DENVER – A report released Monday highlights big spending on political outreach by the natural-gas and oil industry in Colorado, compared with previous election cycles.
Released by the left-leaning group Colorado Ethics Watch, the report shows that gas and oil spent nearly $12 million on the 2014 election for state offices. A similar report in 2013 showed about $800,000 spent on elections in Colorado for state offices during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.
The large jump reflects proposed ballot initiatives around local control that the industry had lined up to fight. At least $13.6 million was raised by various energy and business interests to fight the proposals.
Ethics Watch left out of its report contributions to an issue committee established to push the ballot initiatives, funded by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder. Proponents had raised at least $2.2 million to support the efforts.
The initiatives pushed by Polis would have increased setbacks of wells from 500 to 2,000 feet and authorized local governments to enact rules and regulations more stringent than that of the state.
The target of the initiatives was hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process that employs sand, chemicals and water in wells to extract resources under the ground. Concerns around health and nuisance have added to the controversial nature of the industrial process.
Polis agreed to pull his efforts in exchange for a task force convened by Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat. The task force, with La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt serving as co-chairwoman, is meeting to examine rules and regulations and possibly make recommendations for legislation.
“The fact that they didn’t even mention Congressman Polis and the millions he spent out of his own pocket calls into question the credibility of this report at the outset,” said Karen Crummy, spokeswoman for Protecting Colorado’s Environment, Economy, and Energy Independence, which raised about $11.6 million to fight Polis’ initiatives.
Ethics Watch’s report points out that even after the anti-fracking measures were pulled from the ballot, the gas and oil industry spent millions on canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts in 2014.
Beyond Protecting Colorado’s issue committee, gas and oil spending jumped from about $400,000 on political outreach for the 2010 and 2012 cycles to more than $914,000 in 2014.
“Looking only at disclosed spending ... 2014 saw a titanic money spill compared to election spending by the oil and gas industry in the past,” said Luis Toro, director of Colorado Ethics Watch. “Our hope is that by shining a light on the oil and gas industry’s investment in the outcome of Colorado’s recent elections, citizens will be better able to hold public officials accountable if they put private industry’s interests over the common good.”
Ethics Watch identified 28 energy companies or trade groups that spent money on state elections. The majority of the money was contributed to political committees and organizations, as well as issue committees.
A bipartisan group of 86 state and county candidates received contributions from gas and oil industry political committees, including 28 Democrats and 58 Republicans.
The gas and oil industry almost completely supported Hickenlooper in his re-election bid against Republican Bob Beauprez, according to the report. The governor received $9,200 from nine gas and oil political committees, while Beauprez received one donation of $1,100.
Gas and oil interests have maintained that they are simply working to educate Coloradans on fracking in an attempt to address concerns and dispel myths.
“Since CRED began, we have acknowledged the oil and natural-gas industry needed to do a better job at explaining what fracking is – and most importantly – what it isn’t,” said Jon Haubert, spokesman for Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development, which has launched campaigns to educate Coloradans on fracking.
Crummy pointed out that the industry is likely to face additional ballot issues in 2016, especially if the governor’s task force and the Legislature is unable to make progress.
“These same groups already have a ballot measure filed for 2016,” Crummy said. “We will continue our education and outreach efforts and correcting the misinformation spread by these extreme organizations.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
On the Net
Colorado Ethic Watch’s report on drillers’ political spending: http://tinyurl.com/kc5h22c
