Loveland City employee Tim Hedgespeth offered an endorsement by Donna Rice for her rival candidate for Loveland City Council should he step aside and run in 4 years when her term expires if elected.
Read the LovelandPolitics story and the emails
“Should you choose to withdraw and throw your support behind Donna, you could really display maturity, civic concern and wisdom. Not to mention the support of Rice backers in the future. She has already said she would back you in the next election if you would [not] run. I do not mean to offend you and I know your heart is in the right place…”
Hedgespeth is now the third Rice supporter who has approached a rival of Rice to encourage them to throw their support behind Rice and back-out of the race – appearing to speak for Rice. What makes this offer different, and possibly illegal, is that Hedgespeth is attempting to persuade the candidate to abandon his race in exchange for a reward in the future; Rice stepping down in 4 years and endorsing Koniecki.
Below is the Colorado State law that unambiguously prohibits inducements to candidates for public office to withdraw from a race in exchange for something of value.
1-45-115. Encouraging withdrawal from campaign prohibited. No person shall offer or give any candidate or candidate committee any money or any other thing of value for the purpose of encouraging the withdrawal of the candidate’s candidacy, nor shall any candidate offer to withdraw a candidacy in return for money or any other thing of value.
I don’t know whether the offer of “help in a future election” can be interpreted as an offer of “something of material value”…but it is despicable from anyone.
That it comes from a City employee is both that and intolerable. The guy should be canned…and if I were on Council, heads (or at least one) would roll. Since Donna Rice is the candidate that this fellow Hedgespeth is doing the dirtywork for, I’m sure he’ll get a reward instead, should she be elected.
Thanks LP.com for exposing (once again) the muck to the light of day.
Hasn’t our country been through enough in the last 2 years with the Wall Street/AIG/bank bailouts. Do we have to bring this kind of corruption to Main Street, Loveland? MS. Rice has demonstrated she can’t separate herself from Washington style politics. We, as responsible voters and taxpayers, must look to the other candidates (John Case, Rob Molloy and Adam Konecki) for a more palatible selection for our fair city.