The city of Loveland has closed a campaign finance complaint brought by councilor Andrea Samson against the issue committee opposing the recall of councilor Don Overcash.
In an Aug. 27 email to Samson, City Clerk Delynn Coldiron said the city had retained the services of an attorney, Timothy Snyder of law firm of Kutak Rock, to evaluate Samson’s claim that Overcash violated campaign finance rules by allegedly visiting an event hosted by Lovelanders for Solutions, an issue committee fighting his recall.
“Mr. Snyder has notified me that none of the allegations contained in your complaint satisfy the elements of an election violation under the Code because there is nothing that prohibits a Candidate from coordinating with an Issue Committee,” Coldiron wrote. “No further action is planned in this regard and the complaint is now considered closed.”
In a press release, John Zakhem, an attorney representing Overcash and Lovelanders for Solutions, praised the decision and framed the conflict in the context of free speech.
“I want to thank Ms. Coldiron for her correct ruling because the law is so clear,” he said in the release. “It is unfortunate that a sitting Loveland councilor wanted to silence the First Amendment rights of Don Overcash and Lovelanders for Solutions.”
Samson said she is not interested in challenging the decision right now, but that her concern was grounded in the understanding that committees such as Lovelanders for Solutions could not work directly with candidates.
The effort to recall Overcash, who is also running for mayor, was announced in April. A recall question will not appear on the November ballot, however, after Coldiron rejected organizers’ draft petition that would have been used to collect signatures.
Organizer Troy Krenning insisted the form of petition submitted to the city was “identical” to the example provided by the clerk but said a future recall is not off the table if Overcash were to oust incumbent mayor Jacki Marsh.
“In the very unlikely event Overcash wins the election for Mayor, the committee will work to recall him as soon as the charter and state law allow,” Krenning wrote in a text message.
