Election officials advance campaign finance complaint against state senator prompted by Colorado Sun reporting

State elections officials have advanced a campaign finance complaint filed last month against state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis that was prompted by The Colorado Sun’s reporting.

You are viewing: Election officials advance campaign finance complaint against state senator prompted by Colorado Sun reporting

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said the complaint filed by a conservative activist against the Longmont Democrat “identified one or more potential violations of Colorado campaign finance law, and alleged sufficient facts, that if later found true, would support a factual and legal basis for the alleged violations.”

The office gave Jaquez Lewis until Monday to reply to the complaint by either curing the alleged violations or refuting them. 

The complaint, filed by Cory Gaines, alleges that Jaquez Lewis used campaign contributions for personal purposes not reasonably related to her campaign, made a prohibited contribution to another candidate committee and failed to report contributions and expenditures. 

Gaines said he learned about the possible violations through a Dec. 5 story in The Sun about Jaquez Lewis’ alleged mistreatment of her Capitol aides. The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office wrote in a Dec. 19 letter that the story “could establish that (Jaquez Lewis) violated Colorado campaign finance law.”

See more : Donnelley Financial Solutions, Inc. (DFIN): A Bull Case Theory

The Sun reported in early December that two of Jaquez Lewis’ most recent Capitol staffers filed a workplace misconduct complaint in November claiming she used one of them to do chores like yard work and bartending at a party at her home, and paid the staffer with a check from her campaign’s bank account. 

Jaquez Lewis also allegedly used campaign money to pay the same aide for knocking on doors on behalf of an Adams County commissioner candidate who was running in the Democratic primary against the wife of one of her intraparty legislative rivals. 

The payments, documented in the workplace misconduct complaint with copies of checks written by Jaquez Lewis from her “Sonya For Colorado” campaign bank account, weren’t reported at the time on TRACER, the state’s campaign finance website. Colorado law requires candidate committees to report and itemize expenditures of $20 or more, including the name and address of the payee and the purpose of the expense.

After being contacted by The Sun, Jaquez Lewis amended her campaign finance reports to disclose the payments. 

Still, Colorado candidates are prohibited from using campaign funds for “personal purposes not reasonably related to the election of the candidate.” They also are barred from using their campaign accounts to donate to other campaigns, either directly or through in-kind contributions.

In a written statement Thursday, Jaquez Lewis denied any wrongdoing. She said the July 6 event her aide bartended at was a campaign fundraiser, not a personal event. 

Jaquez Lewis’ campaign reported one donation July 6 — a $200 contribution from a Jamestown woman. But her leadership committee, Sonya for Dems, reported 11 donations on that day.

See more : Finance scholars optimistic about U.S. economy in 2025

“I have substantially complied with Colorado campaign law,” she said in her statement Thursday. “I never used campaign funds for personal purposes. The allegations suggesting otherwise are wrong and all work performed was to set up a fundraising event at my home. I had no intent to mislead the electorate or any election officials. When I learned of the mistake from a reporter, I took corrective action.”

She said that the money she paid her aide to knock on doors on behalf of an Adams County commissioner candidate mistakenly came from her campaign when she meant for it to come from her leadership committee, from which the senator is allowed to spend money to help other candidates. 

“The wrong checkbook was accidentally used,” Jaquez Lewis said.

Jaquez Lewis has been barred from having state-paid legislative aides as the result of the recent workplace complaint lodged against her and another one filed earlier last year. She has also been stripped of her committee assignments. 
Finally, Jaquez Lewis faces an ethics complaint that could lead to a recommendation that she be expelled from the legislature. Several of Jaquez Lewis’ colleagues have expressed dismay at her alleged mistreatment of aides given progressive legislation to boost workers’ rights through legislation.

Jaquez Lewis was first elected to the legislature in 2018 as a state representative. She was elected to her first term in the Senate in 2020 and then reelected to a final, four-year term in November, winning the race in Senate District 17 by a roughly 2-to-1 margin.