Supporters of a statewide ballot initiative to increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour enjoyed an energetic formal launch on Wednesday in Denver. They’ll have to keep stoking and feeding off of the same grassroots energy if they hope to overcome stiff resistance from big-money business groups in the state.

“There’s a lot of people here in the middle of the day hungry for higher wages,” Lizeth Chacon, co-chair of Colorado Families for a Fair Wage, told The Colorado Statesman.

Vine Street Pub hosted the kickoff event, which drew nearly 100 people, many holding pre-made campaign signs and wearing campaign T-shirts.

The group’s ballot initiative would boost the state’s minimum wage to $12 an hour from $8.31 over the next four years.

Chacon said the campaign would rely in part on the thousands of minimum-wage workers in the state. She said the fight was about justice and good economics.

“No one should be living in poverty,” she said, “but it is also an economic issue because if you have more money in your pocket, you’re going to spend more money. We’re going to see people be able to go and buy more groceries to feed their families. We’re going to see people be able to pay for childcare.”

Chacon said the campaign has already made great strides. It takes 98,952 signatures to land an initiative on the ballot. She said that over the last month, her group has collected more than 25,000 signatures.

State Rep. Susan Lontine, D-Denver, cheered the group on. She noted that proposals to increase the minimum wage meet reliably strong opposition in the Legislature, fueled by business groups that argue a wage hike would kill jobs and stifle entrpreneurship.

“Our economy is growing and our wages are not and it’s not fair,” she said. “So the state and the taxpayers have to pick up that slack. That’s the reason we have those growing Medicaid roles; it’s because people aren’t making enough money to pay for their own health insurance.

“The only way to combat (deep-pocketed opposition) that is constantly getting the word out as much as they can is to continue to talk about it and talk about it,” she said.

Erin Bennett, former state director for activist group 9to5 Colorado and one of a trio of Democrats running for term-limited state Sen. Pat Steadman’s Denver seat, said she believed the support on the part of the public for a minimum wage hike – especially one phased in over several years – would help offset the cost of running a statewide campaign.

“It’s wildly popular across the state, whether it directly influences someone’s own wage or a family member’s wage or they just see the economic benefit,” Bennett said. “I think you’ll see people mobilizing to help with the grassroots effort, volunteers getting out and talking to their neighbors, and I’m sure the campaign will have a great field program.”

Chacon acknowledged that the campaign will need to raise a lot of money and showcase the outspoken support of business owners. That’s why the group is turning to people like Vine Street Pub owner Kevin Daly, who believes an increase in the minimum wage is good for business.

“Personally, I could never run a business where someone would not be able to make a living,” he told The Statesman. “Paying employees more is cheaper than paying for security cameras to stop them from stealing. It’s better than buying yourself a 7 Series (BMW)… I think Colorado honestly is becoming a progressive state and people are realize this is not a way we want to live. And that’s happening on the right and the left.”

Correction: The original version of this article reported that Erin Bennett is the state director for 9to5. She is no longer with the organization.

-Ramsey@coloradostatesman.com