Spending in support of Proposition 131, which would overhaul Colorado’s elections, eclipses $9 million
A total of roughly $26 million has been spent so far by the groups supporting and opposing the 14 statewide measures on the November ballot
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More than $9 million has been spent by the campaign to pass Proposition 131, the November ballot measure that would move Colorado to an all-candidate primary system followed by ranked choice general elections.
Colorado Voters First, the state issue committee supporting the initiative, reported raising more than $1.5 million from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9, the latest campaign finance reporting period, spending nearly $1.4 million during that span, including $1.1 million on ads. The group entered the final weeks before Election Day with $1.6 million in campaign cash.
Big donors to Colorado Voters First during the reporting period included:
- Voters for the American Center, which is based in Washington, D.C. The nonprofit, which doesn’t disclose its donors, gave nearly $500,000.
- Jeff Chambers, a senior adviser at TA Associates, a private equity firm. He gave $321,685.
- Ross Jones, managing director at Berkshire Partners, a private equity firm. He gave $321,685.
- Final-Five Fund, a Chicago nonprofit working on election reform, gave $250,000. The group doesn’t report its donors.
- RepresentUs, a nonprofit that advocates campaign finance reform, gave $84,000. It doesn’t report its donors.
- Blair Richardson, CEO of Denver’s Bow River Capital investment firm, gave $50,000.
- Steve Foreman, managing director at LK Capital, a private equity firm, gave $10,000.
- Steve Halstedt, cofounder and managing director of Centennial Ventures, a private equity firm, gave $10,000.
- David Gold, founder and managing partner of DA Ventures, a venture capital fund, gave $10,000.
- Jack Pottle, principal of JBC Capital Partners, a venture capital firm, gave $10,000.
Colorado Voters First has raised a total of $10.8 million. One of its largest benefactors has been Kent Thiry, the former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita. Thiry is the chief proponent of Proposition 131.
The group leading the effort to oppose Proposition 131, Voter Rights Colorado, is backed by a list of liberal organizations. It reported raising just $25,000 during the reporting period, all of it from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
After spending $3,000 between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9, it entered the final weeks of the campaign with $75,000 in the bank. Voter Rights Colorado has reported raising a total of about $125,000, spending $33,000 of that sum.
A total of about $26 million has been spent so far by the groups supporting and opposing the 14 statewide measures on the November ballot, with about $6.4 million raised by the committees that has yet to be spent.
Here’s a look at the numbers that stood out during the recent campaign finance reporting period, the second to last one before the Nov. 5 election:
The big money fight over the proposed ban on mountain lion hunting and trapping
Proposition 127, which would outlaw the hunting and trapping of mountain lions, bobcats and lynx, is the target of millions of dollars in spending.
Cats Aren’t Trophies, the issue committee supporting the measure, raised nearly $700,000 between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9, spending $600,000 during that period, mostly on advertising, and ending the reporting period with $115,000 in cash.
The biggest donors to the group were the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, which gave $500,000 during the span, bringing its total investment in the ballot measure to nearly $1 million. Richard Pritzlaff, a Boulder activist, gave $50,000, bringing his total donations to the committee to $100,000.
Cats Aren’t Trophies has raised and spent about $2.7 million so far.
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Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better is the main group opposing Proposition 127. It raised about $200,000 between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9 and spent $827,000 during that period, ending the period with $264,000 in cash on hand.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation gave $50,000, while the Mule Deer Foundation, National Rifle Association and Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation each gave $25,000. Most of the committee’s spending during the period was on advertising.
Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better has raised about $1.6 million to fight Proposition 127, spending $1.3 million of that through Oct. 9.
A new issue committee, the Western Heritage Conservation Alliance, formed Oct. 10 to oppose Proposition 127. It reported receiving $451,000 from Building America’s Future, a group based in Washington, D.C.
A lopsided campaign cash battle on abortion rights
Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom is the issue committee supporting the November ballot measure that would protect unfettered abortion access in the state constitution. It has vastly outraised the opposition.
The group raised roughly $773,000 between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9 in support of Amendment 79, spending $349,000 during that period and ending it with $1 million in campaign cash. It received $500,000 during the period from Abigail Dow, the granddaughter of billionaire Lynn Schusterman, as well as $118,000 from Cobalt Advocats, a Colorado abortion rights group that has spent nearly $2 million supporting the measure.
The majority of Coloradans for Protecting Reproductive Freedom’s spending between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9 was on advertising.
The Pro Life Colorado Action Fund, the Catholic Church-affiliated group opposing Amendment 79, raised $62,500 during the reporting period and spent $2,000, ending with $124,000 in cash on hand.
The group’s notable donors included Jill and Kevin Heringer, who each gave $12,500, and Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila, who gave $10,000.
Fight over veterinary care ballot measure continues to be a pricey
Another measure on the November ballot drawing some big spending is Proposition 129, which would create a new, state-regulated position of veterinary professional associate (VPA) and establish its educational requirements.
All Pets Deserve Vet Care is the issue committee supporting the measure. It raised $155,000 between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9 and spent $69,000, ending the period with $256,000 in the bank.
The group has raised about $1.5 million during the cycle, spending about $1.2 million of that haul. Among its backers are the Dumb Friends League, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, several other animal welfare groups and some corporate owners of veterinary care practices.
Gov. Jared Polis donated $2,500 to All Pets Deserve Vet care on Oct. 11.
Keep Our Pets Safe is the committee opposing Proposition 129. It raised $525,000 between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9, including $520,000 from the American Veterinary Medical Association, and spent $400,000, ending the period with $525,000 in the bank.
The committee has raised a total of about $2.5 million and spent about $1.9 million.
The group’s previous donors include a variety of professional associations of veterinary practitioners, from the Colorado Association of Certified Veterinary Technicians to the American Association of Bovine Practitioners.
If Proposition 129 passes, VPAs would be able to provide veterinary care deemed within the scope of their qualifications — only while under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian — with the State Board of Veterinary Medicine defining more precisely the allowable procedures and required level of supervision.
Other highlights
Here are some highlights from the campaign finance reports for fundraising and spending between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9 filed by the groups supporting and opposing other measures on the November statewide ballot:
- Public Schools Strong spent $1.6 million to oppose Amendment 80, which would enshrine school choice in the state constitution. The group raised more than $3 million from the National Education Association, a teachers union, between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9, and still had $2.2 million in cash. School Choice for Every Child, the group supporting the measure, hasn’t reported any fundraising or spending, though it’s likely Advance Colorado, the conservative political nonprofit behind the initiative, is spending money that doesn’t have to be reported.
- Yes on JJ reported receiving $25,000 from former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry on Tuesday, but didn’t report any contributions during the most recent reporting period. Proposition JJ would let the state keep all the sports betting tax revenue it collects. Yes on JJ has now raised more than $500,000 with the Thiry contribution, and spent only $8,500.
- Colorado Supports Crime Victim Services raised $91,000 to bring its total fundraising to $167,000 in support of Proposition KK, which would impose an excise tax on guns and ammunition. The group spent $14,000 in recent weeks and had $86,000 in cash. Stop Tax Increases, a committee registered to oppose the measure, hasn’t reported raising or spending any money.
- Freedom to Marry Colorado raised $102,000 and spent nearly $97,000 from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9 in support of Amendment J, which would remove language in the state constitution prohibiting gay marriage. No committee has formed to propose the measure.
Colorado Sun correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.
