The Colorado Opportunity Caucus said its bank statements offer “evidence for complete vindication” of allegations that Democratic state legislators broke the state’s law prohibiting elected officials from receiving gifts.

Colorado Common Cause, a pro-democracy organization, filed complaints with the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission against members of the caucus alleging they accepted payment from a pro-business dark money group, One Main Street, for luxury resort expenses at an October gathering with lobbyists in Vail. The gathering was first reported by The Colorado Sun.

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Caucus leaders allegedly asked One Main Street to pay a $25,000 bill for legislators’ hotel expenses while at the Vail retreat. Email screenshots included in the complaints filed by Common Cause show One Main Street Executive Director Andrew Short asking for “an urgent, out-of-cycle approval for a $25,000 expenditure to secure hotel rooms for the Colorado Opportunity Caucus Summit.”

The complaints should be dismissed because the caucus had enough money on hand to cover all of its expenses from the Vail retreat before One Main Street made its donation, according to the response filed Thursday on behalf of Senator Lindsey Daugherty of Arvada, who chairs the caucus. Daugherty said “the entire basis for the complaint is factually false” and encouraged Common Cause to dismiss the complaints.

“The truth is that the Caucus could and did pay the hotel bill without using this (One Main Street) donation,” the response says. “In fact, the amount attributed to (One Main Street) as set forth in the complaint was donated to a local food bank and was never used for any Caucus purpose, let alone for the retreat. Therefore, because the causal link needed to prove an ethical violation is missing, this complaint must be dismissed.”

The response characterized the Vail trip as an “organization and educational retreat” for caucus members.

Gift ban approved in 2006

Aly Belknap, executive director of Colorado Common Cause, said the responses fail to address the emails from One Main Street leadership that led to Common Cause filing the complaints.

“Nothing the Opportunity Caucus put forward in their filing or their press statements change the underlying facts of the case,” Belknap said. “We continue to have full confidence in the substance of our ethics complaints and we know that the Independent Ethics Commission has taken a close look and says our ethics complaints have merit.”

Recht Kornfeld PC filed responses on behalf of 15 legislators who face allegations. Senator Kyle Mullica of Thornton opted not to be represented by the law firm representing other legislators, according to a spokesperson for the caucus.

Other accused legislators include Representative Tisha Mauro of Pueblo, Representative Michael Carter of Aurora, Representative Jacque Phillips of Thornton, Representative Rebekah Stewart of Lakewood, Representative Meghan Lukens of Steamboat Springs, Representative Karen McCormick of Longmont, Representative Cecelia Espenoza of Denver, Representative Matthew Martinez of Monte Vista, Representative Katie Stewart of Durango, Representative Sean Camacho of Denver, Senator William Lindstedt of Broomfield, Senator Marc Snyder of Manitou Springs, Senator Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Commerce City and Senator Judy Amabile of Boulder.

A complaint filed against former Representative Shannon Bird of Westminster was dismissed because she did not attend the retreat in question.

The Independent Ethics Commission moved the complaints forward in its review process in November.

Colorado voters in 2006 approved a gift ban for elected officials.

“Transparency is the point of the work that we do, and ethics enforcement only works if it’s done in the light of day,” Belknap said. “We believe in the system that Colorado voters and lawmakers created when we passed Amendment 41 to establish this gift ban.”

Commissioners will review the responses filed by the legislators at its Jan. 20 meeting, and an investigation into the allegations will follow, according to Dino Ioannides, executive director of the commission.