ASHE IN AMERICA — OPINION
The El Paso County Clerk & Recorder Speaks Out About External Influence In Colorado’s Democracy
El Paso County Clerk & Recorder Steve Schleiker quietly resigned as Vice President of the Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA) in early March, and he also withdrew El Paso County from active membership in the non-governmental organization.
In late March, Schleiker released his reasons for leaving, and they are explosive.
“After careful consideration, I made the decision several weeks ago to resign as Vice President of the Colorado County Clerks Association and to withdraw El Paso County from active membership. This was not a decision I made lightly.” ‘
Schleiker says that his decision was “driven by concerns about independence, transparency, and the role of external influence within what is intended to be an independent association.”
After this news broke, I requested open records from several counties and received both his resignation letter as well as his notification letter to his clerk colleagues. Both letters are published in full on my Substack.
Schleiker named names.
“It has been difficult to watch what appears to be one individual in Denver, Martha Tierney, attorney for the Colorado Democratic Party, exert significant influence over election-related legislation, directing caucus positions and outcomes.”
He also alleged that CCCA Executive Director Matt Crane and CCCA President Carly Koppes prohibited him from attending certain meetings, even though he was the NGO’s elected Vice President. “I was not permitted to participate in certain executive-level meetings with the Secretary of State’s Office. I was informed this was due to a lack of trust from that office, and that participation would be delayed until others were more ‘comfortable.’”
But he believes those reasons were dishonest.
“After receiving that information, I reached out directly to the Secretary of State as well as multiple members of her staff. Each of them shared with me that these conversations had not occurred. That response raised additional concerns for me and led me to believe this situation was developed internally by the CCCA President and Executive Director.”
In response to Clerk Schleiker’s story going public, Clerk Koppes reportedly disputed his characterization, according to a summary from Complete Colorado:
“Koppes said Schleiker’s interpretation of the events are not accurate, saying the meetings Schleiker is referring to historically are held between the president of the organization, the executive director, and various stakeholder groups to discuss upcoming events, legislation, and other things pertinent to the organization. Koppes has the authority to expand those at the meetings to also include the president-elect and the vice president. Because this is her last year, Koppes says she was considering doing that so those two roles would be more informed as they took over the organization into the next year. However, some of the stakeholder groups’ members came to Koppes concerned about Schleiker’s views.”
Upon reading the characterization of Koppes’ position, I reached out to Clerk Schleiker. In his resignation letter, he said he wasn’t going to speak to the press about his resignation; but since the CCCA was disputing his story, I thought maybe he would change his mind.
He did, and he wrote me back — with even more allegations against the professional association. More on that below, but first some backstory.
The CCCA is run by Matt Crane, a former Arapahoe County clerk who has been the subject of great controversy since 2020. Crane is the mastermind of the recent CCCA statements demanding Tina Peters remain in prison. I wrote about that back in December when Elbert County Clerk Rhonda Braun bravely, publicly, rebuked the CCCA’s position as not representative of the clerks.
Crane is the main point of escalation for the clerks on all things election related. He also has the perception of a conflict of interest there. From Holly at Altitude back in 2021:
“It turns out Crane’s wife worked at Sequoia Voting Systems, which was acquired by Dominion Voting, for over 17 years… Matt Crane was working in influential election roles, bouncing between the public and private sector… Crane’s work included influencing, recommending, and distributing voting systems; shaping voter legislation, budgeting, designing and implementing voter registration, overseeing vendor contracts, and installing operating systems, the list goes on.”
Consider the investigation of Tina Peters’ Mesa County reports. The investigator called Matt Crane to craft the official narrative debunking those reports’ findings. That audio was released in February 2025. On the audio, you hear the investigator call and explicitly ask Mr. Crane how to debunk the findings.
Clerk Schleiker doesn’t stop with external influence. In response to my request for comments, the clerk makes additional allegations of retaliation and county interference by the CCCA principals:
“…an emergency meeting was convened by the Association’s leadership where my character and decision were discussed in a negative manner…Shortly thereafter, the Executive Director independently contacted several of El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s vendors and spoke negatively about me and the situation…”
Why is the head of a professional association reaching out to county vendors and allegedly disparaging the elected clerk in that county while ostensibly discussing county business?
External influence, sure, but this is external interference. Matt Crane has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Clerk Schleiker is raising red flags.
What is your clerk saying about this, and are they still paying dues to the CCCA?
You should ask.
Ashe Epp is a local writer, host, and activist. Find all her work at linktree.com/asheinamerica.
