Secretary of State Gessler reimbursed the state nearly $1,300 for a political trip to Florida last year, renewing speculation he plans to run for governor in 2014. His political director, Rory McShane, said Gessler’s decision to reimburse the money — which led to an ethics complaint against the Republican office-holder — has nothing do with his election plans. Gessler on Thursday also filed a candidate affidavit for governor, which his office said was a campaign finance requirement after he publicly revealed last week he was thinking of taking on Gov. John Hickenlooper. Affidavits must be filed with 10 days of making a formal announcement or even signifying a possible run.
Gessler plans to decide within a week whether to challenge the governor or run for re-election, McShane said.
Gessler spokesman Andrew Cole said Thursday that the secretary decided to pay for the trip because he doesn’t believe the Independent Ethics Commission investigating the complaint is going to give him a fair hearing.
“As that has become more obvious — more than six months in they still have refused to definitely define what he needs to defend himself against — we want to move on so we can focus on our work for Colorado,” Cole said.
Full Article: Gessler repays state for political trips, mulls governor’s race – The Denver Post.
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