No matter what you’ve heard, no matter how loud the buzz, Mayor Steve Bach is adamant about this: He does not have a slate, he’s not endorsing a slate, he’s not supporting the endorsements made by his longtime friend and power broker Steve Schuck, and he’s not backing any candidate except the one who represents his own district.

“It’s political theater,” Bach said. “I am not involved in any way, shape or manner in supporting any candidates other than Angela Dougan.”

But not everyone is buying that from a man who would likely benefit from having a few more staunch supporters on council.

“He obviously does,” attorney, political blogger and former City Councilman Randy Purvis said recently.

In a blog last month, Purvis connected the dots — as some other political observers have — to make a case. Purvis and others note that Schuck and the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs endorsed the same candidates. Bach and Schuck have a close relationship. Bach used to head the HBA, and the questions the organization asked the candidates reflect Bach’s stand on the issues.

Bach doesn’t dispute his ties to Schuck or his past affiliation with the HBA, but he said it doesn’t mean he’s backing anyone but Dougan.

“I have purposely stayed clear of this,” he reiterated. “I’ve got too much on my plate.”

In any case, can one draw accurate conclusions about a person’s support for candidates based on his or her affiliations and friendships? Depends who you ask.

“I wouldn’t make that leap,” said Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, who studies elections and voting behavior. “A straight line from the mayor to the home-builders group to the candidate is probably more complicated than that.”

But Bruce I. Newman, a marketing professor at DePaul University in Chicago and editor of the Journal of Political Marketing, believes there may something to it.

“I think it’s a fair connection to make,” Newman said.

If Bach is endorsing anyone other than Dougan, though, it’s on the QT. No candidate has used his name in marketing materials. Reports that chronicle contributions don’t indicate he’s given money to anyone. Bach’s wife, Suzi, is supporting friend and former neighbor Jill Gaebler in the District 5 Council race, but Bach hasn’t gotten involved.

Bach does note that while his wife supports Gaebler, the HBA supports one of her competitors — proof, some say, that the mayor and HBA aren’t in cahoots.

“If he’s supporting Jill, and maybe he is because his wife is, then why did the home builders support Al Loma?” said Richard Skorman, who opposed Bach in the last mayoral race and doesn’t believe his ties to the building industry prove he has a slate.

The HBA also denies the mayor had any role in its endorsements.

“We look at each race and make a decision,” said Ralph Braden, chairman of the HBA’s Political Action Committee. “To suggest that we’re putting together a slate for the benefit of the mayor, that’s not true.”

If anything, endorsements from the HBA and other groups tend to be for the benefits of their members, their representatives say. But they also throw money behind their selected candidates to make an impact with voters.

“It someone wants to get their story out and name recognition out, it takes money,” said Braden, whose organization had given about $17,500 to its favored candidates as of March 1. “You can’t expect people to run for an office that pays $6,200 a year, and say, ‘oh, by the way, you have to spend money to get elected.’ Is it wrong to accept money for political campaigns? Absolutely not.”

An endorsement, and the money it brings, is certainly no guarantee that a candidate will win. In 2011, two groups — the Colorado Springs Police Protective Association and the Colorado Springs Utilities Employee Advocacy Group, backed Skorman in the mayor’s race.

“It would be nice to be 100 percent,” said Robin Rogers, executive director of the police association. “But there’s no way we can force people to vote. Everybody is going to do what they think is right.”

Still, the groups aren’t about to stop with their endorsements, even if there’s some question about how effective they are.

“My sense is that these endorsements tend not to carry much weight outside the groups or industries they’re in,” said Burden, the University of Wisconsin professor. “It’s not things that many voters are paying attention to, and they would have a hard time knowing what signals that sends.”

Newman, however, believes endorsements matter.

“The endorsement transcends in many ways. It transcends in the potential to get out the vote,” he said. “It could translate into actual money. It could translate into phone banks.”

One thing candidates and organizations insist is that an endorsement doesn’t translate into a quid pro quo.

“We’re not expecting anything back from the candidates,” said Glenn Grose, vice president of the Utilities Employee Advocacy Group, which made its first-ever council endorsements this year. “We tried to pick the candidates we felt would just honestly do things with a high level of integrity and look out for best interests of community. But it’s nothing we’re holding over anybody’s head.”

Who’s backing who

• Housing and Building Association of Colorado SpringsDistrict 1: Tim LeighDistrict 2: Angela DouganDistrict 3: Keith KingDistrict 4: Deborah HendrixDistrict 5: Al LomaDistrict 6: David Moore• Colorado Springs Police Protective AssociationDistrict 1: Tim LeighDistrict 2: Angela DouganDistrict 3: Keith KingDistrict 4: Deborah HendrixDistrict 5: Jill GaeblerDistrict 6: David Moore• Colorado Springs Utilities Employee Advocacy GroupDistrict 1: Don KnightDistrict 2: Joel MillerDistrict 3: Jim BensbergDistrict 4: Dennis MooreDistrict 5: Bernie HerpinDistrict 6: Andres Pico• Colorado Springs Regional Business AllianceDistrict 1: no endorsementDistrict 2: Angela DouganDistrict 3: Keith KingDistrict 4: Deborah HendrixDistrict 5: Bernie HerpinDistrict 6: David Moore• Pikes Peak Association of RealtorsDistrict 1: Tim LeighDistrict 2: Angela DouganDistrict 3: Keith KingDistrict 4: Deborah HendrixDistrict 5: Bernie HerpinDistrict 6: David Moore• Pikes Peak Firearms CoalitionDistrict 1: Don KnightDistrict 2: Joel MillerDistrict 3: Keith King and Jim BensbergDistrict 4: Dennis MooreDistrict 5: Bernie HerpinDistrict 6: Andres Pico• The Gazette Editorial BoardDistrict 1: Don KnightDistrict 2: Joel MillerDistrict 3: Keith KingDistrict 4: Deborah HendrixDistrict 5: Bernie HerpinDistrict 6: David Moore

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