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THREAD: A few months ago my editors told me to do something on elections.
That’s when things got weird...
That’s when things got weird...
I first called around to sources in elections — state and locals. There was a common theme: something unusual is going on at the Secretary of State’s office.
So I asked for public records.
So I asked for public records.
The bill from the Secretary of State’s office for PUBLIC records was the first tip off that this would not be easy.
We negotiated a scaled down records request.
The bill was still almost $1,200, and we only got about 400 pages. That’s the most expensive per page records request CPR News has ever paid for.
The bill was still almost $1,200, and we only got about 400 pages. That’s the most expensive per page records request CPR News has ever paid for.
The first document in the batch was a settlement agreement between @JenaGriswold and her former Deputy Secretary of State Jenny Flanagan, who left the office in Jan. 2020.
It includes a non-disparagement clause. We still don’t know what happened here.
It includes a non-disparagement clause. We still don’t know what happened here.
We quickly realized that the entire senior staff at the office, many handpicked by Griswold, had left.
None would comment for this story.
None would comment for this story.
Griswold wouldn’t go into details either saying that she remains friends with them, and the office’s direction changed after passing a 2019 election reform bill.
The loss of senior staff was disturbing to the county clerks, who are the boots on the ground of elections, and rely on them for expertise. Ben Schler for example had 10 years of experience in the office. They felt their loss.
The departures accelerated after Griswold flirted with a run for US Senate against Cory Gardner. She still has about $100k in the exploratory committee she formed last year. https://projects.propublica.org/itemizer/committee/C00712380/2020
Griswold said ultimately that she wanted to focus on being Secretary of State.
But counties questioned that focus. In Sept 2019, Griswold surprised many by removing a code on ballots for cyber security reasons. “It shows a lack of understanding...”
But counties questioned that focus. In Sept 2019, Griswold surprised many by removing a code on ballots for cyber security reasons. “It shows a lack of understanding...”
Then COVID struck. It wasn’t until May that clerks finally got draft rules for how to conduct elections safely. Many had already developed their own.
Clerks hated the rules which were confusing and contradictory. Many emails talked about how stressed they were.
Clerks hated the rules which were confusing and contradictory. Many emails talked about how stressed they were.
Then things get really weird. I’ll try to summarize.
Broomfield Clerk Jennifer Robinson and other clerks, spoke up to Griswold on a regular call. They were frustrated. They felt “disrespected.”
Broomfield Clerk Jennifer Robinson and other clerks, spoke up to Griswold on a regular call. They were frustrated. They felt “disrespected.”
A couple of hours later Griswold’s brother Chris, a political consultant, called the mayor of Broomfield. (The Broomfield Clerk is the only one in the state that is appointed.)
This is what the mayor told me he said:
This is what the mayor told me he said:
Chris Griswold never returned my calls or emails for comment. We don’t know what he was trying to accomplish.
Jena Griswold says she didn’t direct him to do it. That the concerns Chris expressed to the mayor were public knowledge. (They weren’t.)
Jena Griswold says she didn’t direct him to do it. That the concerns Chris expressed to the mayor were public knowledge. (They weren’t.)
I then asked for email records from Broomfield mentioning Chris or Jena Griswold.
Nothing from Chris, but I did get hundreds of pages. In them, the elections director Todd Davidson says he will listen to a town hall Jena is hosting with New Era Colorado:
Nothing from Chris, but I did get hundreds of pages. In them, the elections director Todd Davidson says he will listen to a town hall Jena is hosting with New Era Colorado:
Davidson would not comment for this story, but in recorded conversations obtained by CPR News he said:
The clerk Robinson also made disparaging remarks, predicting another town hall Griswold was holding would be a “shit show.”
She was placed on a week admin leave. And survived a 6-4 vote by Broomfield city council to dismiss her at around midnight on Sept 15.
She was placed on a week admin leave. And survived a 6-4 vote by Broomfield city council to dismiss her at around midnight on Sept 15.
Griswold told me that there will be differences with counties. But she expects civility. The clerk and Davidson both apologized.
Then! I get word that a guy named Alex Gano, a local housing attorney, is asking for all the records I asked for.
Alex has given to Jena Griswold’s campaign. She says she knows him. But: “I say from our point it's not unusual for records to be requested. So I really don't know much more besides that.”
He also goes by James ...
He also goes by James ...
Now there’s nothing wrong with that, they are public records after all. Just weird. Gano wouldn’t comment.
Anyway, there much more here. https://www.cpr.org/2020/10/09/jena-griswold-colorado-election-officials/
Anyway, there much more here. https://www.cpr.org/2020/10/09/jena-griswold-colorado-election-officials/
