BREAKING: Gardner Ally Caught Abusing Taxpayer Dollars to Start Fake Environmental Group Featured in TV Ad
“Killey was performing political tasks — setting up the so-called shell LLC used in Gardner's ad — while being paid by taxpayers to serve as Lundeen's aide”
Denver, CO - The Colorado Springs Independent is out with an explosive new report revealing that an aide to Senator Cory Gardner’s Big Oil ally abused taxpayer dollars to start the fake environmental group featured in Gardner’s deceptive campaign ad.
Allie Killey, who claims to be a conservationist in the ad, actually works for environmental foe State Senator Paul Lundeen. New documents reveal that Killey was working on state time when she filed paperwork with the Secretary of State to start the group, which popped up the same day that Gardner introduced the legislation touted in his ad.
The Indy reports that “potential penalties for doing political work at taxpayer expense include criminal liability and termination.”
Gardner’s deceptive ad “Both Parties” has already come under scrutiny for using two registered Republicans, a scandal-riddled former Colorado Division of Parks head who was ousted from the agency after a corruption scandal, and a “hollow shell” sham organization that real environmental organizations have “never heard of.”
Read highlights below of the full story HERE.
Colorado Springs Independent: Sen. Cory Gardner campaign ad under fire, legislative aide in crosshairs
By Pam Zubeck | September 9, 2020
By now, it's well known that a TV ad by the campaign of Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado called "Both Parties" is somewhat misleading in that two speakers the ad suggests represent Democrats and Republicans are both Republicans.
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Wild for Colorado's Facebook page has three followers and is listed as a personal blog. But recent comments on that FB page take issue. One said, "This is a fake organization and fake site. The girl that created it is an aide for a state Republican legislature. She has NO environmental education or experience. She has not worked anything environmental at anytime. Google her LinkedIn resume. The organization name was created for a fake Cory Gardner political ad."
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The campaign submitted a records request for Killey's time sheets during her time with Lundeen's office and found she apparently filed initial paperwork for Wild for Colorado LLC during work hours.
The document was filed at 11:11 a.m. March 9. A legislative aide time sheet shows Alexandra Killey, the name listed on the Secretary of State filing, claims to have been on the clock for Lundeen at that very time. That raises questions about whether Killey was performing political tasks — setting up the so-called shell LLC used in Gardner's ad — while being paid by taxpayers to serve as Lundeen's aide.
Here's the pertinent part of the time sheets.
It's worth noting that Lundeen signed off on the time sheets, and Killey had previously attested she'd read the handbook for aides and agreed to follow its policies. Potential penalties for doing political work at taxpayer expense include criminal liability and termination.
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Hickenlooper's spokesperson Alyssa Roberts had this to say:
"First Senator Gardner used a phony environmental group to cover up his toxic record of voting against Colorado's clean air and water, and now we've learned that an employee of one of Big Oil's top allies started the fake group on taxpayer time -- abusing taxpayer dollars in a shady political scheme that helped Cory Gardner deceive Coloradans. Meanwhile, John Hickenlooper is proud to have earned endorsements from the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, and other leading (and not fictitious) environmental organizations who know he's the only candidate who will protect our public lands and fight climate change."
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