DA Mark Hurlbert Quietly Initiates 11th Hour Petition Campaign for State Senate; Uses DA Second-in-Command to Collect Signatures UPDATED 5-26 – DP’s Bartels Picks Up ExPat Story; DA Turner Not Listed in New Petition Drive Email

DA Mark Hurlbert, denied an automatic spot on the Republican state Senate ballot after getting

DA Mark Hurlbert - at the Frisco Safeway today, 3-6 (Getty Images Photo)

beaten by Tim Leonard in a 71 to 29 percent defeat,  is now trying to petition on the August primary ballot in an unusual behind-the-scenes effort.  In an email to at least 400 possible supporters/spam recipients, Hurlbert appeared to be reaching out to home town Summit County Republicans with a call to come by the Frisco Safeway store to sign his petition between 3-6 today and yesterday.  The email is aptly titled, “Mark Hurlbert needs your help.”

All other candidates seeking to petition on the Republican primary ballot have announced their intentions publicly through the media.  And they did so primarily to gain as much publicity as possible for their petition drives.  I can only speculate, but in yet another misguided effort in an inept campaign, Hurlbert may have thought if he failed to gain the needed signatures, he could pretend to the public that he never sought the petition route at all, and had instead bowed out gracefully from the race.

Unfortunately for these potential supporters/spam recipients,  Hurlbert failed to blind copy his email list and instead published the names of the  people he sent his email to in an open copy listing all recipients and their email addresses.  To make matters worse, Hurlbert’s email directs recipients to his own second-in-command at the DA’s office, Assistant District Attorney Scott Turner, as one of his two point persons for those wishing to take up the signature-collection cause.   Just as former Colorado Governor Bill Owens appointed Hurlbert DA when his boss moved on to higher office, it would not be a stretch to suggest Scott Turner would be appointed DA by Hurlbert’s kindred spirit,  former career DA Bill Ritter, were Hurlbert to cut short his term as DA by winning the state Senate.

I spoke with Turner, whose cell phone number is listed on the email, late in the night on the 24th.  Turner stated after much cross examination that he would not be conducting such political business for his  boss during DA working hours.  Hurlbert’s blast email, however, puts no such restrictions on the contact time, and in fact announces that if a person can’t meet Hurlbert at the Frisco Safeway between 3-6, “give one of us a call and we will come to you.”  Talk about customer service!

UPDATE: 5-26 – 3:00 p.m. – New Hurlbert petition email removes mention of  ADA Scott Turner. Today I received a new email forwarded to me that Hurlbert appeared to send out at about 9:00 p.m. last night.  The email reveals Hurlbert is now on his own in spearheading the signature collection efforts and he seems to have seen the writing on the wall about the impropriety of using his second-in-command at the DA’s office for the petition effort.  The email is entitled, “The Last 38 Hours,” and all inquiries are now addressed to him, and ADA Scott Turner’s name is not mentioned.  Hurlbert acknowledges the mistake in failing to blind copy the recipients in the May 24 email:

“I also wish to apologize for putting all your e-mails in the “to” line so they could be seen.  I was unfortunately tired and not thinking.”

Still,  Hurlbert shows more lack of attention to detail in this latest signature-gathering effort when he  leaves off one of the digits in his cell phone contact number. Earlier in the campaign, his business cards had his own name spelled incorrectly in his email address.

UPDATE: 5-26 – 2:30 p.m. – Lynn Bartels, the DP’s top political writer at The Spot blog, picked up the story from me and kindly linked to Ex-Pat Ex-Lawyer.  Bartels interviewed Hurlbert, who pretended as if he was doing an official announcement of the petition effort, ignoring the stealth effort we pointed out here.  In the Bartels piece, Hurlbert maintains despite his 71-29 percent assembly defeat, he felt compelled to petition on the ballot because he claims his gun rights position was distorted by a gun rights group mailing.  The mailing simply stated that Hurlbert failed to answer their survey about his specific Second Amendment views.  They tried twice to get him to answer, including sending it certified mail.

Based on those non-responses and the absence of any record of  Second Amendment support, the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners logically concluded Hurlbert was not a strong  supporter.  Hurlbert’s views are not in writing anywhere, and no mention is made of the issue on his campaign website.   Tim Leonard has always stated his strong support for gun rights on his website, and promptly answered the survey to the RMGO’s satisfaction.  They endorsed Leonard and opposed Hurlbert.

Ironically, Hurlbert failed to use this ideal opportunity with Bartels to say exactly what his views are on gun rights, making it even more obvious that this gun rights “distortion” is a pretext for his unwillingness to face the reality of not just the assembly results, but his inability to bring in even less conservative Republicans aboard his campaign as either volunteers or contributors.

And Hurlbert had this same cavalier attitude about signing the taxpayer protection, CUT pledge.  He took over three months to fulfill that promise, despite continual reminders.   A party activist who holds a leadership position and is sympathetic to Hurlbert, nevertheless told me that he has to take these obligations seriously if he expects to be a viable candidate.

Hurlbert used a particularly inapt analogy for 2010, but a revealing one for this career prosecutor:

“It’s like a court case,” Hurlbert said today. “If you’re not happy with the result you appeal, so I’m appealing to the people.”

For the former Kobe Bryant prosecutor,  everything is like a court case and probably always will be.  But an appeal usually has a cost,  though as a government lawyer he could freely use tax dollars to pay for an appeal of anything he’s “not happy with.”   Hurlbert has the perfect legal right under Colorado law to petition. But his disingenuousness and stealth techniques should assure the assembly delegates and other Republicans that the Assembly put the right candidate on the ballot.]

Absent  further action by Hurlbert, most Republicans assumed he would not seek to petition on the ballot.  Hurlbert  must collect 1,000 verified registered Republican signatures by May 27. Experts say to be safe, he would need to collect a total of 2,000 signatures.

I’m not a DA charged with important matters like homicides, or protecting the identity of rape victims or anything, but I do know the difference between “cc” and “bcc” and won’t be so irresponsible as to embarrass those who are on Hurlbert’s email list by publishing the names of the recipients.

I will mention a couple, though.  One name that stands out  helps confirm what we’ve been saying about Hurlbert’s suspect conservative credentials since he announced his candidacy in January. Norman Brownstein is the lead partner in the liberal Democrat law firm in which popular (but Dem) Boulder DA and AG candidate, Stan Garnett, was a partner.  Brownstein’s contribution recipients include Christopher Dodd, Bill Richardson, and Hillary Clinton – something that probably made RINO Hurlbert feel right at home.

Hurlbert’s wife, Cathy Cheroutes, comes from a liberal, activist Democrat legal clan that contributed roughly one-third of Hurlbert’s meagre $10,200 in reported fundraising.  They’re on the list.  So is Summit County party chair Debra Irvine, a seemingly campaign-free, stealth  “candidate” for House District 56 .  I was surprised to see her name here since Hurlbert has aligned himself so often with her Democrat opponent, incumbent Christine Scanlan, and also because party chairpersons are supposed to stay neutral.

I was not surprised, though, by this desperate petition drive.  Hurlbert has never held a job in the private sector and has made it obvious that he wants no part of having to fend for himself in a market-based economy.  Word up in gossipy Summit County is that District Court Judge Terry Ruckriegle is holding off on a his retirement timing to see if Hurlbert needs his judicial post to hang onto that PERA pension.

Hurlbert Colo. Senate Fundraising Shows Ali Hasan and Family Contributed 20% of Total: Dismal $10,200 Dwarfed by Leonard’s $62K, 280 Donors, and $52,000 in the Bank – Updated: May 6

DA Mark Hurlbert posted dismal fundraising numbers for 2010 in his bid to become the Republican nominee for state Senate District 16 – a total of $10,200, according to the Secretary of State’s Tracer website.  Hurlbert is competing for the nomination against conservative/libertarian businessman, Tim Leonard , of Evergreen.  Leonard has raised six times Hurlbert’s total, and did so with mostly small donations from 280 contributors.

Hurlbert and Leonard will face off on May 21 at the Republican State Assembly in Loveland.  Only candidates gaining at least 30 percent of the delegate votes will appear on the ballot for the August primary.  The winner will face Democrat Gilpin County Commissioner,  Jeanne Nicholson, who has no primary opponent.

Hurlbert’s itemized contributions report reveals about 20 percent of his contributions, $2,000, came from one source:  Treasurer candidate Muhammed Ali Hasan and his family.  Ali Hasan and four family members each contributed the legal maximum of $400 per individual.  Not to be completely outdone by the Hasan clan, the Hurlbert family also contributed  its own money to the campaign, to the tune of $3,200.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn’t amount to 30 percent of such  paltry fundraising.

Surprisingly, neither Mark Hurlbert  nor his wife, attorney Cathy Cheroutes,  put any of their own money into Hurlbert’s campaign.  Contributors want to see that a candidate has enough confidence about winning that he bets on himself, that he’s got skin in the race (but not so much that he’s buying it, either).  It’s like the CEO of a company who doesn’t own any of its stock – what kind of signal does that send to potential investors?

Of the $3,200 of Hurlbert’s family’s money, $400 is from a member of the  Democrat-activist Cheroutes side of the family.   That mean $5,200, more than half of  the $10,200 raised,  came  from the  Hasan and  Hurlbert families.

So that would leave $5,000 from committed rank-and-file Colorado Republicans, right? Not exactly.  Closeted Hurlbert-endorser, term-limited liberal “Republican,”  Senator Al White,  kicked in the $400 max.  Hurlbert’s old boss,  Democrat Mike Goodbee’s wife, Michelle, tossed in $100.  Democrat Summit County Commissioner Thomas Davidson also contributed $100.  Another of the three Summit Dem commissioners, Bob French,  endorsed Hurlbert, but did not give money.

Bottom  line:  Based on the Secretary of State report,  Hurlbert raised less than $4,200 bucks from outside his inner circle in four months from 27 people.  And this is the GOP party boss’s  idea of “electability?”

Do Hasan  Contributions Raise  a Potential Appearance of Impropriety?

The financial support of the wealthy health care scion is troubling because of Hurlbert’s criminal investigation of  Hasan in 2008.  Hurlbert failed to recuse himself and appoint a special prosecutor, and also declined to file charges against Hasan.  Both Hasan and Hurlbert were highly active Republicans at the time in the same district.  Hasan was running for House District 56, and both admit Hurlbert helped Hasan in his campaign.   I wrote about the saga here and also here, and the posts have  links to other sources.   But with the campaign reports only coming out last night,  I had no idea back then whether Hasan had contributed to Hurlbert’s campaign.

After my stories, but before the release of the campaign contributions reports,  Mark Hurlbert responded to some of my questions about his relationship with Hasan and the failure to appoint a special prosecutor.  Hurlbert’s not-yet published discussion with me necessitates a second installment of this article.  I hope to publish that piece shortly.

Tim Leonard Bests Hurlbert Fundraising by 600 percent – Trounces GOP and Democrat Opponents Combined

What Tim Leonard’s fundraising lacks in melodrama and intrigue, he  more than makes up for in totals and in breadth of grassroots support.   The report posted by the Secretary of State shows Leonard raised $62,800 since the start of the campaign.   $20,000 of that came from Leonard himself to jump-start the campaign’s up-front costs ($10,000 is a loan).  Unlike Hurlbert, Leonard has serious skin in the race.   Leonard raised an additional $42,000 from about 280 contributors.  Hurlbert had only 39 contributors, which drops to 27 after deducting the 12 Hasan and Hurlbert family donors.

Most of Tim Leonard’s fundraising came from small contributions, few hit the $400 maximum. 89 of Leonard’s contributions came from voters in Senate District 16; only nine of Hurlbert’s contributors were from the district.  The Secretary of State’s report also shows Leonard attracted some small PAC money.  He received $2,000, for example, from a Second Amendment rights group.  They apparently know who the real gun rights supporter is in the race.

One of the most impressive numbers, is the $39,000 Leonard raised during this first quarter reporting period.  Leonard raised more than any other Republican state Senate candidate in Colorado, including incumbents.

In a press release, Leonard stated,  “our strong fundraising quarter is indicative of the support I’ve found on the campaign trail.” And Leonard must have really been on the hustings to gain all this support, because he spent only $7,000 to do so.  That leaves him with a whopping $52,000 in the bank heading into the May 21-22 Assembly.  Compare that with Hurlbert spending about half of what Leonard spent, but with little to show in results and only a $7,167 bank balance-less than 14 percent of Leonard’s campaign cash-on-hand.  Put another way, for every dollar in campaign funds expended, Leonard generated over $7.00.  For every dollar Hurlbert spent, his efforts generated only $1 dollar.  A wash in other words, a rate of return of zero.

Why does Leonard think his campaign efforts have been such a success?  “People are fed up with career politicians and lawyers constantly making new laws while being incapable of cutting enough spending. Voters are focused on reining in their out-of-control government spending, and I am honored that they show their support for me to get that job done.”

Colo. Campaign Fundraising Deadline Clock has Struck: Ramirez, Ament, Barker, Hill, Leonard, Norton, Littleton, Clear Creek GOP – Out and About

Campaign Fundraising Deadline for First Quarter Reporting  Expired at Midnight, April 25:

Colorado’s  first quarter April 25 fundraising deadline is crucial for candidates because it’s a leading indicator of  their electability quotient.  And this is true for candidates with or without primary opponents.  The fundraising reports are due at the Secretary of State no later than May 3.

Candidates who show strong fundraising ability are typically provided more support by the party and by other donors not wanting to waste money on candidates they might like, but who can’t prove they can win.  But trends, and not just totals, need to be looked at, particularly when assessing political newcomers.

Readers can check out the fundraising results on the excellent Tracer reporting site at the Secretary of State’s office.  Its’ easy to search by, candidate, the race, contributors and other criteria, and the site provides the names of all donors contributing $20.00 or more to a candidate.  This quarter’s results should be posted on May 4.

Fundraising  Deadline Creates  Flurry of Activity in the Days Leading up to April 25.

Here’s what some of the candidates were up to, as campaign  activity amped up everywhere in Colorado.

Treasurer Candidate, JJ Ament, headed down to southern Colorado and the western slope over the weekend, hitting the La Plata Lincoln Dinner in Durango on Friday and the Montrose dinner on Saturday.  He reports lots of delegate and activist support.  JJ Ament’s overwhelming qualifications for Treasurer, his staunch fiscal conservatism, combined with his electability,  make it increasingly clear he’s the frontrunner for Treasurer.

Robert Ramirez, the promising House Dist. 29 candidate threatening  Deb Bennefield, rounded up volunteers to walk precincts and knock on doors.   Armed with

Robert Ramirez, with his wife Suzie and daughter, Lauren, 11

voter registrations stats,  Robert Ramirez and nine volunteers hit 1,200 doors on Saturday,  and with six volunteers, 800 on Sunday.  Unlike many GOP door pounders, Robert and crew hit about 400 apartments.  A lot of people assume apartment dwellers are Dems, when actually these days they’re Republicans who’ve lost their businesses or jobs because of the Dems’ disastrous economic policies.

Ramirez looked at numbers instead of stereotypes and found 70 percent of the apartment residents they visited were unaffiliated or GOP, with the majority  GOP.  Robert told me he and his team got a great response, including several Dems jumping aboard.  One Dem, a UAW member, told Ramirez he was “sick of taxes and fees we can’t afford,” and promised to vote for Ramirez.  On the fundraising front, Ramirez told me, naturally he’d like it to be higher, but it’s been growing exponentially so the trend is in the right direction.  You can read my interview with Robert here.  Hello State GOP.  Please support this great candidate positioned to oust one of the most destructive Dems in the House.

Owen Hill, Senate District 11 Candidate, is working hard to topple this destructive Democrat:  Senate Majority Leader John Morse.  Owen Hill had

Owen Hill

the honor of  speaking at Ray Hicks’ Republican Roundup in Colorado before Jane Norton spoke and received a warm and enthusiastic reception.  They concentrated on fundraising this past week, and are pleased with the amount and the trend.   Owen Hill also pounded the pavement and the doors in the Springs, accompanied by Mark Barker, running for House Dist. 17, and Peggy Littleton, who is running for county commission in Dist. 5.  I recently interviewed Owen Hill, who should not only be supported to topple Morse, but should be tapped as one of the brightest, credentialed, and attractive young party stars in Colorado.

Clear Creek County Republicans, part of Colo. Senate Dist. 16, held a star-studded Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday.  GOP Chair Dick Wadhams was the keynote

Leonard Children Watering Trees they Donated. Auctioned off by Bob Beauprez to Benefit CCCR

speaker.  Treasurer candidate Ali Hasan, had a great time.  State Senate 16 rivals, Evergreen businessman, Tim Leonard and DA  Mark Hurlbert, attended and spoke.  Tim was accompanied by his wife Monica, and Mark was with his wife, Cathy Cheroutes.  Bob Beauprez auctioned off some young evergreen trees from the tree farm Tim and Monica help their kids run to learn about both environmentalism and entrepreneurship.