Far outraised and outspent proponents
Two specific-purpose committees, one formed for and another against the ban, filed reports with the city secretary showing more than $280,000 raised since the City Council voted to put the proposition on the Nov. 4 ballot.
The city has not seen six-figure spending since 2008, when Mark Burroughs unseated Perry McNeill as mayor and the two spent more than $120,000 between them in the fight.
Opponents to the ban on fracking have far outraised and outspent proponents in the first weeks of the campaign. In a press release, Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy called its $231,000 in contributions “grass roots,” since the three energy companies that contributed $75,000 each — Devon Energy of Oklahoma, XTO Energy of Fort Worth and EnerVest of Houston — all pay taxes on their gas wells inside the city limits.
According to city records, Devon has 61 gas wells in the city limits, EnerVest has 33 and XTO has two.
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers in Wichita Falls also gave $5,000 to the opposition campaign. None of the city’s other largest producers are listed among that group’s membership, including EagleRidge Energy (82 wells), Vantage (36) and Legend (23).
Bobby Jones of Denton Taxpayers said recent resolutions opposing the ban by the Denton Chamber of Commerce, the Denton County Republican Party and the North Texas State Fair Association show that as people study the issues, they oppose the ban.