The facts on RayburnBentley Rayburn, Republican candidate in the 5th Congressional District, was raised in Missouri and maintained his residency there until spring of 2006, a short time before entering the 5th District race that year.One of his opponents, Jeff Crank, makes much of his recent residency change and one campaign worker suggested Rayburn might still be paying taxes in Missouri, not Colorado. The Gazette incorrectly reported in Politigab on Saturday that Missouri was his state of residency.That’s not true, Rayburn said. He said he registered to vote in Colorado on April 4, 2006. He obtained a driver’s license in Colorado on March 31, 2006, and has owed and been paying income taxes in Colorado since April 1, 2006, . That makes him a full-fledged resident of Colorado.Meantime, Rayburn dropped another $24,000 into his campaign last week. That brings to $86,500 the amount Rayburn has given his campaign, 27 percent of the $321,504 total raised. Rayburn said the money is “just my own personal ability to get money, to pull out a little loan.”Fact-checkerCrank erred in a press release that points out the differences between himself and incumbent Doug Lamborn.He took issue with Lamborn’s repeated statements that he’s never supported a tax increase by quoting him from an old newspaper account of his candidacy for a Kansas legislative seat. When running in 1982, Lamborn said he would support severance taxes on gas and oil and a vehicle tax.Crank’s release then states: “Fact Check:  Doug Lamborn supported several tax increases while in the Kansas Legislature.”Wrong. Lamborn never served in the Kansas Legislature; he lost the election.The Crank campaign issued a correction Monday.Media attentionThe Colorado Democratic Party has hired a communications director, party chairwoman Pat Waak announced over the weekend.Matt Farrauto, a University of Wisconsin graduate in political science, was executive director of New Mexico’s Democratic party and spokesman for  New Mexico’s Democratic Coordinated Campaign. He’s also worked as a press assistant and legislative correspondent for Senator Russ Feingold, with the communications department of Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign in Iowa and for a Senate campaign in Vermont.Waak said Farrauto was hired because Colorado, as the host state for the Democratic National Convention in Denver this month, is “enjoying a new degree of media attention.””Underhanded” attack?The Rocky Mountain News reports that a Denver issues group apologized Thursday for a derogatory mailing about Secretary of State Mike Coffman. Coffman, a Republican, is one of four candidates running in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.The mailing accused Coffman of turning into “a big government professional politician.”The mailing said it was paid for by Protect Colorado Jobs, a group that has been channeling funds to support a right-to-work initiative on the November ballot.John W. Berry, an attorney and the only registered representative of Protect Colorado Jobs, said the mailer was the work of Curt Cerveny, a political consultant who was an officer of Protect Colorado Jobs and had access to the group’s bank accounts.Berry said Cerveny didn’t consult others in the group before sending the mailer.Cerveny resigned from Protect Colorado Jobs on Thursday. He did not return phone calls.In a prepared statement, Berry said, “This brochure was in poor taste and was mailed to electors without properly conferring with the officers and members of Protect Colorado Jobs. Curt Cerveny, the person responsible for this brochure, has since resigned so that Protect Colorado Jobs can continue on its mission to promote economic development and job growth in Colorado.”We apologize to candidate Coffman for this incident.”Berry said it’s not clear whether Cerveny used Protect Colorado Jobs money for the mailing or just used the group’s bank account to hold funds contributed by others.Berry said the matter is under investigation.U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, who is stepping down from the 6th District seat after 10 years, condemned the mailer.He called the mailer an “underhanded attack.”Lamborn borrowing news storiesLamborn’s office has removed two news stories from its Web site after The Gazette noted that copyright laws require permission be obtained before articles are reproduced in full.”The doctrine of fair use permits Rep. Lamborn to quote or excerpt the column, but wholesale republication is beyond the bounds of fair use,” Gazette Editor Jeff Thomas wrote to Lamborn’s campaign on Friday.Thomas said later that he received “a prompt call from the Lamborn campaign from a staffer who was apologetic and understanding, and who said the campaign would abide by our wishes.”Lamborn’s campaign then sought and received permission to run the article.Two other stories, by The Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post, have since disappeared from the site. The Rocky’s story profiling the race had been edited, with criticism from his opponents removed and replaced with elipses.The Rocky Mountain News reported Lamborn campaign spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen wasn’t able to say why the criticism had been removed but that the story would be taken off the Web site.Send items to pam.zubeck@gazettedev.gazette.com

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