Contributors continued this month to flood the coffers of the campaign supporting Denver’s bid to build a $378 million justice center downtown.
The proponent campaign, Citizens for a Safe Denver, on Thursday reported collecting $199,775 this month, pushing its three- month total to $647,675. Most of the money has been spent on three TV ads that have been running for the past month.
The campaign’s take is more than 11 times the amount logged by the opposition campaign, Citizens for Responsible Spending.
The opposition intends to report today that it logged roughly $42,000 in donations this month. That puts its three- month total at about $56,000, mostly in in-kind contributions of services.
Denver voters will decide Tuesday if the city should incur $378 million in debt to build a justice center – which would include 1,500 jail beds and 35 courtrooms – on the 400 and 500 blocks of West Colfax Avenue. City officials argue that the project is needed primarily to ease crowding at the city’s existing jails and courts.
Bill Vandenberg, a leader of the opposition campaign, called the disproportionate funding the work of special interests. Many of the proponent campaign’s largest contributions have come from construction-related companies, including infusions this month from contractor M.A. Mortensen Co. ($25,000), builder Corporex LLC ($25,000) and architect HOK Inc. ($17,500).
“Nearly all of its funding comes from the wealthiest special interests in Colorado that are most likely seeking a piece of the contracting action,” Vandenberg said.
The proponent campaign, which has $66,466 left unspent, countered that most of its donations came in small amounts.
Lynea Hansen, spokeswoman for Citizens for a Safe Denver, said, “Over half of our donors have actually given $500 or less, whereas our opponents have been almost solely funded by two (nonprofits) who believe no one belongs in jail.”
HOK spokesman Mike Plotnick said Thursday the architectural firm considers the conditions at Denver’s existing jails “deplorable.” That factored into the firm’s contribution to Citizens for a Safe Denver, he said.
“Regardless of which firms are selected to design and build the proposed projects, the need is extremely evident,” Plotnick said.
