Meet Kent Thiry, the money behind changing Colorado elections
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Kent Thiry in 2009. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Deep-pocketed Kent Thiry is crusading once again to change how Colorado elects its leaders.
Why it matters: The former embattled DaVita CEO touts a 9-for-9 record when it comes to winning ballot initiatives, but his push this November to abolish party primaries and establish ranked-choice voting may prove his greatest challenge to date.
State of play: Thiry is the money man behind Proposition 131 and one of the top political donors in Colorado, with a record of supporting conservative causes, opposing progressive Democrats and backing efforts to overhaul elections.
- He has spent at least $13 million on federal and state races across the country in recent decades, public records show, the bulk of which — $10 million through August — took place in Colorado.
Between the lines: The accounting is likely a fraction of the millions he's invested behind the scenes to influence politics.
What he's saying: Initially, he focused on the environment and education, until "more and more I realized we need a reasonably effective democracy … to have any hope," he said in a recent interview at his Cherry Hills mansion, where he sipped kombucha on his back porch and wore a Broncos polo shirt and jeans.
Context: His most substantial campaign came in 2016, when he successfully convinced Colorado voters to establish a primary election for president and open party primaries to unaffiliated voters.
- He also supported a 2018 measure to create an independent commission to draw political boundaries and eliminate gerrymandering.
Yes, but: Neither effort effectively quieted the vocal political edges or made contests more competitive at the Statehouse. So he's back to the ballot asking voters to support a new plan.
Zoom in: His latest effort is about disempowering the ideological fringes in both parties to boost practical-minded candidates in the middle.
- The measure would do two things: create an all-candidate primary contest for federal, statewide and legislative races that disregards party affiliation; and run general elections in an instant-runoff system, also known as ranked-choice voting.
- "I actually think bolder things can happen when you're not locked into these behavior patterns," he says.
The intrigue: Thiry refused to say how much he plans to spend on Proposition 131 or similar measures in other states, which he helps lead as a co-chair of Unite America.
The other side: The opposition — which includes both major political parties — is running a low-budget counter-campaign and acknowledges the task ahead.
- "It's daunting — it's a mountain of money" to counter, said Ellen Dumm, a consultant for Voters Rights Colorado, an opposition group.
- Thiry, she says, is "an egomaniac who thinks he has the answer to everything."