Colorado’s New Secretary Of State Announces He’s Also Keeping His Old Job. Conflict Much?
enlarge CO Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who blithely ignores even the appearance of conflict. Via the Denver Post. Because, you know, he didn’t even know what the job paid until after the election: Less than two weeks on the job, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler says the $68,500 a year salary doesn’t pay enough. That’s why Gessler, a Republican, says he is going to be moonlighting as a lawyer for his old law firm – a firm known for representing clients on elections and campaign law issues, the very areas Gessler is now charged with policing as secretary of state. Gessler, 45, says he’ll be working about 20 hours a month for the firm, now called Hackstaff Law Group and formerly known as Hackstaff Gessler. The news was first reported by The Denver Business Journal on Friday. Sounds like a real sweetheart , doesn’t he? It’s amazing how Republican elected officials no longer even pretend to avoid the appearance of conflict. And why not? It’s not as if the media won’t let them get away with stunts like this: Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler is no stranger to political controversy. He has represented a long line of conservative advocacy and attack groups and in that role has become the public face of partisan causes. Indeed, his name and the law firm he founded virtually stand for a branch of Colorado politics that seeks to limit government restrictions on and oversight of campaign financing. He has done battle repeatedly with laws the secretary of state is charged to enforce and now he is secretary of state. His election victory put government watchdog groups on high alert. News coming today, a little more than a week since he was sworn into office, that Gessler plans to keep working part-time as an attorney for his former firm even while serving as secretary of state has set conflict-of-interest alarm bells ringing in watchdog offices.
Visit link:
Colorado’s New Secretary Of State Announces He’s Also Keeping His Old Job. Conflict Much?
Posted by
on January 22, 2011. Filed under