Adams County Commissioner Candidate Lies, Misleads In Interview

[Rain Man]

I promise that I'm not going to spam the board about this, but since I have a personal stake in it, I thought I'd post this article that came up last night about Chaz Tedesco, who is running for the county commissioner spot currently held by corrupt commissioner Alice Nichol.

Vote for Donnia Howell and Gary Mikes, people. Adams County deserves better than what it's been getting for the past 10 years. Donnia and Gary are going to start fixing things and they're going to stop the corruption.

And for anyone seeking office, here's a tip. If an investigative reporter shows up to interview you with a stack of papers and pointedly asks if you've been arrested, you might want to be honest.


Y'know, it would almost be funny if it wasn't sad. He was asked if he'd been in jail, and he laughed and said, "I've visited the jail [on a tour], but I've never been arrested."

He was asked again, and laughed and said he was caught for shoplifting at the age of 7.

After several more minutes of questioning, he finally admitted the first DUI.

THE REPORTER HAS THE ARREST RECORDS, YOU DUMMY! HE'S HOLDING THEM IN HIS HAND! WHY DO YOU THINK HE'S ASKING YOU!?!?!

Eventually, after continued asking, he finally admitted that he'd been in jail for a second DUI as well.

It could not have been handled worse. He lied, and then he lied, and then he lied some more, and then he lied again. Is anyone seriously going to vote for this guy? He's exactly what Adams County does not need.


http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/10/1...-in-interview/

BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) – Charles Tedesco, a candidate for Adams County Commissioner, admits he lied about his criminal record and tried to mislead during an on-camera interview with CBS4 earlier this month.

“I don’t know why I did it,” Tedesco later said. “I was embarrassed.”

CBS4 examined candidates criminal records and found that Tedesco, a Democrat, had been arrested twice for drunk driving. However the arrests took place under a different name. He used to be named Charles Steven Hillsberry, the name given to him when he was adopted as a young child. He legally changed his name to his birth name — Charles Tedesco — in 2000 saying he did not want to keep his adopted last name.

But before he changed his name, in 1989, the Northglenn Police Department arrested Hillsberry (Tedesco), noting that his blood alcohol level registered .153. He later pleaded guilty to driving while impaired. Then in 1993, he was again arrested for DUI, this time by Federal Heights police. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail and apparently served 9 days of the 15 day sentence.

But when CBS4 approached Tedesco at a recent candidate forum, he was asked if he had ever been arrested, jailed or had a criminal record.

“I visited the jail but I’ve never been arrested,” Tedesco responded. He went on to say he went on a tour of the Adams County Jail about a month earlier, but that was his only experience behind bars.

Tedesco was again asked if he had actually been arrested. “I was picked up but not sure if I was actually arrested, I was picked up absolutely,” he said.

“Was it serious?” he was asked.

“No nothing serious,” he responded. Tedesco went on to explain the only time law enforcement had picked him up was when he was 7 years old and “walked out of a store with something in my pocket I shouldn’t have.”

“Like shoplifting?” he was asked.

“Yeah.”

“But that’s the only time you’ve been arrested or in trouble with the law?” was the next question.

“Right,” he said.

“Shoplifting as a teen?”

“I was not a teen — seven years old. No I got picked up but didn’t say I got arrested,” said Tedesco.

As the interview continues, Tedesco was again asked to clarify.

“The only time you got picked up was as a 7 year old for shoplifting?” he is asked.

“Right — when I was seven years old,” he responds.

After eight minutes of prodding and repeated questions about arrests, Tedesco finally admitted to a single drunk driving arrest.

“I was picked up the day I got back from the military. I had partied and got picked up for DWAI so I did have that,” Tedesco concedes.

But even then, he still didn’t admit to what records obtained by CBS4 showed. A second DUI case four years later that landed him in jail.

“Any others?” he is asked.

“Nope, nope,” responded Tedesco.

Several minutes later, the candidate finally fessed up to the second DUI case that put him behind bars for nine days. “It was very eye opening, it changed my life,” he said.

A review of the other four candidates Colorado criminal records showed none had faced anything more serious than a speeding ticket.

Eric Sondermann, a political consultant, watched the entire interview and said Tedesco violated some basic rules of running for political office. “If you have bad news in your background, you put it out on your own — don’t have someone else put it out for you. It’s not the crime, it’s the coverup,” said Sondermann.

He said voters would likely overlook the DUI cases given how long ago they occurred.

“But when given the opportunity and confronted by you, he did not reek of integrity and reek of wanting to be forthcoming and take responsibility for it. It’s not what you look for in a politician, not what you look for in any politician.”

After watching the interview and Tedesco’s misleading answers, Sondermann said, “He just did not ooze the kind of integrity you would hope candidates ooze.”

The Adams County Commissioner’s job pays nearly $90,000 per year.

Following the interview, Tedesco apologized for his deceptive answers and said he was puzzled by his own actions, unsure why he did not answer questions about his past honestly. He told CBS4 he is “not proud” of the DUI cases.

He said prior to the campaign, he told officials with the Democratic party about the arrests and said if he was ever asked about them, he would answer honestly. He said he was disappointed he didn’t do what he had planned.

- Written by Brian Maass for CBSDenver.com

[barryr]

It won't matter. Those that always vote democrat will vote him anyway.

[Dexter]

Originally Posted by barryr

It won't matter. Those that always vote democrat will vote him anyway.

You're so full of ****. Like you'd ever consider not voting party line.

I by the way will not be voting for this tool. Although I'm an independent and try to get informed more than your average voter.

The problem isn't really that people will overlook **** like this to vote party line. I mean you will always have tools like barryr who have no principles whatsoever. But really a lot of people are just not informed enough to make a logical decision in local politics.

[barryr]

Originally Posted by Dexter

You're so full of ****. Like you'd ever consider not voting party line.

I by the way will not be voting for this tool. Although I'm an independent and try to get informed more than your average voter.

The problem isn't really that people will overlook **** like this to vote party line. I mean you will have tools like barryr who have no principles whatsoever. But really a lot of people are just not informed enough to make a logical decision in local politics.

And you will vote democrat all the time, but that's different

[Dexter]

Originally Posted by barryr

And you will vote democrat all the time, but that's different

Oh really? Kinda like how I'm voting mostly republican here in Adams County and Colorado?

[barryr]

Originally Posted by Dexter

Oh really? Kinda like how I'm voting mostly republican here in Adams County and Colorado?

, sure

[Dexter]

Originally Posted by barryr

, sure

Yeah because all independents vote straight democrat. Like I said, you're a tool. And I'm far more open minded than you. It really isn't a surprise your brain can't fathom that I'd vote for republicans considering all the conspiracy theory **** you probably believe.

Again, you're full of ****.

Just because I think the loonies like Romney, Bachman, Santorum, Gingrich are in-genuine, out of touch a-holes doesn't mean its true for everyone in your party. Although I'm sure you think the more logical and critical thinking conservatives in your party are awful.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Dexter

You're so full of ****. Like you'd ever consider not voting party line.

I by the way will not be voting for this tool. Although I'm an independent and try to get informed more than your average voter.

The problem isn't really that people will overlook **** like this to vote party line. I mean you will always have tools like barryr who have no principles whatsoever. But really a lot of people are just not informed enough to make a logical decision in local politics.

You're exactly right on the core problem. There have been a couple of surveys of Adams County voters in the past year, one good and one shaky methodologically, but both showed that a large proportion of county residents really have no idea what's been going in the County offices. If everyone knew what was going on, they would vote Donnia Howell and Gary Mikes in by a 99 to 1 margin so they could clean out that place. In part, I'm posting information anywhere I can to let people know and to ask them to tell their friends and neighbors. The knowledgeable voters know the score, but the danger is that the clueless ones will just vote out of habit, and the Democrats outnumber the Republicans in Adams County.

Given my background I've had a lot of interaction with these people, and the current commissioners (Hansen being the exception) and the executive staff of Adams County are, as a group, the most unethical and corrupt collection of people I've ever encountered. I could tell you stories that are absolutely staggering, and I've seen it all firsthand. And while the two new Democrat candidates are not currently a part of that history, they've been selected and vetted by them as their handpicked candidates.

And again, I'm not a member of either party and I'm not politically active for the most part. I have just stared into the gaping maw of evil that is Adams County government, and I have sworn to fix it.

[Dexter]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

You're exactly right on the core problem. There have been a couple of surveys of Adams County voters in the past year, one good and one shaky methodologically, but both showed that a large proportion of county residents really have no idea what's been going in the County offices. If everyone knew what was going on, they would vote Donnia Howell and Gary Mikes in by a 99 to 1 margin so they could clean out that place. In part, I'm posting information anywhere I can to let people know and to ask them to tell their friends and neighbors. The knowledgeable voters know the score, but the danger is that the clueless ones will just vote out of habit, and the Democrats outnumber the Republicans in Adams County.

Given my background I've had a lot of interaction with these people, and the current commissioners (Hansen being the exception) and the executive staff of Adams County are, as a group, the most unethical and corrupt collection of people I've ever encountered. I could tell you stories that are absolutely staggering, and I've seen it all firsthand. And while the two new Democrat candidates are not currently a part of that history, they've been selected and vetted by them as their handpicked candidates.

And again, I'm not a member of either party and I'm not politically active for the most part. I have just stared into the gaping maw of evil that is Adams County government, and I have sworn to fix it.

I certainly appreciate it. I hope that I'm not the only Adams county voter reading this forum. You definitely sound like you know more of what's going on than I do in regards to corruption within Adams County. So anything you can share with us is valuable knowledge.

Thank you. I will definitely be sharing this with my friends and family in Adams county.

[barryr]

Originally Posted by Dexter

Yeah because all independents vote straight democrat. Like I said, you're a tool. And I'm far more open minded than you. It really isn't a surprise your brain can't fathom that I'd vote for republicans considering all the conspiracy theory **** you probably believe.

Again, you're full of ****.

Just because I think the loonies like Romney, Bachman, Santorum, Gingrich are in-genuine, out of touch a-holes doesn't mean its true for everyone in your party. Although I'm sure you think the more logical and critical thinking conservatives in your party are awful.

, you an independent? Right. I don't see a post by you about liberals and their lovefest for Obama around here. Just you about republicans and conservatives. Proof is in the pudding and you sir, are full of BS. It is always funny when liberals pretend they are independents, but gee, I got swayed by whichever democrat flavor of the month is at the time. Nice try, but fail.

[Dexter]

Originally Posted by barryr

, you an independent? Right. I don't see a post by you about liberals and their lovefest for Obama around here. Just you about republicans and conservatives. Proof is in the pudding and you sir, are full of BS. It is always funny when liberals pretend they are independents, but gee, I got swayed by whichever democrat flavor of the month is at the time. Nice try, but fail.

Just because I'm voting for Obama makes it so I vote for every democrat? Right.

If you actually read my posts, you'd realize you're the one full of ****. But its really pointless to argue with someone such as yourself who is so close minded.

[Dexter]

Got my ballot today by the way Rainman. I voted for Gary Mikes (R) and Donnia Howell (R). My family will be voting for them as well. Hope it helps but not sure how much it will matter, in the end however.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Dexter

Got my ballot today by the way Rainman. I voted for Gary Mikes (R) and Donnia Howell (R). My family will be voting for them as well. Hope it helps but not sure how much it will matter, in the end however.

You are a prince among men! High-five your screen and I'll high-five mine!

Democrat Commissioner Larry Pace got kicked out in 2010 even though he had a big advantage in party-line voters. I think the office furniture contract scandal got him killed in the election. The beauty is that it was proof that a non-Democrat can win in Adams County, and the win was actually pretty big.

Given that we've had numerous additional scandals since then, I actually think it's highly likely that both Mikes and Howell can get elected as well, and then we're going to see some fireworks. I think we can bring down the whole system of corruption in Adams County government and get that place turned around.

The scandals since 2010 include:

The RTD representative (elected Democrat) disappeared amidst allegations that he was stealing money from his union. I think he never showed up at any RTD meetings. It was really bizarre.

There's still the aftermath of the office furniture scandal, where two commissioners (both Democrat), the county attorney, and a purchasing official diverted a contract from the winner to the second place firm. The contract was then immediately amended to add several hundred thousand dollars.

The new county commissioner (Republican) started digging and discovered that a jail camera contract for hundreds of thousands of dollars per year was being sole-sourced, and there wasn't even a contract for it. It was just being paid - high dollars, no competition, no contract, just a good ole boy deal.

The county administrator recently admitted that over a million dollars has been wasted on sole source contracts for janitorial contracts and other services that were overpriced.

The county administrator and county attorney were asked to do an audit on the community needs assessment contract that was redirected from the winning firm to the friend of a county manager, and reported that the work was completed in entirety and completed on time. In reality, significant parts of the work were never done (but were paid for), the work was plagued by schedule overruns, and the final product was so bad that the county canceled several planned public presentations of the results.

The county assessor (Democrat) was caught lowering tax assessments on the properties of people who gave him campaign contributions.

These are just a few. And it's really not a Democrat/Republican thing from a philosophical standpoint. It's the fact that the people who run the local Democrat party are crooked. It has no bearing on the party at a philosophical level.

The key is to continue educating voters about what is happening. My big concern is that many voters have not kept up with the news and don't know what has been going on. As a person who is heavily involved (and apolitical), I have been monitoring it closely, as have others. For example, Colorado Ethics Watch has this to say in their 2011 annual "Ethics Roundup":

Adams County was the unquestioned epicenter of ethics problems in Colorado during 2011, with multiple scandals rocking county government and leading voters to demand reform.

http://crew.3cdn.net/0782c4c88899028f84_tem6bgbjt.pdf

However, there are still a lot of people out there who have no idea, which is why I and others are trying to spread the word.

So may your deity of choice bless you, Dexter, and any of those you can convince to vote for Howell and Mikes.

[Spider]

this guy is a turd ...glad he isnt in my district