Face The State Staff Report
As Election Day approaches, independent political committees have spent at least 12 times as much as candidates in one of Colorado’s most competitive races.
Senate District 19 Republican candidate Libby Szabo has raised about $78,000, with $75,494 remaining in the bank. The vast majority of her financial support has come from the local business community and energy interests. Her Democrat opponent and State Board of Education member, Evie Hudak, has raised about $82,000 with $56,545 in cash on hand. In addition, Hudak has received thousands from unions including the Service Employees International Union and a variety of Colorado teachers' unions.
The candidates' combined spending is just shy of $32,000. Meanwhile, according to Denver political consultant Curt Cerveny, 527s committees have spent about $450,000 on mail and cable advertising in SD 19. 527 committees operate under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to raise money for political activities. These activities, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, can include “voter mobilization efforts, issue advocacy, and the like.” 527 spending has to be estimated because committees are not required to itemize spending by political race.
Szabo expressed frustration with the independent money being spent in the district. The law allows for no coordination between candidates and the third parties helping them. Szabo said this arrangement confuses the issues important to voters. “What I don’t like about it is that my campaign cannot have any say in what is put out,” she said. “As a candidate, I feel kind of up for grabs.”
SD 19 has 77,887 registered voters, of which 34 percent—or about 26,737—are unaffiliated, while 35 percent are registered Republicans and 30 percent are registered Democrats. Only registered voters receive political mail and unaffiliated voters get hit the hardest.
Szabo says she has seen 13 pieces of mail from 527 committees on behalf of Hudak and about ten for herself. According to Republican consultant Curt Cerveny, a competitive state Senate race will see about 20 to 30 pieces of mail go out before Election Day. But SD 19 has already seen at least 23 pieces of mail hit — with none from the candidates — and there are eight weeks left before the General Election.
Cerveny said mail costs about 50 cents per piece and roughly 30,000 pieces are printed each time. Based on Cerveny’s estimates of the price per mail piece, third parties have already spent approximately $345,000 on mail for this race and $100,000 on cable TV ads targeting this Jefferson County district, with more on the way.
“That’s overkill,” said Cerveny upon hearing how much mail has already hit in SD 19. “The average read on a piece of mail is only 5 seconds. Calling and knocking on doors makes a lasting impression,” he added.
Independent coalitions spend more cash than candidates because contributions to 527 committees are not capped, unlike contributions to candidate committees. Statewide spending for 527s has already reached $7 million.
Szabo believes that if independent contributions were given directly to candidates instead, campaigning would stay cleaner and candidates would be free to shape their own message. “People have figured out that campaign finance reform was shrouded to them as a way to take the nastiness out of campaigning, but it has really brought that all in,” she said.
Changes in Colorado’s campaign finance laws have also allowed union money to dominate the political landscape. In 2004, Democrats including SD 19 incumbent Sue Windels (who is now term limited), benefited mightily from union contributions. The SEIU pumped nearly $1 million into Colorado’s races that year and aided in the Democrat takeover of the state’s General Assembly.
In 2002, a statewide coalition of liberal advocacy organizations, including Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, worked to pass Amendment 27, a constitutional amendment that was designed to “curb the influence of special interests.” The amendment set new caps, including a $400 limit on individual contributions to legislative candidates. In addition, it prohibited direct corporate and labor union contributions to candidate committees.
The new standards heavily benefit pro-union efforts because they allowed for contributions from small donor committees. These committees may contribute up to $4,000 to a particular candidate through individual contributions of no more than $50, usually small monthly or quarterly transfers from union dues. Hudak has received several cash infusions of this nature, like $2,000 from the SEIU in July and $3,000 from the Boulder Valley Education Association in August.
Face The State attempted to reach Hudak by phone and email for comment, but she did not respond.