Why I think Dan Maes is too unethical to be governor of Colorado

A bunch of retired Republican politicians are jumping on Dan Maes’ sinking ship while at least three major GOP contributors are jumping to Obama Democrat John Hickenlooper’s campaign. Apparently  Republican Party officials and the has been politicians who are supporting Maes don’t think his lack of talent or experience in running anything successfully or his ethical problems disqualify him from heading their ticket or serving as governor.

 

1. Last January Maes failed to file a complete and accurate fundraising report with the Colorado Secretary of state. He blamed his former campaign accountant or treasurer for disappearing and not filing the reports. But it is not clear that she ever took the job or was paid by Maes. I don’t think he was completely honest about what happened between him and his treasurer or about why his report was faulty.
2. During the primary season, Ben DeGrow published a poll on his web site. Maes used his FaceBook page to urge his backers to vote in the poll. This stacking distorted the poll, and DeGrow eventually gave up on publishing it for whatever reason. I consider stacking polls by candidates unethical.
3. At several points during the campaign, Maes tried to create a sense of momentum by making comments that I think exaggerated his fundraising progress. When he reported his results, it was clear that he had been fudging the truth. I consider that unethical.
4. When Maes was fined for failing to report on his campaign fundraising according to state laws, he glibly dismissed the violations as nothing worse than accumulating a stack of parking tickets. He acted as if having a pile of parking tickets was ok. That, to me, showed that Maes doesn’t care about ethics and is unfit  to be governor.
5. After his new campaign fundraising record keeping violations were exposed, Maes threw his wife and 23-year-old daughter under the bus. He blamed them for his violations, which showed and highlighted his incompetence and inability to raise enough money to hire someone who knew how to keep him in compliance  with the laws and regulations. To me, that was both unbelievable and unethical behavior. If he’s willing to throw his family under the bus, what has he been doing to his volunteers and what would he do to his employes if he became governor?
6. Maes’ most important argument that he should be governor has been that he is an experienced business executive and entrepreneur. He would use his executive talent to turn the state around, he promised. Sadly, Maes has not been a very successful business executive. When he released a summary of his tax returns through an obscure web site owned by a supporter, it became clear that he had been conning his supporters.  Some said he “embellished” his business experience. I say he lied on his resume, and that is unethical.
7. In an interview with a conservative blogger at http://www.rossputin.com, Maes backed down from his boasts that he had worked with the top executives at Fortune 500 companies. It turns out that he had met with the companies while he was trying to sell services to them.  Ross Kaminsky wrote on his blog: “Maes said something about sitting in the board room with Fortune 500 CEO’s, but when I pushed on that question a bit, he changed it to “what we call C-level” executives, such as CIO and CFO, people to whom he was trying to sell expensive telecommunications equipment.  I understand his wanting to emphasize interaction with big business, but I thought his gambit fell short when his “board room” meetings with CEOs turned into sales meetings with other executives.  I had hoped that he meant – as it sounded at first – that he had served on the Board of Directors of a big company.  But that wasn’t the case, or at least he didn’t say so.” To me, that exchange with Kaminsky was just another indication of how little Maes values the truth.
8. One of Maes’ former bosses accused him of stealing his customer list and using it to start a competing business. Maes denied the charge, and there is no evidence that a suit was ever filed. The former employer never repeated or backed up his charge. But where there is smoke, there is fire, and you’ve got to wonder who to believe. Indeed, Maes said that while he didn’t steal the customer list, he did try to take his former employer’s clients. To anyone who’s ever owned a business, taking a client list or trying to take clients when you leave an employer is a serious violation of business ethics. 
9. Maes said that he sold his failing business  and that the buyer employed him as a sales executive. Yet, when a blogger tried to confirm the employment, the person who answered the phone said that she’d never heard of Maes. And the owner of the firm refused to confirm Maes’ claim or to comment on him at all. When you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all, or you might get sued. Something about this doesn’t smell good.
10. Freda Poundstone, a former mayor of Greenwood Village and a woman who’s been making a living as a lobbyist for decades because her word is good, says she gave more than $300 in cash to Maes so he could pay his mortgage. Maes at first denied the gift and said it was a campaign contribution. Poundstone called him a “liar” and the next day, he said he couldn’t remember whether Poundstone contributed to his campaign or gave the money to him as a gift. Maes has no record that the gift was a campaign contribution. I’m not the only one who believes Poundstone and not Maes because he’s been caught fudging the truth on other issues.

 

As far as I know, nobody who ever worked for Maes or employed him or has known him a long time has come forward with an endorsement or a kind word. Why is that? Has the man no friends?

 

Separately, these examples may seem minor to has been GOP politicians who are used to fudging the truth and think its just politics. Maes’ ethical lapses also appear to be unimportant to Tea Party spokespeople who continue to endorse him.

 

But to me, Maes’ ethical lapses are damning evidence that he lacks the ethics and character that Coloradans have a right to expect in their next governor. 

 

Disclosure: I have nothing personal against Maes. He’s always been courteous to me, and he’s always been very accessible to the media, bloggers and voters.  Because I can’t support Maes, I am supporting Tom Tancredo for governor.

 

LINKS:

 

Getting to know Dan Maes. By Ross Kaminsky, who says he’ll probably back Maes over Hickenlooper.

 

Freda Poundstone backs Tom Tancredo, calls Dan Maes a ‘liar’. The Business Word, 8.13.2010.

 

Why don’t many Republicans care about Dan Maes’ lying about his resume? The Business Word, 8.5.2010.

 

 

 

Dan Maes says he called on former employer’s customers; he didn’t take customer list. The Business Word, 7.21.2010.

Maes’ responses only sort of clear up questions on career history, resume. By Scot Kersgaard.

Dan Maes’ former boss accuses him of taking customer list, trying to poach clients. The Business Word, 7.21.2010.

 

Non-politician Maes has worked mostly as salesman and mid-level manager; “I wouldn’t hire him back. That’s for sure.” By Scot Kersgaard.

Dan Maes for Colorado.

1. Like you-i have nothing against the guy—he seems pleasant enough.

   BUT!  Re Resume—what about his two year stunt as a cop?  Why is that not listed?

   ————————————————————-
   Maes’ most important argument that he should be governor has been that he is an experienced business executive and entrepreneur. He would use his executive talent to turn the state around, he promised. Sadly, Maes has not been a very successful business executive. When he released a summary of his tax returns through an obscure web site owned by a supporter, it became clear that he had been conning his supporters.  Some said he “embellished” his business experience. I say he lied on his resume, and that is unethical.

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  08/22/2010  at  10:10 AM

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