The father of Republican gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman has donated $100,000 to the campaign funding TV ads that feature him arguing against Referendums C and D, raising questions about whether Holtzman has found a loophole in state election law.
It’s a win-win situation, observers say: Holtzman, a relative unknown in the state, needs exposure, while opponents of the November budget proposal need money for their fight.
This month, Jewelcor Management, owned by Holtzman’s father, donated $100,000 to “If C Wins, You Lose,” a campaign committee working to defeat the proposed suspension of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
The donation was disclosed Monday in campaign filings with the Colorado secretary of state’s office.
Proponents of the referendums reported raising $230,000, including $45,500 from former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rutt Bridges and a variety of donations from business and education groups.
A spokesman for Republican Rep. Bob Beauprez, Holtzman’s primary opponent for governor, asserted that the donation from Holtzman’s father is an attempt to get around state limits on donations to individual candidates. A state constitutional amendment approved in 2003 limits individual donations to $500 for statewide races.
“The very notion that this is anything but a less-than-subtle way to get around campaign finance laws is absurd,” said Beauprez spokesman John Marshall. “It’s just absolute blatant disregard for the law.”
The ads are “absolutely not” an attempt to skirt campaign finance law to increase Holtzman’s public profile, said Dick Leggitt, Holtzman’s campaign manager.
Holtzman also defended the donation from his father’s company. “It has nothing to do with my campaign,” he said Monday.
Holtzman said that the campaign had also asked Beauprez to participate in ads. “If it was to support my campaign, why would an invitation be made to my opponent?” he asked.
Marshall confirmed that Beauprez was invited to participate in the ads but said the congressman declined.
Colorado College political science professor Bob Loevy said the donation is an example of “the unintended consequences” of campaign finance reforms that Colorado voters approved in 2003.
“That’s what loopholes are,” he said. “Things in the law that people go through … because the law didn’t cover this particular situation.”
Still, such donations probably are legal, Loevy said.
“It doesn’t look to me on the surface that there’s anything illegal, or that it even violates the spirit of the law,” Loevy said. “It’s just a situation no one visualized.”
Despite the donation, proponents of the November budget proposals still lead substantially in fundraising, with more than $2 million.
Earlier this month, the anti-referendums committee also reported a $50,000 donation from Holtzman fundraiser Blair Richardson. In all, the committee has raised about $184,000.
Its chairman, Republican state House Minority Leader Joe Stengel, said the Richardson donation and the one from Jewelcor are the beginning of a broad fundraising effort.
More donations already have been collected since the close of the latest reporting period, Sept. 14, and will appear in the next disclosure to the state, he said.
“This isn’t the Marc Holtzman campaign for governor,” Stengel said. “This is the campaign to defeat C and D. And this is only the very first volley of money.”
Proponents of the ballot questions disagree.
“What’s significant here is this $100,000 donation from Jewelcor did not come because they care about the future of Colorado,” proponent spokeswoman Katy Atkinson said. “It’s coming to help Marc.”
Loevy said proponents may also be concerned because donations to the anti-referendums committee may damage their cause.
“This is going to have a big effect on C and D, in my opinion,” he said. “Our assumption was that the ‘Vote Yes’ people were going to have all the money.”
Another opponent group, “Vote No; It’s Your Dough,” reported raising more than $13,000, mostly from small donors across the state. This is the first month opponents have reported substantial donations.
Staff writer Chris Frates contributed to this report.
Staff writer Jim Hughes can be reached at 303-820-1244 or jhughes@denverpost.com.
