Saturday, May 12, 2007

Lopez lie. Campaign die?

Paul Lopez is running for City Council in District 3. But at the moment, the question is not whether he's likely to win, but whether he's even eligible to run. Dear Denver raises these questions in today's "Rumor mill grinds Paul Lopez." The article notes that to be eligible for election, all City Council candidates must be:
a citizen of the United States; a resident of the City and County of Denver for the two (2) years immediately preceding his election; a qualified elector of the City and County of Denver; over twenty-five (25) years of age and if elected from a council district, the second year of residency shall have been within the district.
The problem is, Paul Lopez has by his own admission NOT been in District 3 since the required date (May 1, 2006). As Dear Denver explains:
on August 9, 2006, Lopez received a traffic ticket for expired plates. The home address for Lopez noted on the court record is 3400 S. Lowell Blvd., which is in Denver District 2, not District 3.
It seems pretty clear: Paul Lopez either was lying to the court then or he's lying to the public now.

I wonder what happens if Mr Lopez is found ineligible. Would JoAnne Phillips win the seat by default? Would a new general election be held?

Stay tuned, folks. This one's getting weird.

2 comments:

debunkifier said...

This is ridiculous. Paul Lopez has lived in District 3 his entire life.

He has utility bills and tax documentation dating back to the mid-1990's to prove his residence.

The Denver Election Commission has officially certified Paul's candidacy and his residency for this election months ago.

This desperate smear attack is being perpetrated by an opponent who lost the May 1st election by approximately 30 percentage points and who who has raised approximately $3,000. Paul's opponent should spend more time making fundraising phone calls and less time spreading baseless rumors.

Dave Burrell said...

Dear Mr Debunkifier,

Can you explain why the county court reported Mr Lopez's address was in District 2? That seems to be a pretty solid piece of evidence against your claims.

You also intimate that this is being engineered by the campaign of Joanne Phillips, who raised $4,039.53 and lost by 30.2%.

Do you have any proof of this, or would you simply prefer to spread this "baseless rumor" as an antidote to the factual questions regarding Mr Lopez's residency?