The Greeley Tribune: After one county commissioner released confidential records to protest county meetings with utility companies, the rest of the commissioners are left scratching their heads.

Commissioner Sean Conway recently released emails, which detailed the county’s attorney giving the board legal advice before a planned September meeting with Xcel Energy, alleging the meeting was a kind of unethically private correspondence called ex parte communication. The emails went public this week when a conservative blog published them.

“If there truly was an issue, I don’t know why he was at (that) meeting,” Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer said, noting Conway didn’t seem concerned enough to skip the meeting. Conway is known for missing meetings he disagrees with. As an example, he did not attend a county training this summer in Breckenridge, stating the travel expense was excessive.

Other commissioners expressed concerns about the email documents’ release, which took place after the county attorney deemed them confidential and protected by attorney-client privilege. They said the meeting with Xcel, and frankly other large companies, are normal county business.

County Attorney Bruce Barker declined to release the documents, citing confidentiality. The emails were then published anyway on Complete Colorado, which is funded by Independence Institute, a Denver-based conservative think-tank. The report said the one of the email chain’s recipients shared the emails.

The conversation outlined in the emails prior to the Sept. 6 meeting showed Barker advising the commissioners to avoid talking about project specifics. The emails also showed Conway voicing concern about the meeting. He was the only one who voiced opposition to the meetings, and various sources confirmed he shared the documents. He did not respond before deadline to a call and text message from The Tribune seeking comment.

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