About This Site
Methodology, sources, and transparency
Methodology
This site is a research-driven advocacy project. All claims are sourced from official records, local news coverage, and peer-reviewed research. Where evidence is uncertain, we say so.
Research Process
- Primary sources: City ordinances, council meeting minutes, campaign finance filings, court records
- News sources: Reporter-Herald, Colorado Sun, 9News, KUNC, Denver7, Denver Post
- Research sources: UCSF Benioff Housing Initiative, Urban Institute, National Alliance to End Homelessness
- Watchdog sources: Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, Ballotpedia
Confidence Levels
We assign confidence levels to major claims based on source quality and corroboration:
- High: Multiple independent sources, official records, court rulings
- Medium: Single source or user-compiled data from official records
- Low: Circumstantial evidence, needs verification
Sources
Official Records
| Source | Type | Credibility |
|---|---|---|
| City of Loveland CivicWeb | Meeting minutes, voting records | 0.95 |
| City of Loveland Website | Ordinances, press releases | 0.95 |
| Colorado Secretary of State | Campaign finance filings | 0.90 |
| 8th Judicial District Court | TextGate ruling | 0.95 |
| Larimer County Sheriff's Office | Officer misconduct investigations | 0.93 |
| LPD Internal Affairs Documents | Personnel investigations | 0.90 |
News Sources
| Source | Type | Credibility |
|---|---|---|
| Reporter-Herald | Local news | 0.82 |
| Colorado Sun | Regional investigative | 0.80 |
| 9News | Regional news | 0.78 |
| KUNC | Regional public radio | 0.78 |
| Denver7 | Regional news | 0.75 |
| CBS Colorado | Regional news | 0.78 |
Research Sources
| Source | Topic |
|---|---|
| UCSF Benioff Housing Initiative | Housing First research |
| Urban Institute | Housing policy research |
| National Alliance to End Homelessness | Best practices, data |
| National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty | Criminalization research |
Community Sources
| Source | Type | Credibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reddit r/loveland | User-compiled finance data | 0.55 | Derived from official filings; verify independently |
| LovelandPolitics.com | Blog | 0.45 | Opinionated; corroborate claims |
| The Loveland Voice | Substack blog | 0.45 | Editorial perspective; verify independently |
What We Don't Know
Transparency requires acknowledging gaps. Here's what we couldn't verify:
Direct McWhinney-to-PAC Financial Link
We found patterns suggesting McWhinney interests align with the enforcement bloc, but no direct financial link between McWhinney entities and Advancing Northern Colorado PAC. This would require CORA requests or state-level PAC filings.
Confidence: Medium-Low
2023 Dark Money Totals
The ~$84k figure for 2023 comes from community-compiled data, not mainstream news verification. We recommend checking Colorado Secretary of State independent expenditure filings.
Confidence: Medium
Individual Donor Identities
Dark money PACs don’t disclose donors. Non-resident contribution percentages are derived from campaign finance PDFs but individual donor names/addresses would require parsing official filings.
Confidence: Medium
Police Chief Citation Dismissal Data
The 45% camping citation dismissal rate comes from community-compiled data, not official court records. Municipal court disposition data would verify this figure and enable proper analysis.
Confidence: Medium
Chief Doran’s FBI & Fort Collins Record
Limited information exists on Chief Doran’s 22-year FBI career or his time as Assistant Chief in Fort Collins (2019-2023). Any controversies or commendations from those periods are not documented here.
Confidence: Low
Contact
Found an error? Have additional information? We want to hear from you.
This site is maintained as a public service. All research is documented and available for verification.