>Two embattled Democratic lawmakers facing recall elections in The Centennial State for voting for tougher gun laws are getting a financial boost from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Last week, Bloomberg wrote a personal check for $350,000 to Taxpayers for Responsible Democracy, one of the outfits fighting the recall of state Senate President John Morse (D-Colorado Springs) and Sen. Angela Giron (D-Pueblo).
The money should come in handy as the recall elections will take place Sept. 10, which is less than two weeks away.
Thus far the two have received donations from more than 17,000 individuals, including another big check for Billionaire Eli Broad, who donated $250,000 to the organization. Since April, Taxpayer for Responsible Democracy raised a total of $708,000 for the recall elections, $286,745 of which they have left to spend coming down the stretch.
Two other groups, ‘A Whole Lot of People for John Morse’ and ‘Pueblo United for Angela’ have also raised a half million dollars a piece since April, bringing the total money raised on fighting the recall to approximately $1.7 million – an achievement recall opponents were proud of.
“We want to thank every single one of those supporters, from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the people who gave five or 10 dollars,” Jennie Peek-Dunstone, with Pueblo United for Angela, told FOX 31 Denver.
“They all play a role in fighting back against the ‘wave of fear’ that the recall proponents want to send across the country,” she added.
Yet, those who are pushing for the recall were quick to criticize Bloomberg’s involvement in Colorado’s politics.
“Coloradans have demonstrated in election after election that they cannot be bought by elitist out-of-state billionaires like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg,” said Kelly Maher of Compass Colorado, one of the groups that petitioned for the recall effort.
“As a state that values our individualism, we don’t appreciate nanny state politicians who tried to ban Big Gulps, and attempted to regulate soda and trans fats trying to force their political agendas on us. No matter how much money Mayor Bloomberg gives to Senators Morse and Giron, it is Colorado voters who will have the final say on September 10th.”
Also chiming in was Jennifer Kerns, a spokeswoman who represents the Basic Freedom Defense Fund, a non-profit dedicated to providing overall monetary, legal, organizational, outreach and media support to the John Morse recall as well as education of the public about their civil rights in regards to firearms.
“We represent the folks who live here, work here, and simply want their State back from the East Coast special interests like Mayor Bloomberg who influenced this past legislative session,” said Kerns, a California communications operative hired to assist the group during the recall, as FOX 31 Denver pointed out.
It’s unclear at this point how much groups pushing for the recall have raised, but according to the Aurora Sentinel, it’s estimated that the National Rifle Association has spent about $108,600 to oppose Morse and Kerns, which is among the largest single contributions from anyone individual or organization.
But regardless of how much money either side raises, at the end of the day the election will come down to votes, that is, which side has the most people show up at the polls. Here’s hoping that gun owners, their friends and family, show up en masse.
The post Bloomberg donates $350,000 to fight recall efforts of two pro-gun control Colorado lawmakers (VIDEO) appeared first on Guns.com.