In a state where oil and gas is king, voters in Denton, Texas beat both big money and big oil passing a ban on hydraulic fracking by an astounding 59 to 41 percent margin.
The campaign was, by far, the most expensive in the city’s history, with opponents of the ban far outraising and outspending the ban’s proponents. Pass the Ban raised nearly $75,000 through Oct. 25, but that was dwarfed by the amounts raised by Denton Taxpayers.
Denton Taxpayers pulled in close to $700,000 through Oct. 25, the latest campaign finance reporting date. Chevron and Occidental Petroleum kicked in $95,000 even though neither operates any gas wells in Denton. EnerVest, XTO Energy and Devon Energy all made six-figure donations that totaled more than $540,000.
Denton Record-Chronicle
Denton sits in the center of the 5,000 square mile Barnett Shale gas field and is already home to 272 gas wells with another 212 in the surrounding areas operated by 19 different companies.
It is pretty impressive that a small grassroots operation was able to defeat these monied giants and get the ban passed. Kudos to all who worked so hard, you give me hope.
Cathy McMullen, a home health nurse and leader of the Denton Drilling Awareness Group, which collected nearly 2,000 petition signatures to place the issue on the ballot, choked up, wiped away tears and hugged her husband as she celebrated Tuesday night at Dan’s Silverleaf, a downtown bar and concert venue not far from City Hall.
“It says that industry can’t come in and do whatever they want to do to people,” McMullen said over the cheers of the 200 people jammed in the bar. “They can’t drill a well 300 feet from a park anymore. They can’t flare 200 feet from a child’s bedroom anymore.”
Ft Worth Star Telegram
A drop of hope in today's sea of despair.