Jacob Bell
New Member
Opponents of a Fort Collins ballot measure that would ban medical marijuana businesses in the city have raised nearly eight times more money for their campaign than supporters of the ban.
Citizens for Safer Neighborhoods, which is campaigning against Question 300 on the Nov. 1 ballot, has raised $84,135 so far and spent $59,262, according to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday with the city clerk's office.
Another group opposing the ban - Families for Safe, Secure and Regulated Access - has raised $24,754 for the campaign. The Wheat Ridge-based group, which has spent $5,033 so far, has been funded by elements of the United Food and Commercial Workers, or UFCW.
The committee has contributed another $22,000 to the campaign through in-kind services, such as staff time, according to its report. A union representative did not return a call seeking comment on UFCW's role in the campaign.
Some local medical marijuana workers have joined the union, said Steve Ackerman, president of the Fort Collins Medical Cannabis Association and a dispensary owner.
The more than $108,000 raised by opponents of Question 300 eclipses the $13,965 raised by the group that placed the proposed ban on the city ballot through a petition drive, Concerned Fort Collins Citizens.
Group chairman Bob Powell said more money is expected to come in as the campaign goes on, but for the most part the organization is "at the tail end of its spending and everything is in place."
"We're just going to keep talking to people," he said. "We don't have to raise a lot of money."
The majority of funding for Citizens for Safer Neighborhoods has come from local medical marijuana businesses. Donations also have come in from marijuana businesses and individuals around the state and country.
Much of the spending has been on campaign managers and political consultants. The group hired Ben Prochazka, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm FieldWorks, to manage the campaign.
Prochazka said campaign workers have been reaching out to voters by "knocking on thousands of doors and making thousands of phone calls" to get out the vote.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: coloradoan.com
Author: Kevin Duggan
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: coloradoan.com
Website: Opponents raise more funds than supporters of medical marijuana business ban
Citizens for Safer Neighborhoods, which is campaigning against Question 300 on the Nov. 1 ballot, has raised $84,135 so far and spent $59,262, according to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday with the city clerk's office.
Another group opposing the ban - Families for Safe, Secure and Regulated Access - has raised $24,754 for the campaign. The Wheat Ridge-based group, which has spent $5,033 so far, has been funded by elements of the United Food and Commercial Workers, or UFCW.
The committee has contributed another $22,000 to the campaign through in-kind services, such as staff time, according to its report. A union representative did not return a call seeking comment on UFCW's role in the campaign.
Some local medical marijuana workers have joined the union, said Steve Ackerman, president of the Fort Collins Medical Cannabis Association and a dispensary owner.
The more than $108,000 raised by opponents of Question 300 eclipses the $13,965 raised by the group that placed the proposed ban on the city ballot through a petition drive, Concerned Fort Collins Citizens.
Group chairman Bob Powell said more money is expected to come in as the campaign goes on, but for the most part the organization is "at the tail end of its spending and everything is in place."
"We're just going to keep talking to people," he said. "We don't have to raise a lot of money."
The majority of funding for Citizens for Safer Neighborhoods has come from local medical marijuana businesses. Donations also have come in from marijuana businesses and individuals around the state and country.
Much of the spending has been on campaign managers and political consultants. The group hired Ben Prochazka, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm FieldWorks, to manage the campaign.
Prochazka said campaign workers have been reaching out to voters by "knocking on thousands of doors and making thousands of phone calls" to get out the vote.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: coloradoan.com
Author: Kevin Duggan
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: coloradoan.com
Website: Opponents raise more funds than supporters of medical marijuana business ban
