Thread by @KyleClark

NEW: Denver mayoral candidate @AndyforDenver, a leading fundraiser in the race, racked up seven false claims during a recent interview with @GeorgeBrauchler on @710KNUS. We fact-checked each falsehood. #copolitics 9news.com/article/news/l…

@AndyforDenver @GeorgeBrauchler @710KNUS Rougeot's litany of false claims ranged from obvious falsehoods about other candidates in the race to instances where he appeared genuinely confused about city issues and policies.

@AndyforDenver claimed he’s the “only candidate with actual business experience.” Not true. @KwameSpearman is the CEO of @TatteredCover. @KellyBroughDen ran the @DenChamber. Thomas Wolf is an investment banker. Aurelio Martinez ran a restaurant. Robert Treta is a developer.

Rougeot falsely said “all the other candidates... are all sort of career politicians.” The field of 17 candidates for Denver Mayor includes approximately 10 candidates who could fairly be described as new or relatively new to politics.

Rougeot falsely claimed that he is the only candidate talking about enforcing the camping ban. Several candidates are vocal about their support for the camping ban. Here are several raising their hands in support of sweeps at a recent forum.

https://twitter.com/samuelbrasch/status/1618806472359690241

Rougeot falsely claimed that Denverites who have "already finished" homes are waiting a year for a Certificate of Occupancy to move into the property. Denver has a serious backlog in building permits but once builds/remodels are completed, COs are typically issued in 1-2 days.

Rougeot falsely blamed Denver's pedestrian deaths on jaywalking by people experiencing homelessness. "We're having a spike of pedestrian deaths mostly caused by homeless individuals cutting across busy streets," he said. It appears Rougeot is incorrectly reading city statistics.

Denver Medical Examiner's stats show that most pedestrians killed in 2022/2021/2020 weren't homeless. Rougeot’s campaign pointed 9NEWS to “blunt force trauma” deaths, which the ME's office says includes other causes of death, including suicides, falls, and people hit by trains.

Rougeot inexplicably claimed that he is the only mayoral candidate who isn’t receiving matching taxpayer funding through the city’s new Fair Elections Fund. There are four mayoral candidates who are not receiving Fair Elections Fund matches.

Rougeot claimed, without evidence, that mayoral candidates he wouldn't name are paying themselves salaries out of campaign funds. A Denver Elections spokeswoman said such an action would violate campaign finance laws.

9NEWS reviewed the expenditure reports of all 17 mayoral candidates and found no evidence to support Rougeot’s claim that a candidate is taking a salary from campaign funds. Rougeot's campaign then told 9NEWS that the funds are hidden by payroll firms.

9NEWS contacted the two mayoral campaigns that list expenditures to payroll companies. Both volunteered to allow 9NEWS to review their payroll forms. The forms provided offered no evidence to support Rougeot’s claim of illegal salaries being paid to mayoral candidates.