Shafroth Formally Files FEC Complaint About Polis' Campaign Finance Records

CD-2 Democratic candidate Will Shafroth sent a list of complaints to the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday about the vagueness of primary opponent Jared Polis' campaign finance reports.

Shafroth's letter to the FEC's general counsel asserts Polis' campaign violated federal and FEC rules by failing to include in his campaign finance reports information about his donors and more than $50,000 in campaign reimbursements to Polis.

Polis spokesperson Dayna Hanson responded that Shafroth's complaint "is baseless and nothing more than a cheap attempt at getting his name in the paper.

"Every campaign has outstanding requests for information," Hanson said. "The easy thing to do would be (for us) to make something up, but the honest (answer to a) request is to keep it like it is."  

According to the letter, Polis didn't list the occupation or employer of 42 donors in his 3Q 2007 FEC campaign finance report -- a requirement under federal law. The donors gave Polis a total of $49,000, the letter stated.

Shafroth also complained that Polis didn't provide information about campaign reimbursements he received for "in-kind contributions" he made to the campaign.

Those contributions included about $30,000 Polis spent last December to travel to Iraq, the letter stated. Polis' campaign then reimbursed him that money, but Shafroth complained Polis never listed the vendors he paid for airfare, lodging and other expenses.

A third complaint was that Polis's 3Q 2007 and 4Q 2007 FEC reports show he made in-kind contributions of $11,000 and $10,000, respectively, for "labor costs." Polis was then reimbursed for those costs.

Shafroth's letter blasted those actions, stating the vague term "labor costs" makes it "impossible to determine the purpose for which the money was spent." 

"Did Polis provide $21,000 of “labor” to his campaign and then get reimbursed for it?  Or did Polis pay someone else to provide “labor” to his campaign and then get his campaign to reimburse him for it?" Shafroth asked in the letter. "And if Polis hired someone else to provide “labor” for his campaign instead of billing for his own “labor”, then whom did he hire?  Why not just have the campaign hire them in the first place?"  

Hanson responded that "labor" referred to "things like payroll, bookkeeping, the guy who helped us with our computers."

"It was campaign labor," she said, adding the FEC doesn't require such information. "But anybody who wants to look at (our records on) that, we'd be happy to provide that."