The campaign to increase Denver’s sales tax to help fund early- childhood education has raised more than any other Denver campaign since Mayor John Hickenlooper’s election bid.
Records filed Thursday with the city show Preschool Matters has raised more than $1.4 million, including $250,000 in cash and a $100,000 loan, in the past month.
Although similar but broader measures have failed in the past, campaign treasurer Lynea Hansen said the group feels confident heading into Tuesday’s election.
“I think how well we feel has nothing to do with how much money we have raised,” Hansen said. “I think our yard signs are a good indication of how broad- based our support is – they are everywhere.”
The campaign is part of an effort to pass Denver’s referred question 1A.
1A would raise the sales and use tax by 12 cents on every $100 purchased to raise $12 million annually for preschool education. It would fund child-care tuition credits for families of 4-year- olds and would provide money to improve preschool programs.
Credits would be distributed based on need and the quality of the preschool program selected.
Similar but broader measures failed in 2000 and 2001.
Officials at the clerk and recorder’s office said Thursday that no group has filed papers in opposition to 1A, although records for October are not due until today.
While apparently no group is actively raising money against the program, the regional office of the Anti-Defamation League announced its opposition last month, citing concerns that it would violate the separation of church and state because some of the money would go to church-funded schools.
Preschool Matters’ fundraising has nearly doubled that of the successful 2005 campaign to build the $378 million Justice Center, which raised just under $700,000. Only Hickenlooper’s $2.2 million election campaign in 2003 has topped Preschool Matters in recent campaigns, according to campaign-finance records.
The Gary Williams Energy Co. continues to push hard for the campaign, adding the $100,000 loan to the more than $350,000 worth of in-kind contributions the company has made.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-954-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
