Low ticket sales forces organizers to cancel GOP secretary of state candidate forum

Matthew Bennett, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Jun. 2—Wednesday evening's secretary of state forum in Longmont that was scheduled to include two of the three Republican candidates running for the office was ultimately canceled.

Hosted by the Longmont Republican Women and sponsored by Boulder County Republicans, the candidate forum was set to occur from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Twin Peaks Classical Academy, 340 S. Sunset St. in Longmont.

Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters and Mike O'Donnell, who serves as the executive director of Colorado-based nonprofit Prairie Rose Development, had been scheduled to participate.

Former Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Pam Anderson, who is also running as a Republican for secretary of state was invited to participate but unavailable to attend, according to the event's promotional materials.

Tickets, which were available to the public and included a dinner, were $30 and have been refunded, Longmont Republican Women President Tara Menza said Wednesday.

The decision was reached last Friday to cancel the event as a result of low ticket sales.

"I think a lot of people were out of town," Menza said, citing Memorial Day and school breaking for the summer. "There's been quite a few events ... between Fort Collins and Denver where the candidates have been speaking, and I think that played a lot into it as well. I think people have heard quite a bit lately from all the candidates."

The statewide race has caught national attention particularly after Peters was indicted by a Mesa County grand jury on seven felony and three misdemeanor counts earlier this year, including attempting to influence a public servant and conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation.

In a statement after her indictment, Peters said she was "innocent" and that a jury of her Mesa County peers would agree.

"Today was about influencing a primary election. It was about picking a weaker opponent to face Democrat Jena Griswold," Peters said in her March 12 statement addressing her indictment.

Griswold, who currently serves as Colorado secretary of state, defeated Republican incumbent Wayne Williams in the 2018 general election by almost 200,000 votes for the office that oversees elections.

This year's primary election will be June 28 followed by the general election on Nov. 8.