Fox 31 mischaracterized Denver ballot issues, quoted Face the State's Jones without noting his conservative ties

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Reporting on the upcoming vote on Denver ballot issues A through I, anchor Shaul Turner of KDVR Fox 31 mischaracterized the ballot package as a “half-billion-dollar tax increase” and wrongly referred to a "$2.5 million levy." The ballot in fact only includes one proposed tax increase, which would raise the City and County of Denver's property tax, or mill levy, rate by 2.5 mills.

During the October 22 broadcast of KDVR Fox 31's Good Day Colorado, anchor Shaul Turner misleadingly referred to the 2007 Denver ballot issues A through I as “the half-billion-dollar tax increase” and wrongly stated that the ballot “include[s] a $2.5 million levy.” In fact, the ballot includes only one proposed tax rate increase, Referred Question 1A, which would raise the City and County of Denver's property tax rate by 2.5 mills -- not “a $2.5 million levy.”

In addition, after Turner stated that “not everyone agrees the bond package is such a great idea for the city,” Fox 31 aired a clip of Brad Jones, founder and managing editor of the “news” website Face the State, criticizing the ballot measures as “buying off different special interests,” without noting his extensive work with the state's Republican Party and the free-market think tank the Independence Institute.

From the October 22 broadcast of KDVR Fox 31's Good Day Colorado:

TURNER (anchor): Politics these days are all about the 2008 presidential election, but there's a vote much closer on the horizon, and it could take a bigger bite out of your wallet. Most Denver voters already have their ballots for the half-billion-dollar tax increase. They're called ballot issues A through I and include a $2.5 million levy and $550 million in bond projects.

FRANCES KONCILJA (BetterDenver.org co-chair) [video clip]: These are grassroots proposals that have come up from the community about things that are important to people who live and work in this community. And we hope that the voters are going to vote in favor of all of them.

TURNER: The projects include improving Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver Botanic Gardens, and the Museum of Nature and Science. But not everyone agrees the bond package is such a great idea for the city.

JONES [video clip]: All of these different bonds and property tax increases are buying off different special interests. That's why they're being sold as a package.

TURNER: Well, this is an election by mail; there will be no polling places. The deadline is 7 p.m. on November 6th.

Contrary to Turner's statement that the ballot is a “half-billion-dollar tax increase” that includes a "$2.5 million levy," Denver's ballot includes only one proposal to increase the property tax rate, estimated to cost Denver taxpayers $27.5 million per year starting in 2008, and eight additional measures proposing to issue general obligation bonds on behalf of the city and county. Fox 31's report also featured the misleading screen caption “TAX INCREASES”; in fact, the ballot includes only one proposed tax increase.

Furthermore, in quoting Jones' criticism of the ballot issues, Fox 31 identified him as being affiliated with “FACETHESTATE.COM,” but did not reveal his conservative ties. As Colorado Media Matters noted, in 2005 and 2006 Jones received at least $10,000 while working as a contractor for Republican candidates, as records from the Colorado Secretary of State's website indicate. Jones is also a former chairman of the University of Colorado at Boulder College Republicans and has ties to the Independence Institute. Jones is listed as the creator of the website for 1310 KFKA's The Amy Oliver Show -- hosted by Amy Oliver, director of operations for the Independence Institute -- and he has appeared as a guest host for Oliver on several occasions. Colorado Media Matters also has noted that Jones worked as a research associate at the Independence Institute under the direction of Jessica Peck Corry, whom state Sen. Sue Windels (D-Arvada) defeated in the 2004 state Senate District 19 race.