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Tag: Government transparency

Colorado Safe2Tell system sees record growth: But outcomes stay hidden
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado Safe2Tell system sees record growth: But outcomes stay hidden

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice February marked the first time this school year that monthly Safe2Tell totals outpaced the same period during the previous year. Three thousand and eight reports. Eighteen percent higher than January. And still, the question that the data doesn't answer: what actually happens once a report is filed? That gap, between the volume of concerns being submitted and the public record of what follows, sits at the center of a system that now handles tens of thousands of tips each year from Colorado students, parents, and community members. The Colorado Attorney General's Office released the February figures earlier this month, along with a press release citing interventions in student safety and welfare concerns.  Attor...
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El Paso Co. clerk resigns leadership role and pulls county from clerks association over transparency concerns
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Ashe in America, Approved, Commentary, State

El Paso Co. clerk resigns leadership role and pulls county from clerks association over transparency concerns

By Ashe in America | Commentary, Ashe in America The CCCA is a Non-Governmental Organization that Generally Serves as the Authority on Colorado Elections El Paso County Clerk & Recorder Steve Schleiker has quietly resigned as Vice President of the Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA), and he has withdrawn El Paso County from active membership in the non-governmental organization. Schleiker was candid about his decision in an email with a Colorado voter who reached out after noticing his name had been removed from the CCCA leadership list. “After careful consideration, I made the decision several weeks ago to resign as Vice President of the Colorado County Clerks Association and to withdraw El Paso County from active membership. This was not a decision I made li...
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State Audit Finds Billion Dollar Accounting Errors In Colorado Unemployment Program
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

State Audit Finds Billion Dollar Accounting Errors In Colorado Unemployment Program

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado’s state auditors found serious issues with the accounting practices of the unemployment insurance division of the Department of Labor and Employment, concluding the agency underestimated and overestimated figures to the tune of billions of dollars. The auditors labeled the problems with its most serious concern — a “material weakness,” an indication of a significant flaw in financial reporting. That could create the possibility of a “material misstatement in the financial statements — one that auditors, regulators, and management can’t overlook.” The auditors found errors that required accounting adjustments, such as an overestimate in payments owed to claimants to the tune of $1.5 billion, when it should have been only...
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He reported election irregularities. Weeks later he was fired: Now a Colorado fire chief appeals in federal court
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

He reported election irregularities. Weeks later he was fired: Now a Colorado fire chief appeals in federal court

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Erik Holt says he didn’t expect reviewing surveillance footage from a polling location inside the Florissant fire station would cost him his career. Holt says the fallout came quickly. Within weeks of providing investigators the footage he believed showed election rule violations, he was out of a job. The dispute that began inside the Florissant fire station is now before the federal appeals court. Judges will review whether reporting suspected wrongdoing can cost a public employee his job. Holt is no longer fighting the appeal alone. Mountain States Legal Foundation has joined the case and is now representing him. “Public employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they take a government job,” said Grad...
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Denver Declines To Release Completed Probe Into Police Division Chief After 14 Months and $110K
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Denver Declines To Release Completed Probe Into Police Division Chief After 14 Months and $110K

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado A CBS Colorado investigation has learned the City of Denver has spent $110,000 on a 14-month investigation of Denver Police Division Chief Magen Dodge, but is refusing to release the completed investigation, which was finalized three months ago. "I have determined based upon a balancing of the factors... that the potential harm in disclosing the investigation report prior to the completion of the disciplinary process significantly weighs against the public interest at this time," wrote Andrea Webber, Records Administrator for Denver's Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Denver Police Department.  Webber said a disciplinary process is underway, justifying the city's refusal to release the outside investigation report. ...
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Bill Targeting Government Purchase of Personal Data Faces Law Enforcement Opposition
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Bill Targeting Government Purchase of Personal Data Faces Law Enforcement Opposition

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A bipartisan coalition of Colorado lawmakers is advancing a bill that would prohibit police from purchasing personal consumer data without a warrant, setting up a clash with prosecutors who warn the measure could hamper criminal investigations. House Bill 1037, sponsored by Reps. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, and Ken DeGraaf, R-Colorado Springs, and Sen. Lisa Cutter, D-Evergreen, would prohibit law enforcement and government entities from purchasing “certain personal data” from third parties without a warrant, except in emergencies. The bill, which sponsors are calling the “Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act,” aims to prohibit personal data purchased from a third party from being used as evidence in court. “Fundamentally, w...
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CORA changes would extend deadlines and expand government discretion
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

CORA changes would extend deadlines and expand government discretion

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Kipp is back with another stab at CORA. I had heard from my state senator (B Pelton) that Senator Kipp would be back this year with another run at modifying the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA).Her bill recently came out and I link to it first below. The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition (CFOIC) article on the bill is linked second below as an additional resource if you want it.I will be advocating against this bill both here and, hopefully, by testifying against it in committee (as of this writing there is no date set).To her credit, Kipp is not oblivious to past criticism (or strident enough to not care a la Senator Sullivan) about her previous attempts at modifying CORA; having been following her ...
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Did Colorado’s gun violence prevention director visit your community in 2025?
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Did Colorado’s gun violence prevention director visit your community in 2025?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Did the director for the Office of Gun Violence Prevention come to your town? Part 2 I wanted to update a 2023 story (see the first link below for the original) about the all of the places the Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention went to in Colorado.As with 2023, I don’t think you could call the list of places anywhere near representative of all the diverse views and experiences of this state.I will let the current Director give you how she describes her yearly roundabout in her own words. Quoting her letter from the January 2026 newsletter out of the Office:“What also helps me to feel grounded in focus is the perspective I gain through the conversations I’ve had and continue to have across Colorado...
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Denver Budget Cuts Cost City Over 1,100 Years of Experience
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Budget Cuts Cost City Over 1,100 Years of Experience

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Last summer, the city of Denver lost nearly 160 employees as part of structured layoffs to help Denver Mayor Mike Johnston close a $250 million budget gap. But the city lost much more than just its employees. It lost more than 1,158 years of combined experience, according to analysis and reporting from Axios. Along with the loss of 265 years of experience among 30 employees, the city’s transportation department took the biggest hit, followed by planning and development, which lost 128 years of experience. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Who is Rob Andrews? Questions grow around leadership, accountability and public trust
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Who is Rob Andrews? Questions grow around leadership, accountability and public trust

By Michael Hancock | Commentary, Undercurrent Substack Every election season, voters are introduced to a carefully curated version of the candidates seeking their trust. Titles are polished. Résumés are condensed. Claims are simplified into slogans. And too often, no one pauses to ask whether the story being told actually matches the public record. Think George Santos, the former New York Republican who was expelled from Congress for fabricating his background and misusing funds. Rob Andrews’ campaign narrative is a case in point. At a recent town hall, Andrews positioned himself as a metrics-driven CEO—a leader who builds organizations, measures outcomes, and delivers results. He emphasized his experience creating “several successful businesses,” presenti...
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