Former state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, a Longmont Democrat, has agreed to pay nearly $3,000 to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office to settle allegations that she violated campaign finance laws.
The allegations stemmed from reporting by The Colorado Sun.
Jaquez Lewis, who resigned from the legislature in February, admitted to failing to report campaign spending on several occasions. She also admitted to using campaign funds to hire a staffer to campaign on behalf of another candidate, which is prohibited.
She will pay $2,749 to resolve the case.
Deputy Secretary of State Andrew Kline signed off on the agreement Friday.
Jaquez Lewis also faces a separate felony criminal charge after allegedly fabricating letters she submitted to the Colorado Senate Ethics Committee.
A campaign finance complaint against Jaquez Lewis was filed in December by conservative activist and commentator Cory Gaines based on reporting by The Sun about how Jaquez Lewis had treated her Capitol aides.
The Sun reported in early December that two of Jaquez Lewis’ most recent Capitol staffers filed a workplace misconduct complaint in November claiming she used one of them to do chores like yard work and bartending at a party at her home, and paid the staffer with a check from her campaign’s bank account.
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Jaquez Lewis also allegedly used campaign money to pay the same aide for knocking on doors on behalf of an Adams County commissioner candidate who was running in the Democratic primary against the wife of one of her intraparty legislative rivals.
The payments, documented in the workplace misconduct complaint with copies of checks written by Jaquez Lewis from her “Sonya For Colorado” campaign bank account, weren’t reported at the time on TRACER, the state’s campaign finance website. Colorado law requires candidate committees to report and itemize expenditures of $20 or more, including the name and address of the payee and the purpose of the expense.
Candidates are also barred from using their campaign accounts to donate to other campaigns, either directly or through in-kind contributions.
After being contacted by The Sun, Jaquez Lewis amended her campaign finance reports to disclose the payments.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s found that while Jaquez Lewis’ payments to the aide who did yard work and bartending at her home were legal, because they were part of a fundraiser she was hosting, she didn’t properly report the spending. However, it found that her payments to the aide to campaign on behalf of the Adams County commissioner candidate were illegal and unreported.
The office also found other instances of Jaquez Lewis failing to report campaign spending, including to supplement one of her Capitol aides’ wages.
Jaquez Lewis resigned from the legislature in February amid allegations of mistreatment of her Capitol aides. She was being investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee.
In July, the Denver District Attorney’s Office charged the former senator with attempting to influence a public servant, a felony offense, based on allegations that letters of support she sent to the Senate Ethics Committee purporting to be from former staffers had been fabricated.
Attempting to influence a public servant is a Class 4 felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Jaquez Lewis has pleaded not guilty. A disposition hearing in the criminal case is scheduled for Nov. 13.
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