Welcome back to Chalkbeat’s campaign finance tracker. We’ll track how much each of the nine Denver school board candidates has raised and spent in the runup to the Nov. 5 election, when three seats on the seven-member board are up for grabs.
We’re also tracking spending by political committees, sometimes referred to as “outside money.”
A week from Election Day, spending by candidates and committees combined exceeds $1.5 million. The data comes from campaign finance reports that candidates and committees file with the state. The latest campaign finance reports cover fundraising and spending through Oct. 23.
Because the election is less than 30 days away, candidates must also file reports of contributions of $1,000 or more within 24 hours. Committees must file reports of independent expenditures of $1,000 or more within 48 hours. The totals below reflect those reports, too.
There are several types of committees. Independent expenditure committees include Students for Education Reform Action Committee, Better Schools for a Stronger Colorado, Students Deserve Better, and Ready Colorado Action Fund. Independent expenditure committees can spend an unlimited amount of money but cannot coordinate with candidates.
The DCTA Fund and the Public Education Committee are small donor committees. They can give directly to candidates. These two particular committees are associated with Colorado teachers unions, as is the Students Deserve Better independent expenditure committee.
The Denver teachers union endorsed a slate of three candidates: Tay Anderson for an at-large seat representing the entire city, Scott Baldermann for a seat representing southeast Denver, and Brad Laurvick for a seat representing northwest Denver.
The committees associated with teachers union are supporting those three candidates.
The other committees are supporting some of their opponents.
The Students for Education Reform Action Network and Stand for Children, which is associated with the Better Schools for a Stronger Colorado committee, endorsed Alexis Menocal Harrigan for the at-large seat, Diana Romero Campbell for the southeast seat, and Tony Curcio for the northwest seat. The Ready Colorado Action Fund is also supporting these three candidates.
Below, see how much the candidates have raised and spent themselves.