Colorado frackers pump out cash to ward off ballot initiatives

http://grist.org/news/colorado-frackers-pump-out-cash-to-ward-off-ballot-initiatives/

Flush with cash, the fracking industry is liberally throwing bills around as it battles anti-fracking groups pushing suspensions and outright bans on the practice in four Colorado cities.

Anti-fracking ballot measures have been put forth by residents of Fort Collins, Boulder, Lafayette, and Broomfield. (Similar initiatives are planned in Greeley and Loveland — and some activists are pushing for a statewide initiative.)

Opponents of fracking have raised about $16,000 in total as they fight for votes in those four cities, The Denver Post reports. That’s not bad for a grassroots effort, but it pales in comparison with fundraising by the pro-fracking sector, which is separately fighting a fracking ban in Longmont in court:

Groups opposing four anti-fracking measures have campaign contributions of $606,205 — 99.7 percent of which came from the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, reports filed Tuesday show. …