Colorado appeals court upholds campaign finance fine for ex-state Senate candidate

Colorado's second-highest court last week agreed a former state Senate candidate misinterpreted campaign finance law and failed to file the proper paperwork upon declaring her candidacy.

Suzanne Taheri was the unsuccessful Republican nominee in 2020 for the seat now held by Sen. Chris Kolker, D-Littleton. Although Taheri believed she had satisfied Colorado's campaign finance requirements by submitting a copy of her federal tax return shortly after she became a candidate, an administrative law judge concluded that was not the correct form of disclosure.

Taheri, who formerly was the No. 2 official in the Colorado Secretary of State's Office and the Arapahoe County GOP chair, appealed the finding of a violation and the fine associated with it. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals upheld the administrative judge's interpretation of the law and also found the complaint against Taheri was timely.

The "legislature chose to enact a statute of limitations triggered not by the date of the violation but by the date a citizen reasonably discovered it. That is the legislature’s prerogative," wrote Judge Elizabeth L. Harris in the March 21 opinion.

Under Colorado law, public officials may file their federal income tax return as a form of financial disclosure. Although candidates must disclose the same type of information within 10 days after filing for office, the law requires that their financial disclosures come "on a form approved by the secretary of state."

After Taheri declared her candidacy in 2019, she submitted her federal tax return. In May 2020, a complainant who consulted with a representative of the progressive advocacy group ProgressNow Colorado filed a campaign finance complaint against Taheri based on her disclosure.

Appearing before Administrative Law Judge Matthew Norwood, Taheri's lawyer said the "only issue" was the timeliness of the complaint. The law requires campaign finance complaints to be filed within 180 days of when a person "knew or should have known, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, of the alleged violation." In Taheri's case, the complaint came 263 days after her allegedly deficient financial disclosure.

Norwood disagreed with Taheri's argument that the complaint was untimely and in March 2021, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Beall upheld that decision. He imposed a fine of $850. Taheri then sought review in Denver District Court.

Beall and Secretary of State Jena Griswold "allowed Plaintiff’s political enemies to sit on a complaint until it was the most advantageous to attack Plaintiff," wrote Taheri, representing herself.

District Court Judge Jill D. Dorancy found the complaint against Taheri was filed in a reasonable period of time. She noted a strict 180-day limitation from the time of a violation would impair the ability of citizens to verify the accuracy of campaign filings. Dorancy also agreed Taheri misunderstood that her federal tax return was not a substitute for the required financial statement.

"Appellant argues that the complaint lacked substantial justification and was commenced for the purpose of delay or harassment. Appellant again provides no legal theory or facts in the record to support her claims," Dorancy wrote. "Proffering a 'most likely explanation' is not the same as providing evidence or facts in the record to support the claim."

In the appellate panel's opinion, Harris noted Taheri "expressly declined to present any evidence or argument" about the campaign finance violation before the administrative judge, instead challenging only the timeliness of the complaint. Nonetheless, the panel agreed the complaint was timely and all other aspects of Norwood's decision were valid.

Judge Jerry N. Jones, writing separately, indicated he did not believe the panel needed to address certain arguments from Taheri because she did not raise them at the original hearing.

Taheri declined to comment on the decision.

The case is Taheri v. Beall et al.