How conservative dark money groups are influencing the ballot in Colorado this year

A handful of conservative political nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors have had a big influence on three measures on Colorado’s statewide ballot this year.

Their millions of dollars in combined spending may not have previously been known. But a 2022 law now requires the groups, after they spent $5,000 in total in a calendar year on a measure, to disclose any future expenditures over $1,000 on an initiative to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office within 48 hours.

It is still unclear who the nonprofits’ funders are. Nonprofits don’t have to disclose them as long as their spending on two or more ballot measures doesn’t exceed 30% of their total spending over three years, or as long as their spending on a single measure doesn’t exceed 20% of their total expenditures for three years. But we now know how much the so-called dark money groups are spending on the measures.

The Colorado Sun analyzed the 48-hour disclosure reports to find out how the nonprofits influenced what’s on the statewide ballot this year, and how they are trying to persuade voters to support the measures.

Colorado Dawn, a conservative political nonprofit in Colorado Springs, has been the main financial supporter of Proposition 128 and Amendment 80 on the November ballot. Proposition 128 would require that people convicted of certain violent crimes serve more of their prison sentences before they are eligible for parole. Amendment 80 would place a right to school choice in the state constitution.

The nonprofit spent a combined $2.7 million on signature gathering to get the measures on the ballot. It has since spent about $1.2 million on mailers, ads and text messages supporting Amendment 80, as well as more than $40,000 on texts supporting Proposition 128.

Advance Colorado, another conservative political nonprofit, spent $826,430 on signature gathering to get Proposition 130 on the November ballot. The measure would require the legislature to create a $350 million fund to recruit, train and retain police officers.

Unite for Colorado, Defend Colorado and the Colorado Opportunity Foundation, three other conservative political nonprofits, each spent about $200,000 on signature gathering for Proposition 130. The total signature-gathering cost for the measure was about $1.45 million.

Colorado Dawn, meanwhile, spent more $40,000 on texts supporting Proposition 130 in combination with its missives on Proposition 128.

The spending disclosures are more evidence of how intertwined conservative dark money is in Colorado. Three years ago, The Sun reported how at least $17.2 million was routed through Unite for Colorado in 2020 to almost every major Republican political group and effort in Colorado that year.

Unite for Colorado now does business as Advance Colorado Action.

Two people who tie all of the spending together: Michael Fields, who leads Advance Colorado, and the Colorado Opportunity Foundation, and Daniel Cole, who leads Colorado Dawn.

Victor’s Canvassing and Cole Communications, the vendors Colorado Dawn paid to work on Amendment 80 and Proposition 128, are tied to Cole.

DARK MONEY SPENDING ON PROPERTY TAX MEASURES

The spending disclosures also show that Advance Colorado Action spent $320,000 on signature gathering for Initiative 108, while Unite for Colorado spent $174,080 on signature gathering for the measure.

Initiative 108 would have cut property taxes statewide by an estimated $2.4 billion starting in the 2025 tax year by slashing the state’s property tax assessment rates. Advance Colorado agreed to shelve the measure after it qualified for the ballot as part of a property tax cut deal that was completed during a special legislative session in August.

Finally, the disclosures show how Advance Colorado Action spent more than $550,000 in 2023 on television and digital ads opposing Proposition HH, the failed property tax proposal from Gov. Jared Polis and Democrats in the legislature.

SIDE NOTE …

Nonprofits have had to disclose their spending on ballot measures to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office for two years, but the filings are not that easy to track. It takes some know-how to find the documents — thanks, Fish — and then more work to figure out how much the groups are spending.

The Colorado Sun only learned this week of where to search for the disclosures, and at least one —reporting more than $850,000 in spending — was missing from the database. We have created our own spreadsheet to track the expenditures.

YOU HEARD IT HERE

Frisch was speaking during a news conference in which he advocated for a ban on stock trading among members of Congress and the spending of corporate money on campaigns, as well as term limits for members of Congress.

“Neither of them have a monopoly on good ideas, and they both have some pretty bad ones,” Frisch said of the two parties. “I’ve thought about looking at running as an independent and caucusing with the Democratic Party.”

But he said he opted against that in favor of trying to change the Democratic Party from the inside by getting more representation from people in the political middle, which is where he thinks most of the country really lies.

Frisch added that he supports Proposition 131, the measure on the November ballot that would move Colorado to an all-candidate primary system for most races, where the top four vote-getters advance to a ranked choice general election.

THE NARRATIVE

Will renters benefit from Colorado’s property tax cuts? Not immediately, landlords say.

At Thursday’s Property Tax Commission meeting, a lobbyist for the Colorado Apartment Association made a startling admission.

Renters, he said, are unlikely to see any immediate, direct benefit from the three rounds of property tax cuts that Colorado lawmakers have approved in the past 12 months. Nor would landlords necessarily pass on any additional tax relief directly to their renters.

The reason? Rents are primarily dictated by supply and demand — not by a landlord’s operating costs, said Drew Hamrick, who is also general counsel for CAA.

Rents, he noted, remained relatively stable through two years of skyrocketing tax bills. Landlords couldn’t simply pass the costs of property taxes on to renters, because a surge in new apartment units helped meet the demand for housing. Whether that continues will depend on how much new housing the market builds, he said.

“Landlords aren’t in a position to say, my property taxes are 15% higher, therefore, I hereby decree that the market value of my property is 15% higher,” Hamrick told the commission. “As long as we can keep providing enough units to keep up with demand, rent stays flat.”

Hamrick’s comments came as the commission has begun examining whether renters will benefit equitably from the state’s recent property tax cuts, or if the billion-plus dollars in cuts will mostly go to homeowners and businesses.

The answers offered Thursday from landlord and tenant groups were nuanced. But there was a surprising amount of agreement on two areas.

Tax cuts don’t lead to reductions in rent, they said.

“It’s usually a function of what the market can bear,” said Melissa Mejía, the head of state local policy for the Community Economic Defense Project, which represents tenants. “This is a business. Landlords are looking to generate revenue.

“We often see that property tax increases are blamed for increases in rent, but that has never come with a corresponding decrease in rent,” she added. “We have never seen voluntary decreases in rent with any of our clients.”

But both of them agreed that, over time, tax increases can lead indirectly to higher costs for renters.

“As (operating) costs go up, including property taxes, rents absolutely go up,” Mejía said.

Hamrick said the link between property taxes and rent is a downstream effect of how those costs interact with supply and demand —and that takes time. Higher property taxes and other costs can discourage builders and their investors from developing as much new housing, he said.

“Good economic conditions lead to the decision to invest in housing,” Hamrick said. “If there’s a reduction in property taxes, there will be more units made available than would otherwise have happened. Those artificial incentives work.”

Nonetheless, his comments left a number of the tax commission’s members dubious of giving apartments more tax relief — something landlords argue is warranted because large apartment owners don’t benefit much from the new exemptions the legislature provided to homeowners.

Instead, Mejía said lawmakers should consider tax credits that benefit renters directly.

The discussions about equity may be happening too late to have much of an impact. In the wake of the property tax cuts, the state now faces a $900 million budget deficit that will make funding for renters hard to come by.

BUSINESS TAXES

The Property Tax Commission plans to take a closer look at a longtime gripe of the business community: the business personal property tax.

Eric Wallace, the founder of Left Hand Brewing, complained at Thursday’s meeting that it amounts to an unfair tax on manufacturers, who have to keep paying property taxes year after year on decades-old equipment — in Left Hand’s case, the giant tanks used to brew their signature stouts. Other businesses have to pay it, too, but manufacturers argue they bear the brunt because they tend to own more expensive machinery than your typical office or restaurant.

And unlike federal business taxes, which decline over time as property depreciates, in Colorado they can actually go up as time goes on. The reason: Business equipment, like a tank Left Hand bought for $22,000 in 1998, is reassessed each year at what it would cost to buy new in today’s dollars — twice or more what it cost back then.

SENIOR HOMESTEAD

Another long-simmering issue that came up at Thursday’s commission meeting will be familiar to close readers of The Unaffiliated: the declining value of the senior homestead exemption, which is now worth less than half what it was when voters added it to the state constitution in 2000. The Colorado Gerontological Society is pushing for lawmakers to increase it, then adopt a new formula so it won’t continue to erode as home values rise.

THE POLITICAL TICKER

4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Defeat Boebert PAC, the Florida-based federal super PAC formed this summer to oppose Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, spent $100,000 on Oct. 22 on digital ads attacking the congresswoman.

The 30-second spot implores voters in the 4th Congressional District to reject Boebert to maintain their quiet, rural way of life.

The PAC has reported raising $629,000 since its inception in July and has spent about half that sum.

Meanwhile, Boebert reported raising about $80,000 from Oct. 1 through Oct. 16 and spending, most of it on advertising, finishing the period with about $296,000 in cash. Her Democratic opponent, Trisha Calvarese, raised $573,000 during the period and spent $1.6 million, mostly on advertising. She had $257,000 in cash to enter the home stretch before Election Day.

8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

The dark money funded Mainstream Colorado Fund, which was formed in August, reported spending another $110,000 this week to help Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. That brings the group’s total spending on the race to more than $1.2 million.

The group raised more than $750,000 from Oct. 1 to Oct. 16 —all of it from nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors — and spent about $500,000 during that period, heading into the final stretch before Election Day with $700,000 in cash on hand.

Meanwhile, Caraveo’s opponent, Republican Gabe Evans, is running a new TV ad in which he blames Caraveo for crime and fentanyl.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC tied to House Speaker Mike Johnson, reported new advertising spending this week, bringing its investment into the district to nearly $5.5 million.

Caraveo reported raising $580,000 from Oct. 1 through Oct. 16 and spent $1.6 million during that span, entering the election’s home stretch with $1.3 million in campaign cash on hand. Evans brought in $274,000, spent $732,000 and had $363,000 in cash.

3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

The Congressional Leadership Fund spent more money this week to help Republican Jeff Hurd in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, bringing its investment in the district to more than $190,000.

Hurd is running against Democrat Adam Frisch, who reported raising $475,000 from Oct. 1 through Oct. 16. He spent $1.1 million during that span and still had $1.4 million in campaign cash for the final stretch before Election Day. Hurd raised $166,000, spent $560,000 and had $312,000 in the bank.

COLORADO POLITICAL PARTIES

The Colorado Democratic Party spent $683,000 sending mailers supporting three congressional candidates from Oct. 1 through Oct. 16. About $256,000 went to mailers on behalf of U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in the 8th Congressional District, $251,000 benefited Adam Frisch in the 3rd Congressional District and $176,000 helped U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen in the 7th Congressional District. The party spent more than $950,000 in total during the fundraising period, while bringing in $508,000. It had $255,000 in cash for the final weeks of the election.

The Colorado GOP spent $13,000 on mailers supporting John Fabbricatore, a former regional U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leader who is challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Jason Crow in the 6th Congressional District. Fabbricatore reported donating $20,000 to the party. The party reported raising $25,000 during the period, spending $32,000 and finishing with $328,000 in cash.

Colorado Sun correspondent Sandra Fish contributed to this report.

READ MORE

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🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

ELECTION 2024

The donors of Capistrano keep flocking to ballot measures

The money keeps swimming in. (We’ll spare you the salmon of Capistrano thing in the future, though I seriously can’t believe none of you have emailed me about the reference. I’m not losing my mind — you are.)

Here are the highlights:

• Kent Thiry, the former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita, gave $1 million Tuesday to Colorado Voters First, the issue committee supporting Proposition 131. That brings his total donations to the group to more than $2.4 million. 
• Voters Rights Colorado, the issue committee opposing Proposition 131, is finally raising some real cash. It brought in $200,000 this week, including $50,000 from the National Education Association, $50,000 from New Era Colorado, and $25,000 each from the Working Families Party and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Cobalt Advocates, the abortion rights group, kicked in $20,000, while the Colorado Values Project gave $10,000. 
• Colorado Values Strong, the issue committee fighting Amendment 80, brought in more than $120,000 this week, including $100,000 from the American Federation of Teachers and $10,000 from the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
• The Pro-Life Colorado Fund raised nearly $200,000 this week, including $175,000 from the Archdiocese of Denver and $10,000 from conservative radio show host Dan Caplis. The committee opposes Amendment 79.
• Cats Aren’t Trophies, the issue committee behind Proposition 127, raised more than $142,000 this week, including $60,000 from the Western Watershed Project and $50,000 from Animal Wellness Action. Jordanna Schutz, Gov. Jared Polis’ sister, gave about $1,000.
• Colorado’s Wildlife Deserve Better, which opposed Proposition 127, raised more than $215,000 this week, including $19,000 from the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus.  

THE BIGGER PICTURE

• Trump says he’ll move thousands of federal workers out of Washington. Here’s what happened the first time he tried.
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• See how your neighborhood is giving to Trump and Harris
  — The Washington Post 🔑
• Over 230 Republican candidates have cast doubt on the 2024 election
  — The Washington Post 🔑
• If it survives in court, Texas’ immigration law could upend immigration enforcement nationwide
  — The Texas Tribune

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Corrections & Clarifications

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