CSU attempts to prevent airing of chancellor search committee tapes

Colorado State University lawyers are attempting to regain control of recordings of a CSU board meeting held in secret last month where members decided to select their own vice chairman, Joe Blake, as sole finalist for the new university chancellorship.

CSU is being sued by The Colorado Independent, the Fort Collins Coloradoan and Pubelo Chieftain for violating state open-meeting laws. Larimer County judge Stephen Schapanski earlier ordered CSU to turn over the meeting recordings so that he could review them in chambers to determine, in part, how the court should proceed.

CSU lawyers file lawyerly defense in open-meetings suit

In papers submitted to a Larimer court last night, Colorado State University attorneys argue that CSU board members did not break state transparency laws when they voted in private to make board Vice Chair Joe Blake CSU chancellor because Blake had recused himself as Vice Chair roughly a week before the vote.

Colorado Independent sues state ethics panel over secret meetings

The Colorado Independent sued the state’s Independent Ethics Commission Wednesday night alleging the panel has repeatedly violated the Colorado Open Meetings Law since January by meeting behind closed doors to formulate policy and adopt positions on questions about ethical conduct by public officials.

Watchdog coalition demands CSU halt chancellor hire, wants search restarted

Three Colorado watchdog groups have joined together to demand Colorado State University rescind its decision to hire Denver Chamber of Commerce President Joe Blake as the university’s new standalone chancellor.

Judge says reason exists to believe CSU broke laws in Blake selection

Larimer County Judge Stephen Schapanski this morning agreed with attorneys for three media outlets suing Colorado State University, saying that in light of the evidence so far presented there is sufficient reason to believe the CSU Board violated state open-meeting laws when it selected Board Vice Chairman Joe Blake as the only finalist for the new university chancellor position.

Newly released recordings from CSU chancellor search indicate open-meeting laws broken

Recordings of a May 5 closed-door meeting released Wednesday by the Colorado State University governing board all but confirm that board members violated state open-meetings laws, first in discussing the candidacy of Joe Blake, a member of the board, and then again in making the decision that he would be their choice as sole finalist for the university’s new standalone chancellor position.

Ethics commission says it will release complaints it has dismissed this year

A watchdog group will get the chance to read complaints filed this year with the state’s top ethics panel alleging wrongdoing or ethical misconduct by public officials. Reversing its policy, the Independent Ethics Commission notified Colorado Ethics Watch on Wednesday it would release “all non-frivolous complaints filed in 2009.”

The move is in response to a Colorado Open Records Request from the nonprofit group and in light of a judge’s decision last week that said the government ethics panel can’t keep other documents from public view.

Watchdog group sues ethics panel to reverse decision that OK’d Turkey ‘junket’

An ethics watchdog group wants a judge to overturn a ruling by the state’s top ethics panel that says it’s OK for a Colorado lawmaker to accept a trip to Turkey from a Aurora-based cultural foundation, claiming the ruling violates a gift ban in the state constitution.

Judge rules state ethics panel can’t conceal documents from public view

A judge on Thursday ordered Colorado’s top ethics panel to turn over records it went to court to keep secret, including letters from lawmakers and government employees asking for guidance on ethical questions.

Ethics Watch says it won’t appeal ruling dismissing Coffman complaint

The watchdog group that filed ethics charges against former Secretary of State Mike Coffman said Thursday it won’t appeal a ruling by the state’s top ethics panel that dismissed a complaint alleging the Aurora Republican, who has since won election to Congress, crossed ethical boundaries when he served as the state’s top elections officer.

Instead, Colorado Ethics Watch called on Coffman and his attorney to help “create a more thorough, accessible and transparent process” for the Independent Ethics Commission to investigate and resolve ethics complaints. The nonprofit group slammed the five-member ethics panel, saying it “shirked its constitutional responsibility to conduct an investigation” and tied the hands of lawyers arguing both sides of the case.