FILE, Wanda James owns the dispensary Simply Pure in Denver. Courtesy Wanda James Wanda L. James, a member of the CU Board of Regents who could face censure , will now be the subject of an independent review for possible conflict of interest.
On Tuesday, the chair of the CU Board of Regents sent an email to CPR News saying she’d asked for a review that would last several weeks and start as soon as possible, stating: “It is the role of our legal counsel to identify the appropriate firm/person to handle this.”
The move prompted James, 60, who was reached by phone Wednesday morning, to ask very loudly, “What did I do?” and to call the review the continuation of a smear campaign against her, one that’s particularly pointless after it came to her attention that the regents knew that the budget cuts she’s suggested for the campaign as a consequence of offensive imagery – that they considered to be in her self-interest – were denied by the state’s budget office earlier this week. Background
Leaders of the regents felt there could be a possible conflict of interest after James, who is also a dispensary owner, made comments in the media and on her social media earlier this year, suggesting a tax-payer-funded anti-marijuana research campaign be suspended because its promotional materials included images of dark-skinned people James found offensive.
She said to two media outlets that she had spoken to Gov. Jared Polis about getting the funding pulled. Regents say that led to calls from members of the community, who were concerned that James’ public statements could show a conflict of interest since James also owns a dispensary.
Those concerns led regent Chair Callie Rennison and Vice Chair Ken Montera to reach out by phone to Jeremy Hueth, who was CU’s chief lawyer at the time, for guidance on the next steps.
Hueth responded with an 11-page memo in which he quotes from the regents’ conflict of interest policy: “A regent serves the public trust and exercises their powers and duties in the interest of the public, the university, and the board. A […]
CU Regents request independent review of board member who owns marijuana dispensary
