Colorado's Dirtiest Campaign
The Denver school board race has turned out to be a high-stakes battle, with more than $1 million in dark money campaign spending and an unprecedented level of negative attack mailers.
This year, the citywide at-large race has taken a turn for the worse, with one candidate accusing the other of using racist tactics in their campaign.
According to Chalkbeat, the increased spending and negative campaigning is being driven by a dark-money organization called Better Leaders, Stronger Schools, which is affiliated with Denver Families for Public Schools and supports charter-friendly candidates. This group has outspent the local teachers union four to one and even aired the first television commercial in recent memory for a Denver school board race.
The most recent attack mailer, targeted at candidate Kwame Spearman, has caused controversy for its use of what Spearman calls "dog whistling" tactics.
The mailer portrays Spearman, who is black, as a "bully" while featuring a sad white child on the other side. Spearman has stated that this is a clear attempt to evoke racial tensions and undermine his candidacy.
Kwame Spearman, left, and John Youngquist, right, are running for an at-large seat on the Denver school board. Courtesy images of Kwame Spearman and John Youngquist.
On the other side of the race is John Youngquist, a longtime educator and former school principal who is backed by the teacher’s union.
Supporters of Youngquist say that he has a deep understanding of the Denver Public School system and will be ready to enact changes on day one. His opponent, Kwame Spearman, is a businessman and co-owner of the Tattered Cover bookstores. Despite being relatively new to the education field, Spearman's supporters believe he will bring fresh ideas to the district.
There are two other candidates on the ballot for the at-large seat, but one has been unable to campaign due to illness and the other has dropped out of the race.
Spearman has criticized Youngquist for accepting the endorsement of Denver Families Action, which he said at a recent debate is “funded by two people, Reed Hastings and John Arnold” who “are committed to the privatization of our schools.”
Hastings is the co-founder of Netflix and Arnold is a former Enron executive. Both are on the board of The City Fund, a national organization in favor of charter schools and school autonomy. Denver Families for Public Schools gets money — $1.75 million in the last fiscal year — from The City Fund, according to federal tax records.
This leaves the decision in the hands of Denver voters, who will have to weigh the qualifications and campaign tactics of the two remaining candidates.
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With three of the seven Denver school board seats up for grabs this election, the outcome could have a major impact on the future of the district. Current board member Auon'tai Anderson, who is not running for re-election, will be replaced by the winner of the at-large race.
As the campaign reaches its final days, the intense competition and high levels of spending and negative campaigning have brought the Denver school board race into the spotlight.