A coalition backed by millionaire Jared Polis is running a radio ad that singles out Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald as "the one Colorado politician to put up a roadblock" to the ethics measure Polis put on the ballot last year.

Critics say the ad is misleading on a number of fronts, including it never mentions the two lawmakers who are leading the charge against a Polis-backed plan for implementing Amendment 41.

Those two lawmakers, Sens. Peter Groff, D-Denver, and Senate Minority Leader Andy McElhany, R-Colorado Springs, said today that the radio spot sounds more like a thinly veiled campaign ad.

That’s because Polis and Fitz-Gerald are considered the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination in the 2nd Congressional District next year.

Even those behind the ad admit it was intended to spur calls from Coloradans in the district Fitz-Gerald "aspires to represent."

"It smacks of intimidation," Fitz-Gerald, D-Coal Creek Canyon, said Wednesday. "But I’m a big girl. I can take it."

The ad was paid for by the Article 29 Coalition, which includes individuals and groups who support Amendment 41 and House Bill 1304, the bill that implements the measure.

Coalition spokesman Eric Sondermann said Fitz-Gerald was named in the ad because as Senate president "she can either push this thing through or derail it."

"Clearly," he said, "she has chosen the latter course. There are other people working with her and doing some of the dirty work, but Sen. Fitz-Gerald is clearly pulling the strings."

Said Groff: "I didn’t know Joan was that powerful. I don’t think the caucus knows."

The ad began airing Tuesday on seven to eight radio stations and will continue through Monday. Listeners are asked to call Fitz-Gerald and tell her to "quit playing political games."

Sondermann said the ad was "directed to areas of the state she currently represents or that she aspires to represent."

He refused to say how much the ad cost.

Likewise, Polis won’t disclose how much of the coalition tab for legal, lobbying and consultant fees he is paying for and how much other groups are providing.

But some coalition members, including the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, are furious over the ad and said they were never consulted about the content.

"When I heard about it, I said, ‘Are you kidding me?' said Rex Wilmouth, director of CoPirg. "Why would we go after the Senate president?"

That was McElhany’s question, also.

"The beneficial thing to do is pull together and get this thing fixed instead of buying ads to make the Senate president look bad," McElhany said.

"If anyone should do that, it’s the minority leader. Jared is encroaching on my terrority," he said, with a grin.

The ad opens by referring to the passage last November of Amendment 41.

"The intent of it is was pretty clear — to keep lobbyists from giving gifts and freebies to elected officials," an announcer says. "But now a few politicans are interpreting it all wrong, depriving kids of scholarships and ranchers of blizzard relief."

Groff and McElhany pointed out that Amendment 41 was anything but clear, which is why lawmakers are fighting over it.

They also said Polis has admitted it was "poorly worded."

Amendment 41, in part, limits elected officials, government workers, their families and those with government contracts from receiving gifts of $50 or more.

The question is whether the daughter of a snowplow operator for the highway department can get a scholarship and whether an injured firefighter can accept donations.

HB 1304 makes it clear that those situations aren’t impacted by Amendment 41. It also defines other terms, such as gifts for "special occasions."

Back to Top