The ban against the oil and gas industry
When the ban failed to pass, it became a referendum on this November’s ballot, as mandated by the city charter.
Denton Councilman Kevin Roden had hoped the council would take the lead by approving a ban. He wanted to spare his constituents the dirty fight that has ensued. Given that most of the people who spoke in opposition to the ban at the council meeting were from out of town, he worried about outside interests influencing the discussion.
His worry has turned out to be warranted. Denton has become a battleground, pitting residents supporting the ban against the oil and gas industry and mineral owners who, for the most part, live outside the city. Two members of the Drilling Awareness Group have received death threats that have been reported to authorities. And fracking enthusiasts are outspending those for the ban by almost five to one so far.
Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy, a group formed to fight the ban, received $231,000 in donations by the end of September. Only $750 came from Denton, while the rest came from people outside the city limits, including the oil and gas industry. The largest donations were from three oil companies: $75,000 each from XTO Energy of Fort Worth, Devon Energy of Oklahoma and EnerVest of Houston.
During the same time period, the Denton Drilling Awareness Group’s political action committee, Pass the Ban, received almost $51,000 in donations. About $30,000 of the funds received came from Earthworks, a national environmental nonprofit organization.
“Ninety-five percent of money given by Earthworks is from local donations made to Earthworks earmarked for support of the ban,” according to Sharon Wilson, Earthworks' Texas representative.