Committees putting big money in race
Committees trying to influence the oversight of Denver Public Schools haven’t slowed down their efforts to promote their favorite candidates, or warn voters away from others, even as the election moves into its final week.
Three committees aligned with the “reform” agenda — which emphasizes using new schools, including charters, and the possibility of closing existing ones to improve achievement — have spent more than $500,000 supporting candidates.
Three other groups, aligned with the Denver teachers union and a group looking to “flip” the board away from its reform leanings, have spent more than $288,000.
Election Day is Nov. 5, and Denver voters began receiving their ballots by mail Oct. 15. The District 1 and 5 seats are in play, as is an at-large seat.
These independent expenditure committees can’t coordinate their spending with campaigns, but can pay for mailers and other advertising that supports or opposes a candidate.
Alexis Menocal Harrigan, who is running for the atlarge seat, was the top beneficiary of the reform-oriented spending, with more than $300,000 going to promote her campaign.
But she’s also been on the receiving end of negative mailers, including one that dropped part of her name and fellow candidate Diana Romero Campbell’s. The two candidates believe it was intended to confuse voters about their Latina heritage. Tay Anderson, who is running against Menocal Harrigan, condemned the ad, and the sponsoring group, Students Demand Better, apologized.
“Denver voters deserve truth and honest discussions about improving our schools, not untrue and blatantly racist mailers like the ones sent out by the independent expenditure funding,” Menocal Harrigan said. “We must ensure that we are running a race that celebrates identity and does not erase it.”
Brad Laurvick, who is running in District 5, was the largest beneficiary of contributions from the union-aligned committees. He said he’d been surprised to see some of the mailers his neighbors received, but appreciated the effort to talk about funding and policy issues in the race.
“I’m grateful those conversations are being had,” he said.
The committees weren’t the only ones spending as the race entered its final weeks, though.
The nine candidates received more than $170,000 in large contributions to their campaigns between the Oct. 15 reporting deadline and Sunday, according to major contributor reports filed with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. The reports are required if campaigns receive contributions of more than $1,000 in the month before an election.
Anderson received the most late contributions, with $38,750 from the Denver Classroom Teachers Association fund and $10,000 from fellow candidate Scott Baldermann. Laurvick wasn’t far behind, with $44,697. He also received $10,000 from Baldermann, with most of the rest coming from the teachers union.
Harrigan was the top recipient among the reformleaning candidates, with $31,500.
Three candidates who have generally been at the bottom of fundraising totals didn’t receive any large contributions since Oct. 15: Julie Bañuelos, District 5; Natela Manuntseva, atlarge; and Radhika Nath, District 1. Nath and Bañuelos both have argued that money, whether from committees or other sources, has played too large a role in the election.
The election appears on track to be the most expensive in recent DPS history. As of Oct. 15, candidates and committees had spent $1.3 million on the three school board races, compared to $1.4 million in 2017, when four seats were in play.