The Daily Post received a press release from some of our Colorado legislators yesterday, reacting to recent news we had not previously heard about.
Senate President Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, and House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver today released the following joint statement in response to new reports of alleged harassment, misconduct, and coverups inside Colorado’s Judiciary:
“We are shocked and dismayed by the recent accusations regarding pervasive misconduct in Colorado’s judicial branch. As more and more details are revealed, the questions around taxpayer funded contracts being awarded to cover up these allegations are deeply disturbing and point to a potential culture of abuse. This is a time when it’s more important than ever to reinforce faith in our democratic institutions and uphold integrity, transparency and accountability in our government. These allegations must be investigated in full view of the public until trust in our judiciary is no longer in question.”
Apparently, former State Court Administrator Chris Ryan recently told The Denver Post that a $2.5 million contract has given to a former department employee — to prevent her from filing a sexual discrimination lawsuit.
The Colorado Judicial Department has reportedly claimed the allegations are untrue.
From an AP news story:
Former State Court Administrator Ryan had told The Denver Post that the contract he signed was aimed at stopping Mindy Masias from filing a lawsuit that would expose sexual misconduct she knew of during her 20-year career, the newspaper reported Friday.
Ryan had held the second-highest administrative job in the state’s court system.
But the Judicial Department issued a statement saying that it “categorically denies that the contract for leadership training was awarded to The Leadership Practice in June 2019 due to blackmail or to keep information about the department quiet,” said a memo circulated to the department’s employees and judges.
Ms. Masias paid a couple of visits to Pagosa Springs during some difficult and contentious negotiations between the Colorado Judicial Department and the Archuleta Board of County Commissioners, prior to, and after, the flooding of the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office in 2015… and the decision, by the BOCC and the Judiciary, to abandon the Archuleta County Courthouse.
According to the AP news story, Ms. Masias started a company named The Leadership Practice in January 2019, shortly before her resignation from the judicial department. Ms. Masias did not immediately respond Friday to an email from The Post seeking comment on the new controversy.
Mr. Ryan told The Post that Masias was “prepared to go public with allegations of misconduct by more than 20 judges and court officials”.
The department and other parties related to the allegations were contacted multiple times by The Post but did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.