Rainey Will Keep Mum and Collect His $8,000

Out of “respect” for his superiors and other election officials, Anthony Rainey will not discuss his role in Denver’s Election Day fiasco until Mayor Hickelooper’s panel completes its investigation. The Denver Election Commission technology chief was placed on leave Saturday after it became clear Rainey was at least partly responsible for the tech meltdown that caused long lines at vote centers. While Rainey waits, tight-lipped and work-free during the five-week investigation, he’ll silently collect almost $7,000 in pay. Add that to the $1,000 he’s already racked up in the five days he’s been on “administrative investigative leave,” and Rainey will have been paid $8,000 in taxpayer money by the time the investigation is complete, at which point he will likely be fired. Apparantly, it takes five weeks to determine that someone who screamed at city employees on the job, was repeatedly deemed unqualified, and lied about his work experience needs to be terminated.