Earlier this week, I received criticism about one of my campaign commercials. In the commercial, I let the people of Colorado know that my opponent, Walker Stapleton, had a car accident in 1999 in which he was convicted of a DUI and charged with a hit and run.
Stapleton had been a candidate for an office of public trust for over a year before being forced to disclose this record by a debate moderator.
But still today, I do not believe Mr. Stapleton is being forthcoming about what happened in the accident, and the media has not verified the facts.
First, Mr. Stapleton reported that in the accident, the cab hit him (reported by the Denver Post, September 30). I spoke directly to one of the victims in the accident and she told me a very different story. She told me that Mr. Stapleton struck the taxi that she was in so hard that it spun completely around. She said that Mr. Stapleton drove away and stopped only because two other cars "cornered him." Finally, she told me Mr. Stapleton never stopped to see if she or other victims needed help.
These are such extremely serious charges that I decided to put it in the public view because my opponent has failed to do so. The Denver Post and I have both called for Mr. Stapleton to release the police reports from the accident so the people of Colorado can learn what really happened, which so far he has failed to do.
As candidates and elected officials we have an obligation to be honest. Being honest means being forthright about information, no matter how painful disclosing that information might be.
I am proud of my record as Colorado's State Treasurer. I have protected the taxpayer's money and grown the value of the state's investments in a very challenging economy. I do not like negative ads, but I do believe that this incident and the fact that my opponent did not disclose it is serious enough that Colorado voters should know about it.