Stripped by electioneering law
State Rep. Wes McKinley goes bare-chested after county clerk declares his shirt political.
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Wes McKinley
Posted: Thursday, October 21, 2010 12:00 am
By PATRICK MALONE | [email protected] | 2 comments
DENVER — State Rep. Wes McKinley strode through the Baca County Courthouse bare-chested on Tuesday after the county clerk told him his shirt constituted electioneering.
McKinley, D-Walsh, entered the courthouse in Springfield wearing a shirt that bore the words “Wes McKinley state representative” on the back. It struck Baca County Clerk and Recorder Sheila Emick as a violation of campaign restrictions because the courthouse also serves an early voting polling place.
“I said, ‘That’s electioneering,’ ” Emick said. “I said, ‘Turn it inside-out.’ I thought he’d go in the bathroom and flip it around, but he ripped it off right there and went about doing his business. The girls and I were surprised.”
McKinley set the shirt on a chair and retrieved it on his way out of the building, according to Emick.
McKinley confirmed the incident happened and said he disagreed with Emick’s determination that the shirt was political.
“He told me it wasn’t a political shirt or telling anybody to vote for him, he said it just said who he was,” said Emick.
“It was not a political shirt,” McKinley said. “It wasn’t a campaign shirt at all; it just had my name on it.”
McKinley said the shirt was freshly pressed, and he stopped at the county courthouse with his lawyer to file documents with the court on his way to a meeting in Lamar about conservation easements and a campaign stop at a radio station. He said he didn’t want to wrinkle the shirt by turning it inside-out, and claimed Emick expressly directed him that he had to take it off.
“I was taking care of business at the courthouse, and I simply followed orders,” McKinley said. “I was literally told to take it off. They said otherwise, you can’t come in. I just did what I was told.”
Colorado law prohibits electioneering by displaying campaign materials within 100 feet of a voting location.
Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder Gilbert “Bo” Ortiz said election officials take the law very seriously.
Ortiz said he recently ordered an election volunteer to turn her shirt inside out because it contained campaign material.
“I’m not even allowing people to listen to the radio in our office, just to avoid campaign ads,” Ortiz said.
In recent months McKinley has been the subject of a sexual harassment complaint that reportedly happened three years ago. He repeatedly denied that he ever harassed the unnamed, volunteer lobbyist who brought the complaint.
In August, an independent investigation found the woman’s complaint credible, but House leadership has refused to make the letter of determination public, citing confidentiality rules surrounding sexual harassment complaints in the Legislature.
McKinley is seeking re-election and being challenged by Republican Lisa Grace Kellogg of Walsenburg. Political observers consider the race crucial to whether the Democratic Party can retain its 37-27 House majority (with one unaffiliated representative) over the Republicans
http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/article_12786a80-dccc-11df-9e87-001cc4c03286.html
State Rep. Wes McKinley goes bare-chested after county clerk declares his shirt political.
Story Comments (2) Image Share This
Share Send this page to your friends Print Create a hardcopy of this page Font Size: Default font size Larger font size Share
Wes McKinley
Posted: Thursday, October 21, 2010 12:00 am
By PATRICK MALONE | [email protected] | 2 comments
DENVER — State Rep. Wes McKinley strode through the Baca County Courthouse bare-chested on Tuesday after the county clerk told him his shirt constituted electioneering.
McKinley, D-Walsh, entered the courthouse in Springfield wearing a shirt that bore the words “Wes McKinley state representative” on the back. It struck Baca County Clerk and Recorder Sheila Emick as a violation of campaign restrictions because the courthouse also serves an early voting polling place.
“I said, ‘That’s electioneering,’ ” Emick said. “I said, ‘Turn it inside-out.’ I thought he’d go in the bathroom and flip it around, but he ripped it off right there and went about doing his business. The girls and I were surprised.”
McKinley set the shirt on a chair and retrieved it on his way out of the building, according to Emick.
McKinley confirmed the incident happened and said he disagreed with Emick’s determination that the shirt was political.
“He told me it wasn’t a political shirt or telling anybody to vote for him, he said it just said who he was,” said Emick.
“It was not a political shirt,” McKinley said. “It wasn’t a campaign shirt at all; it just had my name on it.”
McKinley said the shirt was freshly pressed, and he stopped at the county courthouse with his lawyer to file documents with the court on his way to a meeting in Lamar about conservation easements and a campaign stop at a radio station. He said he didn’t want to wrinkle the shirt by turning it inside-out, and claimed Emick expressly directed him that he had to take it off.
“I was taking care of business at the courthouse, and I simply followed orders,” McKinley said. “I was literally told to take it off. They said otherwise, you can’t come in. I just did what I was told.”
Colorado law prohibits electioneering by displaying campaign materials within 100 feet of a voting location.
Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder Gilbert “Bo” Ortiz said election officials take the law very seriously.
Ortiz said he recently ordered an election volunteer to turn her shirt inside out because it contained campaign material.
“I’m not even allowing people to listen to the radio in our office, just to avoid campaign ads,” Ortiz said.
In recent months McKinley has been the subject of a sexual harassment complaint that reportedly happened three years ago. He repeatedly denied that he ever harassed the unnamed, volunteer lobbyist who brought the complaint.
In August, an independent investigation found the woman’s complaint credible, but House leadership has refused to make the letter of determination public, citing confidentiality rules surrounding sexual harassment complaints in the Legislature.
McKinley is seeking re-election and being challenged by Republican Lisa Grace Kellogg of Walsenburg. Political observers consider the race crucial to whether the Democratic Party can retain its 37-27 House majority (with one unaffiliated representative) over the Republicans
http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/article_12786a80-dccc-11df-9e87-001cc4c03286.html