October 17, 2006 01:38 AM UTC

Angie Get's $720,000 from Stryker

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• by: badboybilly

Angie may just close the gap after all.

Fort Collins philanthropist Pat Stryker is spending $720,000 on television and radio commercials supporting Democratic congressional candidate Angie Paccione and criticizing her two opponents, Federal Election Commission records show.

Stryker made the donation Oct. 4 to Coloradans for Life, a “527” organization created earlier this year through contributions from Stryker and her brother Jon Stryker. Such organizations, which get their name from the tax code section that created them, can accept unlimited contributions and make unlimited expenditures in political races.

Stryker made the $720,000 donation to “level the playing field” in the 4th Congressional District, said Al Yates,a former Colorado State University president who serves as Stryker’s spokesman and policy adviser.

“The Republicans and conservative right have been very much able to control the media message simply by the amount of money they put in,” Yates said.