On Tuesday November 27th Clay Douglas, attorney for the city of Longmont, came to council to ask p ermission for something he'd already done.
In my experience, when you do that what you should really be asking for is forg iveness.

In this writer's opinion, City Attorney Douglas has made several serious errors in judgment, action, and advisement in this matter. On Tuesday he got caught, in advising the council to give him permission to hire a special prosecutor from Boulder. Not just any prosecutor, but someone already hand picked for this job. The job, the arrangements for payment, the person to fill the job, and the method of supervision of the special prosecutor had already been decided. Clay had worked all of this out in advance with no less than the Boulder City council, and the office of the city attorney of Boulder. After all the cats were in the bag, he then went to his own bosses to ask permission to do what he'd already done.

At least half of the Longmont council recognized that this wasn't a request, but rather historical information. The others seemed to be unaware, unfazed, or just catatonic.

What does Longmont need a special prosecutor for? Our city judge, Diana VanDeHey, has allegedly violated elections law. Some think that the issue is simply a city code, but actually the violation is of state statue.
Using Longmont's Home Rule status, CA Douglas and Judge VanDeHey worked together to make the penalties for failing to file required campaign finance reports on time to be five times more costly than state statute. My research shows this to be the most onerous in the entire state. The state statute makes the fine for late filing a $50 offense. In Longmont, candidates who fail to file by deadline are fined $300 for each day that they fail to file.

Many candidates have had to pay this fine, and Judge VanDeHey has unevenly made demands for personal appearances, while CA Douglas has unequally prosecuted or hindered the city clerk in these matters. Councilman Block didn't have to appear at all, but was allowed to simply pay his fine at the counter. Conversely in 2005, candidate Colelli had to appear, be berated by both judge and prosecution about his fitness as a candidate, and was then fined.
During that same election season, then Mayor Pirnack filed late and incomplete reports, yet no summons was issued nor fines paid. Apparently, CA Douglas decided not to prosecute his boss. At the same time this writer had to pay, and Judge VanDeHey made efforts to force me to appear in her court. I succeeded in preventing that from occurring and paid my fine at the counter.
The worst-case-scenario was with council candidate Tim Hill. CA Douglas pushed aside the regular municipal prosecutor, in order to take the helm. Mr. Hill was treated roughly and unfairly in a rather bizarre trial where the judge sided with prosecutor Douglas. Mr. Hill was called sloppy, and told that he would be used as an example. Mr. Hill had previously filed all his documents on time, but his one slip was used to make him into a public spectacle.
Is the application of this minor state law and heavy-handed city ordinance about justice, or grand theater? It's certainly been a money maker for the city.

Many of us were convinced that Judge VanDeHey would simply plead guilty and pay the fine. There's little evidence to ponder. She missed the filing date and time. $300 is steep, but still affordable, even for a city judge. Is it possible that she fears having a conviction on her record?

The judge may have already spoken out of court before her trial. Councilwoman Blue, in Tuesdays open council session, stated that VanDeHey seems to believe that she didn't have to file because she didn't raise any funds, nor expend them. It is unclear if she actually made such a statement or if it was just inferred by those close to her. Judge VanDeHey's guilt or innocence cannot be debated here. It is a matter for the court to decide. It is her right to plead her case before the court.

City attorney Douglas on the other hand has opened himself up to the court of public opinion and the scrutiny of the council and city that he serves. Rather than allow the clerk of the city to perform her duty unhindered, he snapped up the summons before it could be served and spent many days sweating over it. A number of people, including council members, advised CA Douglas to remove himself from the issue. He chose to do something else. Something odd.

It wouldn't have been odd for the city attorney to ask the council to take on the matter, or to advise them on the options before taking action. The oddity was that he went to have both private and then public discussions with the city attorney of Boulder and its city council. When he had it all worked out he went to his city council and asked for permission to do the job he'd already completed. That method didn't go completely unnoticed.

The Longmont city council really had a number of choices, but CA Douglas only advised them on the choice that he'd already made. He didn't fully inform his client. Of course it is possible that he couldn't talk about what he didn't know. Is he an expert at prosecuting a sitting municipal judge? To his credit he did seek help, but unfortunately he didn't ask permission to do so.

This type of action is not abnormal for Longmont's city attorney. It's a repeating theme of behavior. Do first, ask later. Advise only what will secure a positive response. Don't lie, just don't fill in all the options. There were many options available, but Clay Douglas made his choice and gave only information that supported it. Council was left with a rubber stamp, and that is what they did.
Clay was not admonished for taking initiative without directive or permission. This action on the part of council to allow our city staff to run in whatever direction suits them will only insure more dubious deeds.

If there is blame to be laid, then it is spread between the city attorney and the city council. The council has rather happily (or haphazardly) let the city attorney run the show. It could be simply an amusement, unless you happen to live in Longmont.