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Updated: Colorado's Amendment 70 Sees Late Increase in Spending


A few weeks ago, I had pointed readers to Colorado's Amendment 70 that voters will decide upon this November.  Amendment 70 seeks to raise the hourly minimum wage rate in the state from $8.31/hour (the current hourly wage rate) to $12/hour by 2020.

To date, there has been nearly $5 million raised in support of Amendment 70.  A good portion of the contributions have come from labor unions and other organizations in support of the minimum wage increase:  The Fairness Project ($875,000.00), Civic Participation Action Fund ($700,000.00), Center for Popular Democracy Action Fund ($650,000.00), SEIU C.O.P.E. ($405,000.00), and National Education Association ($250,000.00) have all been major players in support of Amendment 70.  

Of course, there has been opposition to Amendment 70, but much less has been raised to oppose the measure.  A total of about $1.6 million has been raised from pro business groups this election cycle:  Workforce Fairness Institute ($850,000.00), Hospitality Issue PAC ($330,000.00), Colorado Citizens Protecting Our Constitution ($125,000.00), National Restaurant Association ($50,000.00), and Colorado Restaurant Association ($40,000.00) have all donated significant amounts.

With that being said, as of late, there has been a surge of money that has come in to support Amendment 70.  In particular, the Center for Popular Democracy donated $400,000.00 to Colorado Families for a Fair Wage, which just so happens to back passage of Amendment 70.

I would not necessarily call this support in and of itself a surprise, but is somewhat eye opening to see how much money has come in this late in the game. A recent poll showed that 58% of Colorado voters were in support of Amendment 70.  No sure thing...but it is certainly a good sign for supporters of this Amendment that less than a week out from election day, there has been a sudden increase in donations to support the Amendment.




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