New Yawk billionaire Michael Bloomberg is throwing his capitalist bucks into the Denver mayoral race backing Mike Johnston with more than a half million dollars.
The radical activist, former Gotham mayor, and owner of the publishing empire that bears his name donated the money through the Advancing Denver Super PAC.
Complete Colorado reports the top five contributors to Advancing Denver, which has raised more than $4.1 million for Johnston, are:
- Reid Hoffman — $1.355 million
- Michael Bloomberg — $510,000
- Kent Thiry — $450,000
- Steve Mandel — $350,000
- John and Laura Arnold — $150,000
The lone Colorado donor — Kent Thiry has spent the past decade spending more than $6 million to pass citizen initiatives such as Propositions 107 and 108, which allowed unaffiliated voters to vote in Republican and Democrat primaries without declaring a party; Amendments Y and Z, which changed the way districts are redrawn after a census; and Amendment B, which repealed the Gallagher Amendment, something many now blame for skyrocketing property taxes.
That’s right, the guy who backed the Gallagher Amendment repeal, the reason property taxes statewide are about to explode, and the excuse for which Gov. Polis is trying to roll back our Taxpayer Bill of Rights tax refunds (TABOR), is backing Johnston with nearly a half million bucks.
Wake up Denver taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the Denver Gazette reports that Pete Coors, the former GOP nominee for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat in 2004, donated $50,000 towards Kelly Brough’s mayoral campaign through a Super PAC called A Better Denver.
A Better Denver saw far more donations than Advancing Denver — but in smaller amounts. Its contributors included Amacon Management LLC, which gave $25,000; Books and Bags Field Warriors LLC, which contributed $35,000; and Haselden Construction, which forked out $25,000.
While Johnston’s big money donors are coming from out of state, the Gazette reports “Brough’s supporters who gave to A Better Denver are largely Denver-area residents, with only three of 149 contributors from states other than Colorado.”
We find it interesting that so much out-of-state cash is flowing into Johnston’s campaign, while the locals support Brough.
But will Denver voters care, that’s the question.