Colorado: John Elway tells voters to say no to Prop 112

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Colo. drilling clash sees 'Elway bump' ahead of vote . E&E News .

A ballot measure that could curb oil and gas development in Colorado has attracted attention from some heavyweight names, including former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. Proposition 112 would require new drilling sites, processing plants and gathering lines to be located at least 2,500 feet away from homes, schools and other "vulnerable" areas. That could lead to about 54 percent of state land becoming inaccessible to producers for new oil and gas development, according to the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. "Polling continues to move in the industry's direction, with generally 'yes' in the low 40s and 'no' in the high 40s. Some recent polls seem to be even better, presumably due to the 'Elway bump,'" according to SunTrust analyst Welles Fitzpatrick, as the Denver Broncos' two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback and current president of football operations/general manager John Elway appeared in ads recommending people vote no. Colorado House Majority Leader KC Becker, a Democrat representing a north-central district that includes part of Boulder County, recently said proponents simply don't have the funding necessary to go up against the oil and gas industry, which has pumped more than $30 million into a campaign to defeat the measure. Proponents, meanwhile, have raised $700,000. Backers of Prop 112 raised about $351,000 for the period of Oct. 11-24, based on an amended filing as of Oct. 30, of which only $177,000 was in cash, according to TRACER data.