At its February meeting, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC) voted unanimously that an ethics complaint filed against Governor Jared Polis’ political consultant and former Chief of Staff Rick Palacio is non-frivolous and warrants a full investigation. This finding is significant — only 10% of complaints received by the IEC since 2008 have resulted in an investigation.
Defend Colorado filed the complaint on November 17, 2021, providing evidence that Palacio has long served as Polis’ political consultant, receiving $329,000 in disclosed political fees to elect Jared Polis as Governor in 2018. Then, as Governor, Polis hired Palacio as a full-time state employee, paying him over $15,000 per month to serve as interim Chief of Staff.
While working full-time as a state employee, Palacio began receiving a separate $15,000 per month payment from the State of Colorado as a consultant. The no-bid, double dipping contract was approved by the Chief of Staff while Palacio was the Chief of Staff.
“Governor Polis’s Office committed a serious ethical violation by awarding a no-bid contract to pay a business owned by the Governor’s Chief of Staff,” said George Brauchler, who filed the complaint on behalf of Defend Colorado. “The law strictly prohibits this type of self-dealing. Most troubling is the fact that the Governor’s Office did not publicly announce or disclose this contract but attempted to hide it from the public by directing funds through an LLC. Using public funds for secret, self-dealing contracts is not only illegal but a serious violation of the public trust.”
The complaint provides clear evidence demonstrating at least six separate violations of state law, including:
State law prohibits a public employee from engaging in a substantial financial transaction for private business purposes with a person whom the employee supervises. C.R.S. § 24-18-108 (a)
State statute prohibits a public employee from performing an act to provide an economic benefit to a business which the state employee has a financial interest. C.R.S. C.R.S. § 24-18-108 (d).
State statute prohibits a state entity from engaging in any contract involving an employee of the same entity. C.R.S. § 24-18-201(1).
State statute prohibits a former employee from entering into a contract with their former state agency for six months. C.R.S. § 24-18-201(1).
State statute prohibits a state employee from obtaining employment within six months in which the employee could have a direct advantage, unavailable to others, of matters through their previous employment. C.R.S. § 24-18-105(3).
Amendment 41 prohibits any individual from realizing personal financial gain through public office. Colo. Const. Article XXIX, §1(1)(c).
The full complaint can be accessed through this link.
Defend Colorado is a non-profit organization supporting accountability, transparency and honesty in state and local government.