The Smoking Gun, a Wild West-themed dispensary next to Shotgun Willie’s in Glendale, is seen in this 2021 photo. (The Denver Post)
The lengthiest and priciest ethics case in state history has ended in a split decision, finding that Glendale Mayor Mike Dunafon wrongly failed to recuse himself from a vote approving his future wife’s dispensary but clearing him of accusations that he influenced the votes of others.
“His involvement impinged upon public confidence that decisions regarding permit applications would be made by an impartial, unbiased city council,” three members of Colorado’s five-person Independent Ethics Commission wrote in a 16-page ruling on Friday.
But the commission declined to penalize Dunafon, finding that he had not financially benefited from his biased vote, resulting in a quiet conclusion after eight years of contention.
“We’re disappointed that they found Mayor Dunafon violated any state statutes,” said Joshua Weiss, his attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in Denver. “It’s not the outcome we were hoping for but there is a lot in that opinion that we do agree with.”
Dunafon, who has been Glendale’s mayor since 2012, is married to Debbie Dunafon, née Debbie Matthews. She is the majority owner of the Shotgun Willie’s strip club and founder of the nearby Smoking Gun dispensary. That pot shop was sold to Star Buds in late 2021.
Before Smoking Gun could open, it needed approval from Glendale’s city government. The Glendale City Council, led by Mayor Dunafon, weighed the matter on Feb. 3, 2015. Dunafon was dating Matthews at the time. She became Debbie Dunafon five months later.
Mike Dunafon initially recused himself from the vote, turned the hearing over to Mayor Pro Tem Paula Bovo, and sat in the front row of the gallery. But the vote did not go his future wife’s way: The council voted the development proposal down, three to two. Bovo did not vote.
Mike and Debbie Dunafon in 2016. (Denver Post file)
“Ms. Bovo testified that Mr. Dunafon angrily stormed back up to the dais,” the ethics commission wrote. Another councilmember recalled Dunafon being “irritated” and “pretty pissed.” He took over the meeting, declared he was going to break a three-three tie, and voted aye.
“It is unclear from the audio transcript why Mr. Dunafon and the meeting minutes treated the three-two vote as a tied vote,” the ethics commission wrote. “Ms. Bovo testified that the tenor of the room was ‘really tense’ and that she was afraid to speak up and correct the record.”
After the meeting, “Bovo heard Dunafon yelling at councilmembers who voted nay on the application for embarrassing his wife, according to Friday’s ethics ruling.
The law firm of Springer & Steinberg, which represented both the City of Glendale and Smoking Gun at the time, advised council members that they were required to approve all development plans that comply with zoning laws. A second vote was held the following month and Smoking Gun’s application was approved overwhelmingly, five to one. Dunafon did not vote.
The decisions raised questions about conflicts of interest. Then a rug store got involved.
MAK Investment Group owns Authentic Persian & Oriental Rugs at 550 S. Colorado Blvd. in Glendale. It also owned 6 acres near the intersection of East Virginia Avenue and Colorado Boulevard that the City of Glendale wanted to take by eminent domain and turn into Glendale 180, an entertainment district. MAK sued to stop that in 2015 and won in 2017.
Also in 2015, MAK filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Dunafon. Mountains of litigation followed, including cases before the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court. By 2023, Glendale taxpayers had spent $2 million on it, Colorado Politics reported.
The Independent Ethics Commission, a bipartisan body created by voters in 2006, then made its ruling, siding with MAK on three points (that Dunafon wrongly voted on the Smoking Gun application and twice failed to disclose conflicts) and with Dunafon on three points.
Dunafon did not have conflicts of interest when voting on T-Bar, a late-night spot adjacent to Shotgun Willie’s that is owned by his wife’s daughter-in-law, and did not pressure members of the Glendale City Council to approve the Smoking Gun development, the IEC found.
IEC Chair Sarah Mercer, who works at the same law firm that represents Dunafon, recused herself from Friday’s decision. Cole Wist, a lawyer and former Republican lawmaker, dissented from the part of the decision that found Dunafon had a financial interest in Smoking Gun since it was his wife, not Dunafon himself, who had a majority ownership stake in the shop.
“Mr. Dunafon’s vote at the February 3, 2015, meeting was not improper,” Wist decided.
Through its lawyer, Russell Kemp at Ireland Stapleton, MAK declined to comment Monday.
The mayor’s attorney, Weiss, said that the Dunafon-IEC saga is not over. He plans to appeal the decision to the Colorado Court of Appeals, where he will cast doubt on whether the IEC has jurisdiction over home-rule municipalities, a larger point that he is eager to make.
“At the end of the day, we are excited because this opinion will give us the opportunity to appeal that point and finally have a court determine what powers the IEC has,” Weiss said.
The Smoking Gun, a Wild West-themed dispensary next to Shotgun Willie’s in Glendale, is seen in this 2021 photo. (The Denver Post)
The lengthiest and priciest ethics case in state history has ended in a split decision, finding that Glendale Mayor Mike Dunafon wrongly failed to recuse himself from a vote approving his future wife’s dispensary but clearing him of accusations that he influenced the votes of others.
“His involvement impinged upon public confidence that decisions regarding permit applications would be made by an impartial, unbiased city council,” three members of Colorado’s five-person Independent Ethics Commission wrote in a 16-page ruling on Friday.
But the commission declined to penalize Dunafon, finding that he had not financially benefited from his biased vote, resulting in a quiet conclusion after eight years of contention.
“We’re disappointed that they found Mayor Dunafon violated any state statutes,” said Joshua Weiss, his attorney with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in Denver. “It’s not the outcome we were hoping for but there is a lot in that opinion that we do agree with.”
Dunafon, who has been Glendale’s mayor since 2012, is married to Debbie Dunafon, née Debbie Matthews. She is the majority owner of the Shotgun Willie’s strip club and founder of the nearby Smoking Gun dispensary. That pot shop was sold to Star Buds in late 2021.
Before Smoking Gun could open, it needed approval from Glendale’s city government. The Glendale City Council, led by Mayor Dunafon, weighed the matter on Feb. 3, 2015. Dunafon was dating Matthews at the time. She became Debbie Dunafon five months later.
Mike Dunafon initially recused himself from the vote, turned the hearing over to Mayor Pro Tem Paula Bovo, and sat in the front row of the gallery. But the vote did not go his future wife’s way: The council voted the development proposal down, three to two. Bovo did not vote.
Mike and Debbie Dunafon in 2016. (Denver Post file)
“Ms. Bovo testified that Mr. Dunafon angrily stormed back up to the dais,” the ethics commission wrote. Another councilmember recalled Dunafon being “irritated” and “pretty pissed.” He took over the meeting, declared he was going to break a three-three tie, and voted aye.
“It is unclear from the audio transcript why Mr. Dunafon and the meeting minutes treated the three-two vote as a tied vote,” the ethics commission wrote. “Ms. Bovo testified that the tenor of the room was ‘really tense’ and that she was afraid to speak up and correct the record.”
After the meeting, “Bovo heard Dunafon yelling at councilmembers who voted nay on the application for embarrassing his wife, according to Friday’s ethics ruling.
The law firm of Springer & Steinberg, which represented both the City of Glendale and Smoking Gun at the time, advised council members that they were required to approve all development plans that comply with zoning laws. A second vote was held the following month and Smoking Gun’s application was approved overwhelmingly, five to one. Dunafon did not vote.
The decisions raised questions about conflicts of interest. Then a rug store got involved.
MAK Investment Group owns Authentic Persian & Oriental Rugs at 550 S. Colorado Blvd. in Glendale. It also owned 6 acres near the intersection of East Virginia Avenue and Colorado Boulevard that the City of Glendale wanted to take by eminent domain and turn into Glendale 180, an entertainment district. MAK sued to stop that in 2015 and won in 2017.
Also in 2015, MAK filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Dunafon. Mountains of litigation followed, including cases before the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court. By 2023, Glendale taxpayers had spent $2 million on it, Colorado Politics reported.
The Independent Ethics Commission, a bipartisan body created by voters in 2006, then made its ruling, siding with MAK on three points (that Dunafon wrongly voted on the Smoking Gun application and twice failed to disclose conflicts) and with Dunafon on three points.
Dunafon did not have conflicts of interest when voting on T-Bar, a late-night spot adjacent to Shotgun Willie’s that is owned by his wife’s daughter-in-law, and did not pressure members of the Glendale City Council to approve the Smoking Gun development, the IEC found.
IEC Chair Sarah Mercer, who works at the same law firm that represents Dunafon, recused herself from Friday’s decision. Cole Wist, a lawyer and former Republican lawmaker, dissented from the part of the decision that found Dunafon had a financial interest in Smoking Gun since it was his wife, not Dunafon himself, who had a majority ownership stake in the shop.
“Mr. Dunafon’s vote at the February 3, 2015, meeting was not improper,” Wist decided.
Through its lawyer, Russell Kemp at Ireland Stapleton, MAK declined to comment Monday.
The mayor’s attorney, Weiss, said that the Dunafon-IEC saga is not over. He plans to appeal the decision to the Colorado Court of Appeals, where he will cast doubt on whether the IEC has jurisdiction over home-rule municipalities, a larger point that he is eager to make.
“At the end of the day, we are excited because this opinion will give us the opportunity to appeal that point and finally have a court determine what powers the IEC has,” Weiss said.
