Durango School District 9-R has been issued a $500 fine for its role in unintentionally promoting a political candidate in violation of Colorado law.
On Jan. 19, an email was sent to more than 6,000 email addresses, including The Durango Herald, notifying families and staff that 9-R board member Katie Stewart was running as a Democratic candidate for Colorado House District 59.
The intent of the release was to notify students and parents that Stewart, under state law, could run for the Colorado House of Representatives while maintaining her position with the 9-R board, according to a complaint filed by the Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division.
The district said it was attempting to clear up confusion regarding whether Stewart could do both.
But days later, a campaign finance complaint was filed by Kelly Hegarty, a former vice chair of the La Plata County Republican Central Committee, against the district alleging the district was showing preferential treatment toward an individual candidate.
Hegarty’s concern was that other candidates were not receiving fair and equal time because their message was not included in the news release.
The school district’s email included a photo of Stewart and a link titled “Read Katie’s Message.” The link, which was hosted by 9-R’s website, was removed 12 days after being published, according to the state’s complaint. The school district also provided an email link to Stewart’s campaign.
The case was referred to the Colorado Attorney General’s office, which found the district had violated Colorado campaign finance law which prohibits state agencies from providing value to a candidate directly or indirectly.
The state’s complaint said that by attempting to ease concerns about Stewart’s ability to serve as a school board member and run for state office, the school district provided value to Stewart by promoting her candidacy.
“As the person in charge of communication for our district – including decisions on what gets into the newsletters – I own this mistake. You win some, you learn some,” said district spokeswoman Karla Sluis.
The purpose of the provision is to prevent government- and state-funded entities from engaging in electoral advocacy.
As part of the settlement between the district and the secretary of state, Sluis had to reimburse the district for an hour of paid time she spent drafting the news release; the district had to remove the news release from its website; and a clarification was published in a February newsletter.
The fine was also reduced from $1,000 to $500 because of the district’s cooperation in the investigation.
“The $500 fine may not seem significant, but it shows there was inappropriate behavior by Durango 9-R and perhaps the fine will dissuade the district from biased actions such as this in the future,” Hegarty said.
Sluis said the intent of the email was not to endorse a candidate or disseminate electioneering communication but to inform families regarding the legality of Stewart’s potential dual roles.
She said families and staff have a right to know that Stewart can fill both roles in order to avoid confusion.
She added that nowhere in the January news release did it say “Vote for Katie” and did not fall under the definition of electioneering communication based on Article XXVIII of the Colorado Constitution.
The article says that electioneering communication does not include “communication by persons made in the regular course and scope of their business or any communication made by a membership organization solely to members of such organization and their families.”
“My intent was to simply share news; but I can understand how the content in the newsletter could be misinterpreted as advocacy,” Sluis said.
The only other person running for House District 59 is Clark Craig, a Republican, who serves as mayor for the town of Ignacio.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
