Campaign finance filings show wide gaps

Initial campaign finance filings show Denver school board candidate Happy Haynes has already raised more than $200,000, with three weeks remaining before Election Day.

Haynes is a former Denver City Council president and school district administrator whose family name also is well-known in education circles thanks to her mother, preschool pioneer Anna Jo Haynes. The candidate received $213,789 in donations between Oct. 28, 2010 and Oct. 6, 2011, according to reports filed with the secretary of state’s office Tuesday.

The figure dwarfs fund-raising by her four competitors – whose totals range from $244 to $16,790 – and it likely means a new record in city school board election totals.

Details by candidate

School board member Theresa Peña, whose citywide seat Haynes wants to fill, raised a total of $216,610 throughout her entire 2007 campaign. Mary Seawell, who won an at-large seat in 2009, raised an overall total of $240,605 – less than $30,000 higher than Haynes already has accumulated.

School board candidates file a second finance report on Oct. 28, covering contributions and expenditures made between Oct. 7 and Oct. 23. A final report is due Dec. 1, to include transactions in the final days of the campaign and through Nov. 26.

In the two other Denver school board races, wide margins also separate the candidates.

In the contest to represent southeast Denver, candidate Anne Rowe has raised $176,320 – more than three times the total reported by candidate Emily Sirota.

And in northwest Denver, candidate Jennifer Draper Carson reported total contributions of $124,346, or twice the total reported by incumbent Arturo Jimenez.

Jimenez was the only candidate to miss the 11:59 p.m. deadline, filing his report at 2:26 a.m., according to the secretary of state’s website. That could cost him a $50 fine.

Well-funded candidates share contributors

Haynes, Rowe and Draper Carson dismissed talk early in their campaigns that they represented a “slate” of candidates backed by pro-reform interests, but they share some big contributors.

Daniel Ritchie, CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, contributed $26,000 to each of the three. Ritchie is former chancellor of the University of Denver and something of a senior statesman figure in education circles.

Henry Gordon, president of Strata Capital in Englewood, also gave $25,000 each to Haynes, Rowe and Draper Carson. Also lining up behind all three was Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita Inc., who donated $11,000 to each. University of Colorado President Bruce Benson gave $10,000 to each. Benson, a former oilman and GOP fundraiser, has been active in education for years and once served as chair of the DPS Foundation.

And Scott Reiman of Hexagon Investments also gave $10,000 to each.

So one quintet of donors gave a combined $82,000 each to the same three candidates, all of whom have been endorsed by the Colorado chapter of Democrats for Education Reform and by Stand for Children.

Draper Carson and Haynes also are using the same two political consulting firms.

Haynes also received $10,000 from philanthropist Pat Stryker of Fort Collins, a major funder of Democratic candidates in partisan elections. Haynes reported a DPS record 546 individual donors, shattering previous DPS records for total donors. According to campaign spokesman Peter Schottenfels, 437 – or 80 percent – of those donors live in Denver and 99 percent in Colorado.

The Denver Classroom Teachers Association endorsed only in the two district races and also contributed to their endorsed candidates.

Jimenez took in $24,000 from the DCTA small donor committee and another $6,000 from the Colorado Education Association small donor committee. Sirota received $22,500 from the DCTA committee.

For Jimenez, union money represented just over half of his total take, while it made up more than a third for Sirota.

Where the money’s being spent

The better-funded candidates are spending thousands of dollars on the less-expensive means of voter contact – primarily direct mailings, yard signs and campaign literature distributed at campaign events.

And those with the most money are not hesitating to pay for high-end consultants.

Haynes has paid $50,500 to Terra Strategies, a Des Moines, Iowa-based consultancy that has handled presidential campaigns for John Edwards, John Kerry, Al Gore and Richard Gephardt. She has spent close to another $9,000 to date with Denver-based RBI Strategies & Research.

Another Terra Strategies client is Draper Carson, who paid $30,142 to Terra Strategies in September. She’s also a RBI client and paid that firm $11,765 through Oct. 6.

Rowe’s finance report shows $7,500 spent so far to Mile High Public Affairs, whose president is veteran Denver political consultant John Britz.

Fundraising smaller in Dougco, Jeffco

As in years past, candidate fund-raising totals in Denver far outstrip those reported by candidates in Douglas and Jefferson counties. Haynes’ total-to-date is more than that reported by the four Jeffco candidates and the seven Dougco candidates combined.

In Jefferson County, two candidates who began campaigning in April reported far higher totals than their opponents, who campaign together as “the dads” and who did not register their candidacies until late August.

Candidate Jill Fellman reported $31,141.97 from more than 350 donors while Preston Branaugh, her opponent, raised $7,795 from fewer than 70 donors.

Similarly, candidate Lesley Dahlkemper raised $42,422 from more than 300 donors while her opponent, Jim Powers, reported $8,370 from fewer than 70 donors.

In Douglas County, the highest total reported is $20,820 – though the filings indicate the Republican Party-endorsed candidates are benefiting from two of Colorado’s most generous GOP donors.

Ed McVaney,  founder and former CEO of J.D. Edwards software  firm, and Ralph Nagel, president of investment firm Top Rock, have both given $10,000 to each of the three GOP candidates, who are pro-voucher.

Those contributions put the candidate far ahead of their opponents, who all oppose vouchers, for the first campaign finance reporting period.

McVaney and Nagel are long-time advocates of school choice as co-founders of the ACE Scholarships fund, which helps low-income families send their children to private schools. They also contributed heavily – $100,000 to $250,000 – to the failed 1998 effort to convince Colorado voters to give tax credits for private school tuition.

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS AT-LARGE RACE

John Daniel

  • Total money raised: $244
  • Total spent: $237
  • Remaining balance: $7
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: $244
  • Donors of note: Donor figures add up to more than $244; expenditures add up to $237, which Daniel lists as paying himself for advertising
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Frank Deserino

  • Total money raised: $16,790
  • Total spent: $13,057.14
  • Remaining balance: $3,732.86
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: $15,500
  • Donors of note: Deserino donated $15,500 to his campaign; Denver school board member Jeannie Kaplan, $200
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Allegra “Happy” Haynes

  • Total money raised: $213,789
  • Total spent: $119,855.40
  • Remaining balance: $93,933.60
  • Non-monetary contributions: $36,034.11, including $31,191.04 Stand for Children in Denver, canvassing and staff support, and $4,062.60 Great Schools for Great Kids, staff support
  • Largest donation to date: $26,000
  • Donors of note: Dan Ritchie, CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, $26,000; Henry Gordon, president of Strata Capital in Englewood, $25,000; Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita Inc., $11,000; CU President Bruce Benson, founder of Benson Mineral Group, $10,000; Fort Collins philanthropist Pat Stryker, $10,000; Susan Daggett, wife of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, $2,200; more than 500 donors total
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Roger Kilgore

  • Total money raised: $8,464
  • Total spent: $7,507.15
  • Remaining balance: $956.85
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: $2,000
  • Donors of note: Kilgore donated $2,000 to his campaign; Realtor Candidate Political Action Committee, $300
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Jacqui Shumway

  • Total money raised: $2,033.97
  • Total spent: $1,852.47
  • Remaining balance: $181.50
  • Non-monetary contributions: $80, use of personal cell phone for campaign and website hosting
  • Largest donation to date: $1,500
  • Donors of note: Shumway donated $1,500 to her campaign and transferred $493.97 from her 2009 school board campaign committee
  • Link to finance report

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS – DISTRICT 1 SOUTHEAST DENVER

Anne Rowe

  • Total money raised: $176,320
  • Total spent: $100,607.65
  • Remaining balance: $75,712.35
  • Non-monetary contributions: $18,236.51, including $15,663.21 Stand for Children in Denver, canvassing and staff support, and $2,031.30 Great Schools for Great Kids, staff support
  • Largest donation to date: $26,000
  • Donors of note: Dan Ritchie, CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, $26,000; Henry Gordon, president of Strata Capital in Englewood, $25,000; Michael T. Fries, CEO of Liberty Media, $20,000; Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita Inc., $11,000; CU President Bruce Benson, founder of Benson Mineral Group, $10,000; more than 250 total donors
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Emily Sirota

  • Total money raised: $57,962.26
  • Total spent: $27,716.15
  • Remaining balance: $30,246.11
  • Non-monetary contributions: $11,676.48, including $11,200 Denver Classroom Teachers Association, canvassing (amended report filed Oct. 18)
  • Largest donation to date: $22,500
  • Donors of note: Denver Classroom Teachers Association, small donor committee, $22,500; Leo Hindery, managing partner of InterMedia, New York, $5,000; Denver school board member Jeannie Kaplan, $2,352; Regas Christou, $250; education historian Diana Ravitch, $100; more than 200 donors total
  • Link to finance report

DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS – DISTRICT 5 NORTHWEST DENVER

Jennifer Draper Carson

  • Total money raised: $124,760
  • Total spent: $103,712.14
  • Remaining balance: $21,047.86
  • Non-monetary contributions: $21,804.32, including $16,657.18 Stand for Children in Denver, canvassing and staff support, and $4,062.60 Great Schools for Great Kids, staff support
  • Largest donation to date: $26,000
  • Donors of note: Dan Ritchie, CEO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, $26,000; Henry Gordon, president of Strata Capital in Englewood, $25,000; Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita Inc., $11,000; CU President Bruce Benson, founder of Benson Mineral Group, $10,000; Susan Daggett, wife of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, $600; former Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia, $100; more than 125 donors total
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Arturo Jimenez

  • Total money raised: $59,478
  • Total spent: $40,210.45
  • Remaining balance: $22,206.78
  • Non-monetary contributions:$8,832.90, including $8,320 Denver Classroom Teachers Association, canvassing
  • Largest donation to date: $24,000
  • Donors of note: Denver Classroom Teachers Association, small donor committee, $24,000; Colorado Education Association, small donor committee, $6,000; Jimenez donated $2,000 to his campaign; AFL-CIO, small donor committee, $500; Denver school board member Jeannie Kaplan, $440.94; Colorado Fraternal Order of Police, small donor committee, $250; Colorado Democratic Party, $100; Denver City Auditor Dennis Gallagher, $80; more than 275 donors total
  • Link to finance report

DOUGLAS COUNTY – DISTRICT A

Susan Meek

  • Total money raised: $3,062.97
  • Total spent: $402.78
  • Remaining balance: $2,660.19
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: $1,000
  • Donors of note: Jim Christensen, former Douglas County schools superintendent, $1,000
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Kevin Reilly

  • Total money raised: $2,725.68
  • Total spent: $1,276.39
  • Remaining balance: $1,449.29
  • Non-monetary contributions: $63.85, campaign kickoff party
  • Largest donation to date: $350
  • Donors of note: Sarah Mann, chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party, $350; Reilly loaned himself $835.41
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Craig Richardson

  • Total money raised: $20,700
  • Total spent: $1,725.75
  • Remaining balance: $18,974.25
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: Two donations of $10,000 each
  • Donors of note: Ed McVaney, founder and former CEO of J.D. Edwards software corp., $10,000; Ralph Nagel, president of Top Rock investments, $10,000; Richardson donated his campaign $500; four donors total, including Richardson
  • Link to finance report

DOUGLAS COUNTY – DISTRICT C

Gail Frances

  • Total money raised: $2,974.34
  • Total spent: $1,425.32
  • Remaining balance: $1,549.02
  • Non-monetary contributions: $73.84, including $63.85, campaign kickoff party
  • Largest donation to date: $250
  • Donors of note: Sarah Mann, chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party, $250; Frances has loaned her campaign $556.80
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Kevin Larsen

  • Total money raised: $20,105
  • Total spent: $1,796.90
  • Remaining balance: $18,308.10
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: Two donations of $10,000 each
  • Donors of note: Ed McVaney, founder and former CEO of J.D. Edwards software corp., $10,000; Ralph Nagel, president of Top Rock investments, $10,000; Laren has donated $105 to his campaign; three donors total, including Larsen
  • Link to finance report

DOUGLAS COUNTY – DISTRICT F

Susan McMahon

  • Total money raised: $8,444
  • Total spent: $7,957.78
  • Remaining balance: $486.22
  • Non-monetary contributions: $6,486, including $3,125 each from John and Ronda Funchess for video
  • Largest donation to date: $1,000
  • Donors of note: Deborah Hill of Castle Rock, not currently employed, $1,000; Sarah Mann, chair of the Douglas County Democratic Party, $250; Denver school board members Jeannie Kaplan, $100, and Andrea Merida, $10
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Justin Williams

  • Total money raised: $20,820
  • Total spent: $2,535.63
  • Remaining balance: $18,284.37
  • Non-monetary contributions: $200 for hosting fundraiser
  • Largest donation to date: Two donations of $10,000 each
  • Donors of note: Ed McVaney, founder and former CEO of J.D. Edwards software corp., $10,000; Ralph Nagel, president of Top Rock investments, $10,000; Williams donated $100 to his campaign; 11 donors total, including Williams
  • Link to finance report

JEFFERSON COUNTY – DISTRICT 3

Preston Branaugh

  • Total money raised: $7,795
  • Total spent: $308.15
  • Remaining balance: $7,486.85
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: Two donors gave $1,000 each
  • Donors of note: John Coors of Evergreen, CEO of CoorsTek and part of the Coors brewery family, $1,000; Andy Hoover of Littleton, retired, $1,000, Mountain Republican Women, $250; U.S. Congressman Mike Coffman, $100; Colorado State Board of Education member Debora Scheffel, $50
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Jill Fellman

  • Total money raised: $31,096
  • Total spent: $11,632.73
  • Remaining balance: $19,463.27
  • Non-monetary contributions: $45.97, gift of pencils
  • Largest donation to date: Two donors gave $1,000 each
  • Donors of note: Jonathan Abramson, attorney, $1,000; Kelly Johnson of Golden, no occupation, $1,000; former and current state lawmakers including Joyce Foster, $250; Sue Windels, $50; Evie Hudak, $25; former Jeffco school board candidate Stan Dempsey, $100
  • Link to finance report

JEFFERSON COUNTY – DISTRICT 4

Lesley Dahlkemper

  • Total money raised: $42,422
  • Total spent: $19,788
  • Remaining balance:$22,633.57
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: $2,000
  • Donors of note: John Sands, attorney, $2,000; former state lawmaker Mike Feeley, Dahlkemper’s husband, $1,000; State Board of Education member Elaine Gantz Berman, $250; U.S. Congressman Ed Perlmutter, $200; former State Treasurer and current Denver Deputy Mayor Cary Kennedy, $100; Jeffco school board member Paula Noonan, $100
  • Link to finance report

Candidates listed in alphabetical order

Jim Powers

  • Total money raised: $8,370
  • Total spent: $795.81
  • Remaining balance: $7,574.19
  • Non-monetary contributions: 0
  • Largest donation to date: $1,000
  • Donors of note: Andy Hoover of Littleton, retired, $1,000; Mountain Republican Women, $250; former Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick Sargent, $100; U.S. Congressman Mike Coffman, $100; State Board of Education member Debora Scheffel, $50
  • Link to finance report