On the morning of January 29, 2015, incumbent Mayoral candidate Michael Hancock spent 90 minutes making campaign calls from the offices of Oakwood Homes, “Colorado’s largest private homebuilder.”
“We’re glad this came to light because even though it doesn’t violate any laws and isn’t something that needs to be disclosed in campaign finance reports, it shows even closer ties between Hancock and homebuilders than anyone previously thought,” said Luis Toro, director of the nonprofit governmental watchdog Ethics Watch.
Hancock was a major advocate of construction-defects reform at the Statehouse this year, along with other municipal leaders with ties to homebuilders.
The relevant calendar was leaked to The Colorado Independent and confirmed with Hancock’s office via an open records request. Both Hancock’s office and campaign declined to comment on the use of Oakwood Homes’ offices for campaign calls.
“I’ve known Michael since his days in the Urban League,” said Oakwood CEO Patrick Hamill. “He’s a long-time friend prior to Mayor and even City Council.”
Hamill added that he’s also been involved with Hancock’s campaigns as the finance chair. He has personally contributed $3,000 to the mayor’s 2015 re-election bid.
“We just make sure we follow the rules and laws to the T,” said Hamill.
“This kind of thing happens fairly often and we [Ethics Watch] don’t think it’s unique to Mayor Hancock by any stretch of the imagination,” agreed Toro. “It’s actually good he wasn’t making campaign calls from his [mayoral] office … though he could have made them from home.”
Photo Credit: “Wood-framed house” by Jaksmata via Wikimedia Commons.
