Schwartz, Ethics Watch eye SOS complaint for mailers from group linked to Gessler

State Sen. Gail Schwartz and a campaign watchdog group are weighing a formal complaint against a 527 political group linked to Secretary of State-elect Scott Gessler, alleging the group failed to properly disclose a mailer deemed the “most tasteless” of this month’s election. Schwartz, a Democrat, said late last week she still hasn’t determined whether to file a formal complaint with current Secretary of State Bernie Buescher’s office regarding the mailers sent out by Western Tradition Partnership (WTP) depicting her as Donald Trump. But she said she will pursue tougher disclosure laws in the next legislative session.

Montana election official: Western Tradition ‘raises specter of corruption’

The Montana Commissioner of Political Practices late last week ruled that a Denver-based political nonprofit likely violated Montana campaign finance and disclosure laws and should be hit with a civil penalty action. Western Tradition Partnership (WTP), a 501(c)4 originally registered in Colorado in 2008 by Republican operative Scott Shires, has been active in state, county and city elections in both Montana and Colorado, drawing criticism for last-minute attack mailers like the one aimed at Colorado state Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, earlier this month.

Colorado pro-business group gets Montana corporate campaign spending ban struck down

A pro-business lobbying group with Colorado ties Monday cheered a Montana judge’s decision to strike down that state’s 98-year-old ban on corporate political expenditures, even as Montana prepares to rule on numerous campaign complaints against the group.

Schwartz responds to Western Tradition Partnership attack

State Senator Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, has responded to attack mailers sent out by GOP dirty-trickster group Western Tradition Partnership that depict her as Donald Trump firing Coloradans. Long an unofficial arm of the big oil and gas lobby in…

‘Tasteless’ campaign mailers flying fast and furious from Aspen to Adams Co.

The executive director of Colorado Conservation Voters has two words for a new mailer that features the face of state Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass, superimposed over the body of Donald Trump: “poor taste. It is an obvious leading candidate for the most tasteless piece of mail so far in the 2010 election cycle,” CCV’s Pete Maysmith said Thursday. “It’s over the top and in poor taste.” A wave of other mailers, fliers and attack ads are being blasted by Democrats, Republicans and independents alike in the final weeks before the Nov. 2 general election.

Colorado political group Western Tradition linked to nasty Montana race

Debra Bonogofsky, a moderate Republican small businesswoman from Billings, Mont., thought she was a “normal person” until she ran for the Montana State Legislature in June. Then she found out through 11th-hour attack ads, fliers and mailings that she was an anti-gun, pro-abortion, union-backing Barack Obama supporter.

GOP looks to lock up key energy county in contentious GarCo commissioner race

GARFIELD COUNTY – Democrats drew up the blueprint on how to dominate a state in Colorado’s 2008 general election, but Republicans wrote the game plan for snatching a local election using outside oil and gas money – and they’re apparently sticking to it in 2010 Garfield County commissioners race.

Western Tradition Partnership targets Salazar on alleged monument memo

Western Tradition Partnership (WTP), a conservative nonprofit with its political fingers in everything from energy production to commercial development by mega-churches, is now reportedly targeting the preservation of Colorado’s public lands.

Western Tradition attacks 98-year-old corporate campaign spending ban

The conservative Astroturf group that spent thousands to swing the Longmont City Council back to the right last November and keep the Garfield County commissioner board in the oil and gas camp in 2008 has filed a lawsuit…

Political group that attacked Dems in GarCo goes after Longmont candidate

An Astroturf group with ties to Colorado Republican political operative Scott Shires has apparently shifted its focus from oil and gas issues on the Western Slope to defending the religious right in a Longmont City Council race.

The Montana-based 501c4,…