(Latest update at 1:09 p.m. Friday)
Real estate mogul Harlan Crow has spent nearly $2.7 million in family money to block construction of a Dallas Convention Center hotel – an amount that dwarfs the fundraising efforts of pro-hotel advocates, according to city financial disclosure reports released Thursday.
“Anatole Partners III LLC,” which Crow controls, contributed nearly all of the $1.76 million in contributions listed by Citizens Against the Taxpayer-Owned Hotel, this latest round of city financial reports, which cover a period between January 1 and March 31, indicate. Crow previously invested about $936,000 into the campaign.
The anti-hotel organization, meanwhile, spent $1.4 million last quarter, with hundreds of thousands of dollars of that going to California-based consulting firm Dresner Wickers Associates for advertisements and consulting fees.
Citizens Against the Taxpayer-Owned Hotel generated and supports Proposition 1, a ballot initiative on which Dallasites will vote May 9 that would prevent Dallas City Hall from owning a convention center hotel as planned.
… [visit site to read more]