DENVER — The Central Committee of the Denver Democratic party released their positions on upcoming ballot initiatives, including the city’s proposed slaughterhouse ban that would prohibit the construction and operation of slaughterhouses in the city bounds. On this issue, the group was opposed.

According to Complete Colorado, the party overwhelmingly voted “no” against the measure, with a vote of 207-12.

The Denver Democrats’ stance adds to the many voices already pushing against the ban.

Last month, local chefs Jose Avila of La Diabla Pozole y Mezcal and Andrea Frizzi of Il Posto came out against the initiative. Colorado agriculture members, including Isabel Bautista, operations manager and employee owner of Superior Farms; Paul Andrews, president and chief executive officer of the National Western Stock Show and Complex; and Kenny Rogers, president of the Colorado Livestock Association, are also among those opposed to the initiative.

The measure will appear on the Denver ballot in November.

While geared toward the meat industry at large, the initiative would currently affect one individual business, Superior Farms.

Superior Farms is the largest lamb packing plant in the United States, with around 1,500 head of lamb processed per day. The facility’s functions cover harvest, fabrication and case-ready production. The company employs 160 people, of which nearly 80% are residents of Denver.

An opposition group named “Stop the Ban, Protect Jobs” formed with a campaign saying the ban unfairly targets a 70-year-old employee-owned business. The campaign stresses that if the initiative succeeds, 160 workers will lose their jobs and the cost of shipping meat from out of state would increase.

According to the Denver election website, the group in favor of the slaughterhouse ban, named Pro-Animal Denver, has raised over  $248,000 during its campaign. The “Stop the Ban, Protect Jobs” raised more than $957,000 and received contributions from Superior Farms, the National Pork Producers Council, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Colorado Livestock Association and the United Food & Commercial Workers International.