The backers of a petition seeking a ballot referendum to stop the city?s Castle Creek hydroelectric project may have to disclose who has been funding an advertising blitz aimed at collecting signatures from Aspen voters.
Thousands of dollars have been spent on a print, radio and direct-mail campaign that questions the hydro proposal and encourages people to sign a petition that will likely lead to a public vote on the project. But the main proponents of the referendum drive say they have no idea how much money has been spent or raised in the effort, and some people behind the petition drive have been contributing with the understanding that they will remain anonymous.
The state?s Fair Campaign Practices Act, however, says that once Aspen residents Ward Hauenstein and Maurice Emmer submitted paperwork to City Clerk Kathryn Koch seeking to refer to voters a council-approved ordinance on the hydro plant?s land-use plans, they became an issue committee. Any issue committee that has raised or spent more than $200 must comply with campaign finance rules that require the itemized reporting of contributions and expenditures, according to state law.
Aspen, which is a ?home rule? city with its own charter, adopts some state laws. Emmer questions whether the provisions of the Fair Campaign Practices Act apply to this situation. He said the city?s law also could be interpreted to mean that he could wait until days before the election to register as an issue committee.
However, he said he?s willing to work with the city to figure out what the group is required to do.
?We want to comply with all applicable laws,? said Emmer, a former tax attorney who practiced in California, Illinois and New York.
According to the Fair Campaign Practices Act, which is referenced in the city?s election code, an issue committee must be formed once ?the matter has been submitted for format approval in accordance with law.?
According to Aspen city attorneys, campaign finance rules were triggered when Emmer and Hauenstein submitted their referendum intentions for ?format approval? to Koch on Dec. 20. A few days later, Koch confirmed that the matter was legally referable.
Koch and Jim True, special counsel for the city of Aspen, sent Emmer and Hauenstein a letter Wednesday informing them they need to register as an issue committee.
?Since it appears that registration is overdue, it is mandatory that your group register immediately,? the letter says.
The state statute also says that an issue committee needs to be formed once ?a petition concerning the matter has been circulated and signed by at least one person.?
Emmer said he spoke with an expert in election law when the petition drive started, who informed him his group did not have to comply with campaign finance reporting laws because no election has been set yet. Emmer declines to name the attorney.
The election would only go forward if enough of the signatures Emmer and Hauenstein submitted to the city clerk?s office on Tuesday are from registered Aspen voters. City Council could also avoid the election by rescinding the ordinance that approved the 1,700-square-foot building that would house the hydroelectric turbine.
The petition containing 953 signatures was turned in Tuesday. Koch has 30 days to determine if 594 of the signatures are from valid, registered Aspen voters, which is the threshold to get an issue on the ballot.
Emmer said he doesn?t know who has been paying for the ads ? $3,000 worth of which appeared in the full-page, color variety in the Aspen Daily News over a six-day span recently. Hauenstein, however, noted that he and Emmer were given the opportunity to review the ad copy, but he stuck to his claim that he does not know who is paying for the ads.
There are ?four or five? people working on the petition drive who are doing so on the basis that their anonymity is maintained, Emmer said.
A direct-mail piece also went out to registered Aspen voters in recent weeks, and radio spots have been running encouraging people to sign the petition.
Considering that contribution and expenditure reports have not been kept, Emmer said he?s unsure what his group would do if it had to turn over campaign finance data.
The city?s election code allows the municipal government ? or any person residing within the city ? to seek civil penalties ?for an amount not more than the amount or value not properly reported? if provisions of the law are violated. Other potential civil penalties also may apply, according the city?s election code.
curtis@aspendailynews.com
Source: http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/151381
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