FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Anne Lee Foster: 757-870-5102 anneleefoster@gmail.com
Russell Mendell, 802-318-1135
***PRESS RELEASE***
ANTI-PROP 112 PAID ADVERTISING BY EXXONMOBIL AND OTHERS GOES UNREPORTED IN LATEST CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT
MULTINATIONAL OIL AND GAS CORPORATIONS POURING UNREGULATED MONEY TO DEFEAT COLORADO BALLOT MEASURE
DENVER – On Monday, October 29, opponents of Prop 112, Protect Colorado, reported that they have raised more than $41 million, including in-kind donations. An additional $400k was raised by 112 opposition group Spirit of Colorado, according to the publicly available reports with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.
Beyond those record-setting sums of money, the No on Prop 112 campaign finance report is notable for what it does not include.
Multiple political action committees have registered against Proposition 112, but to date have not reported any spending or contributions including ExxonMobil, No On Prop 112, and the Koch Brothers’ PAC Americans For Prosperity. This conflicts with the advertising reality Colorado voters are seeing online. ExxonMobil, for example, has paid for 53 Facebook ads against Prop 112 and may be exploiting the same federal loophole to circumvent reporting laws, as has been revealed in a report on Noble Energy’s campaign spending. Other companies running paid content against Prop 112 include ConocoPhillips and the law firm Kearney, Mcwilliams & Davis, PLLC.
Colorado Rising is considering filing a complaint with the Secretary of State to ensure that the dark money pouring in from multinational corporations against Prop 112 is reported in full.
The vast majority of the funding for Protect Colorado comes from the fossil fuel industry with more than $6.9 million from Anadarko Petroleum, more than $6.1 million from Noble Energy, more than 3.4 million from Extraction Oil and Gas, more than 2.2 million from SRC Energy, more than 1.9 million from PDC Energy, and more than $1 million from ConocoPhillips.
“Despite being outspent by tens of millions of dollars by the oil and gas industry and being targeted by opponents’ dirty tricks, Prop 112 is winning with voters”, said Anne Lee Foster with Colorado Rising. “That’s because Prop 112 does one simple thing to keep Colorado communities safe. It establishes a 2,500-foot safety barrier between dangerous drilling and fracking and our homes, schools, and drinking water. The oil and gas industry can outspend us and hide their money in the process, but they aren’t fooling Colorado voters, who know a good idea when they see one.”
According to campaign finance reports from the Secretary of State’s website, oil and gas industry spending in opposition to local efforts to regulate fracking over the past five years has exceeded $180 million. Industry-backed PR campaigns include the formation of almost a dozen industry-front groups designed to mislead the public and confuse voters, including a new group with a name confusingly similar to the proponents of Colorado Rising. Including money raised by oil and gas funded Amendment 74, oil and gas has pumped in more than $50 million dollars in this election cycle.
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