Denton voters will soon decide whether to ban fracking, and the campaign from both sides of the issue is fast gaining steam.
Cathy McMullen drove the first yard sign baring the words "Vote for the Fracking Ban in Denton" into the ground of the Vintage neighborhood Friday.
She said the choice to start there was no accident.
"It's kind of appropriate that the first sign goes up in the neighborhood that started the fight," said McMullen, who leads the Denton Drilling Awareness Group.
It was there last fall that gas wells went up within 250 feet of homes, far closer than city ordinance allows, and ignited a push by the group to ban hydraulic fracture drilling in Denton.
After a successful petition drive, the matter went to the city council, who, in July, voted to send the decision to voters on Nov. 4.
McMullen's group is handing out flyers door-to-door and just received the first yard signs to distribute.
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Each item urges voters to ban fracking citing past issues with the drilling industry in Denton, environmental and health effects, and holes in the regulations that they say have left the citizens vulnerable to the industry in the past.
McMullen said they're also preparing door hangers to canvas across town, billboards and newspaper ads thanks to donations that have been coming into the group from local citizens.
However, she knows they've got a fight ahead, and their opponent is already in the ring.
For weeks, materials from Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy have been showing up in Denton mailboxes, on billboards along Interstate 35E and in frequent full-page newspaper ads.
One of their more recent flyers presses the economic backlash that could come with banning fracking, including, they say, $250 million in lost economic activity and 2,000 jobs over 10 years.
The ad also asserts a recent endorsement for their side by the Denton Chamber of Commerce.
NBC 5 went to the address listed for the group Friday for comment, but it lead to a private residence and no one answered at the gate.
Bobby Jones, co-chair for the group, said Friday that they plan to continue sending out updated mailers and flyers to help inform voters ahead of the November vote.
He said the group wants to make sure voters have all of the facts about the benefits of the industry before heading to the polls.
McMullen's group expects much of the opposition will come with the help of the drilling industry.
"It's kind of overwhelming when you think about what a big powerful industry that you're coming up against, and in the state of Texas how many politicians you're coming up against," she said.
UT Arlington political scientist Allan Saxe agrees that money will likely play a large part in this campaign and lead to a very heated one.
"Natural gas drilling and fracking, and oil production in Texas has done something that is really a petroleum miracle," said Saxe, of the economic benefits the industry has brought the state. "There'll be a lot of money involved. I'm sure natural gas companies and oil companies will be in there, but the other side has a lot of individuals. And individuals count a lot."
McMullen hopes that the grassroots push from her side will strike a chord despite the funding gap she expects between the campaigns.
"It's almost like a David and Goliath, but Goliath doesn't live here. The Davids of Denton, we live here, and we are going to win this battle," said McMullen.
McMullen also said since the anti-ban ads started showing up, donations for her group's efforts have risen.
