In an episode of the 1990s sitcom “Seinfeld,” the eccentric Kramer is shocked to learn the irascible Newman is “the Scofflaw” — the man responsible for garnering more unpaid parking tickets than anyone else in New York City. “Now you listen, and you listen good,” Kramer confronts Newman in his car. “I know who you are. You’re the Scofflaw!”

The dictionary says a scofflaw “flouts the law, especially by failing to comply with a law that is difficult to enforce effectively.”

In politics, accruing unpaid penalties by failing to file required financial disclosures for public scrutiny is the political equivalent. Exhibit A: Denver’s Democratic state Rep. Leslie Herod.

A member of the legislature since 2017, the headline-grabbing Herod is now running for Denver mayor.

Secretary of state (SOS) records show Herod’s latest House campaign racked up a whopping $15,200 in penalties for failing to file her personal financial disclosure (PFD) on time. This isn’t the first time she’s gone delinquent on this particular form, either — yet her campaign has nevertheless requested her latest penalties be waived.

Under Colorado law, candidates for most state offices must submit their PFD within 10 days of filing their candidacy. Candidates must also file a subsequent financial disclosure after winning election. It’s a basic step for financial transparency that offers a glimpse at the income and assets of candidates and elected officials — Herod draws her pay from the legislature — so voters can judge for themselves. Failure to comply within the required time frame costs a $50-per-day fine. The SOS may reduce penalties as low as $50 or waive them altogether.

The SOS is persistent about informing candidates of required documents and deadlines. The office provides frequent delinquency notices when necessary. Moreover, organizations like the Colorado House Majority Project — which helps elect Democrats like Herod to the legislature — often remind their candidates about filing deadlines.

In other words, it would have been hard for Herod not to know she was overdue.

After Herod announced her first House reelection bid in February 2017, she quickly went delinquent in filing her PFD. When her campaign requested a penalty waiver, Herod’s fine totaled $200. A waiver was granted on June 15, 2018 because it was her first offense, and she only was assessed $50.

Oddly, Herod didn’t pay that $50 until April 26 of this year — nearly four years after the waiver was originally granted. Meanwhile, her campaign was also already $6,050 in the hole for her second failure to file another PFD in December 2021, this time for her latest House campaign. (Herod handily won a fourth term in her overwhelmingly Democratic state House district this November.)

After eight delinquency letters since last December, Herod finally filed her disclosure on Oct. 27, 2022 — and immediately requested a waiver for the astounding $15,200 she currently owes. In her waiver request, Herod cited “confusion” as an excuse for her delay. “Herod believes that the confusion over her prior PFD updates and payments for a prior invoice paid to the CO SOS…constitute good cause to waive the penalty entirely.” That prior invoice presumably refers to the $50 Herod paid this April for the 2018 waiver.

Herod’s request argues the fine could alternatively be reduced to $50 because “this penalty is the first delinquency for Herod in more than 24 months. In fact, in the nearly eight years since originally becoming a candidate, the only delinquency incurred by Herod was in February of 2017.”

Does Herod believe her incumbency in the legislature entitles her to play fast and loose with filing requirements? All candidates and members of the legislature must comply with disclosure requirements. Does Herod seriously believe that, after being a candidate for eight years, she should get to plead “confusion” — especially when her debt is five figures?

A whole lot of other candidates running for office every election cycle seems to be able to comply with the disclosure rule just fine — let alone those elected to office for multiple terms.

Let’s be real: Leslie Herod knows better. This isn’t her first rodeo. The SOS regularly sends notices. Herod received numerous delinquency letters across 10 months yet kept blowing off the rules. She says she was “confused,” but the rules are quite clear. Does Herod believe they don’t apply to her?

Eventually, Newman copped to his guilt. Will Herod? Why didn’t she file the disclosure in the first place? Why did it take so long to file the form? Out of respect for principles of transparency and integrity, shouldn’t Herod’s campaign just pay the full amount?

I’ve put those questions to Herod, who had not responded to my email by my press deadline.

For its part, the SOS office said in a statement, “No agency decision has been made regarding (Herod’s) waiver request…We expect to have that decision before the end of the year and it will get posted to TRACER.” Their spokeswoman added that the department “applies the waiver policy evenly.”

Will Leslie Herod finally face consequences for her unpaid disclosure penalties? No matter what the secretary of state decides, Denver voters have a right to question whether a political scofflaw is fit to be the mayor of Denver.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. Reach Jimmy online at JimmySengenberger.com or on Twitter @SengCenter.