jonathan Ambler spent nearly two years building: that the party financed operations through an affiliated nonprofit and its bingo operation without reporting that activity in state campaign finance filings.

Ambler filed the complaints in late 2024 after months spent pulling campaign finance records. The Secretary of State’s office dismissed both.

A Denver judge reversed that dismissal in March. The Elections Division then reopened the case and filed the complaint—advancing many of the same allegations Ambler had raised—with the legal work done by Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office.

“Told you so,” Ambler said when asked what went through his head reading the complaint.

A court sends the case back

On March 26, Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones affirmed one piece of the dismissal and reversed the rest. He agreed the oldest claims were filed too late. On the heart of the case, he found the office’s reasoning fell apart.

The dismissal was “contrary to evidence in the record,” the judge wrote. He pointed to photographs of rallies and campaign meetings for Democrat candidates at the party’s headquarters, evidence the order “failed to address,” and he found the office “solely relied on PCDP’s unsubstantiated representations.” 

Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones found the Secretary of State’s dismissal failed to address evidence showing the party headquarters was used for partisan activities.

Jones did not rule that the party broke the law. He ruled the state had not done enough to clear it.

A charity on paper, a party in practice

The reversal traces back to a document the dismissal never fully addressed.

In April 2025, then-Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Beall threw out both complaints. His order found the bingo money was not a reportable “contribution” and the building’s costs were not an “expenditure,” because the affiliated Pueblo County Democrat Central Committee keeps its receipts in a separate account and spends them on the organization “as a whole.” 

Beall, who as deputy secretary oversaw the registration of charities and the licensing of bingo halls, took the committee at its word. He noted only that its articles of incorporation “have never been amended.”

Beall declined to comment for this story, saying the matter involves “active current litigation” and it would be “highly inappropriate” for him to comment. RMV also requested comment from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office and the Pueblo County Democrat Party. As of publication, neither had responded.

The articles say what the order would not. The committee, registered with the Secretary of State’s own business division, exists “to facilitate support for the Democratic Party,” to “support issues and candidates of the Democratic Party” and to serve as “a nonprofit depository for contributions received by the Democratic Party.” 

The state treated it as a charity. Its own charter describes an organization created to support the Democrat Party and its candidates.

To Ambler, now the Republican nominee for Pueblo County treasurer, that contradiction is the whole case. “Their articles of incorporation clearly show that their whole entire purpose was political,” he said. “Their defense of being a charity is wiped out by the evidence.”

The party has not hidden the connection. 

On its website it called the Friday night bingo “our most important ongoing party fundraiser” and told readers, “We own our Headquarters building outright thanks to bingo.” On Facebook it calls the building “Dem HQ,” and it lists that address as its own with the state. 

When the party’s treasurer asked the Secretary of State for guidance on maintaining the building, he put it in writing: “Several years back, the Pueblo County Democratic Party bought a building for our organization using bingo funds.” Not the committee. The party.

What the state is and isn’t pursuing

Ambler said the narrower case leaves many of his original questions unanswered but hopes it prevents future reporting failures.

The state is pursuing only conduct from April 19, 2024 forward and is leaving the older years a court held untimely. The multiyear, multimillion-dollar history that first caught Ambler’s attention is off the table as a charge.

Inside that window, the case comes down to two numbers. The party’s three reports from the summer of 2024 disclosed just over $6,000 in contributions, none tied to bingo or the building. 

Then there’s the committee’s own 2024 profit and loss statement. It’s titled “Pueblo County Democratic Party Profit & Loss” and reports $290,971 in income and $217,763 in expenses, including maintenance, building upkeep, utilities and payroll.

A small fine, a larger remedy

The money at stake is modest. Under the state’s penalty schedule, a failure-to-report violation runs $100 a report plus 5 percent of the activity left off the books, and the hearing officer decides the final figure.

The remedy that would land harder is not a fine at all. The hearing officer can order the party to amend its filings—putting years of bingo and building money onto the public campaign finance record for the first time.

Ambler said the building itself represents an advantage that extends well beyond the dollar amount of any potential fine.

“They made enough money with bingo to buy that building and to keep that building maintained. Their space is like four times the space of our rented office… those are assets that are supposed to be reported.”

Ambler has never argued the bingo was the crime. “To me, it’s all about disclosure,” he said. “There’s actually nothing legally wrong with playing bingo. The only thing that broke the law was not reporting it.” 

Ambler said that’s the question that has stayed with him from the beginning: “If nothing was wrong with doing these things, why didn’t they simply report it?”

Among Pueblo Republicans, Ambler said the bingo operation has become something of an inside joke.

“Any time we don’t have enough money, we keep saying, ‘Oh, bingo,'” he said.

Behind the joke is something real: a permanent political asset his party doesn’t have.

A pointed moment for the office

The case reaches a hearing officer at an awkward time for the people running it. Secretary of State Jena Griswold is running for attorney general on an election integrity platform. 

Weiser, whose office is now prosecuting the party, is running for governor. And now lawyers from his office are advancing many of the same allegations first raised by a private citizen against the Pueblo County Democrat Party.

Back to the office that dismissed it

The case now sits with a hearing officer, where the party will answer for the filings it never made. Whether that review finally puts the bingo money on the public record—the outcome Ambler says he wanted all along—is the open question.

“It’s very satisfying right now just to have the Secretary of State effectively conduct their full, honest investigation,” he said. “The hope at this point is they won’t be able to hide any money into the future.”

Ambler said he has already begun discussing possible legislative changes with Rep. Ty Winter, saying he hopes the case leads to clearer campaign finance laws for future complaints.