The relatively low-key political races for seats on the Regional Transportation District board that governs metro Denver’s public transit have drawn nearly $100,000 in campaign advocacy group spending and high-profile political endorsements this year.

Most of the 13 candidates vying for the RTD director seats have spent $1,000 or less on their campaigns. But Conservation Colorado, an environmental advocacy group, got involved for the first time and injected $95,381 into two races. The group also made four endorsements, adding to the endorsements by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Gov. Jared Polis.

A non-profit with a staff of 38 and annual revenues topping $3 million, Conservation Colorado leaders looked at the RTD with its annual $1.1 billion budget as “a massively important taxpayer-funded agency” that will determine how people move around a densifying metropolis, executive director Kelly Nordini said Wednesday in an interview.

“Transportation is our biggest source of climate pollution. If we want to get on top of our climate objectives, RTD and transit have to be a central part of that,” Nordini said.

Conservation Colorado’s spending on RTD races, part of the group’s $800,000 in statewide election spending, is designed to ensure the RTD is run by directors who are “very pro-transit” and equipped to forge links with other agencies to combat climate warming, she said.

The funds target a three-way contest for a central Denver seat, boosting the campaign of Kiel Brunner, a digital data scientist who has support from Gov. Polis. Brunner faces Chris Nicholson, endorsed by Denver Mayor Johnston, and former RTD bus driver Bob Dinegar,who has the backing of state Rep. Meg Froelich, leader of Colorado’s transportation, housing and local government committee.

Conservation Colorado also spent funds on former bus driver Bernard Celestin, a U.S. Army veteran and civic leader running to represent Aurora, against Kathleen Chandler, who directs a citizens involvement project for the libertarian Independence Institute think tank. That’s because “libertarians as a whole are not very interested in expanding public goods like public transit,” Nordini said. Candidates Karen Benker (northwest suburbs) and Brett Paglieri (west metro Denver) also received Conservation Colorado endorsements.

The money — $45,000 sent on Oct. 23 and $50,381 on Oct. 25 — supported ads, according to Colorado Secretary of State records.

Dinegar said he’s spent less than $1,000, for a website and doorknob notices, hoping his two, better-funded opponents will “cancel each other out” and that voters will reward his professional experience.

“I have embraced the underdog role. I am the bus driver,” Dinegar said. “I harbor no other future political aspirations. I am the only one who has on-the-ground experience with RTD security, maintenance, governance, and operations. I know how the thing works and where it is broken.”

Originally Published: October 31, 2024 at 6:00 AM MDT