Littleton – Wal-Mart opponents received cash from the United Food and Commercial Workers union in a referendum to block a proposed Supercenter along South Sante Fe Drive, even as leaders denied union money aided their campaign.
Wal-Mart supporters have made union involvement a central issue in this conservative, pro-business community.
“Union money has not funded this campaign,” Debbie Brinkman, chairwoman and treasurer of the opponents’ election committee – Littleton Pride, You Decide – said in an e-mail Friday. “This campaign would be exactly where it is right now whether there were union donations or not. Donations from Littleton citizens is what funds our campaign.”
But the union did give $15,000 to $18,000 to another opponents group, which then passed some of it to Littleton Pride, a lawyer for Littleton Pride said Monday.
As of Monday, Littleton Pride had raised $33,219.
Littleton Pride lists no union donations on its required financial disclosure reports. But it received three donations totaling $20,475 from Littleton Against Wal-Mart, which accepted the union’s donations and worked to get the referendum on the ballot.
Votes in the mail-in balloting will be counted today.
Opponents have noted that Wal-Mart’s headquarters has put up nearly all of its $91,025 war chest.
Though it has many of the same leaders and the same telephone number as Littleton Pride, Littleton Against Wal-Mart is not required to file financial disclosure information, because it is not the election committee of record.
Littleton Pride’s lawyer, Ryan Call, said, in a statement from the group, some members’ statements about union aid had been “inaccurate or incomplete.”
But, he said the opposition was never run by the union, as Wal-Mart had stated in mailings to Littleton households.
“The vast majority of contributors to the issue committee have been individual citizens and Littleton residents who care about preserving South Platte Park, and the city’s unique character and quality of life,” he said.
Union spokesman Dave Minshall, who advised Littleton Against Wal-Mart on media strategy, said the union never hid its support.
“Not only do we admit it, we’re proud to do it,” he said. “Our job is to protect our workers, and that’s what we’re doing. Wal-Mart is bad for workers.”
Littleton residents asked for the union’s help, Minshall said.
Such third-party donations are often used in politics to shield the names of donors. The donations are called “soft money,” a tactic decried by open government advocates, such as Colorado Common Cause.
“We think full disclosure of all sources of money on both sides will benefit the citizens of Littleton,” said Meg Costello, associate director of Colorado Common Cause.
Josh Phair, Wal-Mart’s Colorado spokesman, said Littleton Pride had played “unfortunate” politics by hiding union aid.
“We’ve been up front about where our support came from,” he said. “We haven’t played those games. Soft money is a sad part of politics, and it’s a disservice to the people of Littleton.”
Mayor Jim Taylor said union representatives had been prominent at public hearings on the proposed Wal-Mart. Minshall said Littleton’s population includes about 1,000 union members.
“Littleton is a very conservative, pro-business community,” said Taylor, who supports the store. “We’ve had a lot of job growth because of the support for our business community.”
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.
