LOCAL CANDIDATES
& BALLOT MEASURES
Local candidates & ballot measures
City of Boulder Candidates
MAYOR
(Vote for one, ranked choice)
(Vote for 5)
CITY COUNCIL
City of Boulder Ballot Measures
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If passed, this ballot measure would result in a tax on vacant residential property. Properties are considered vacant if they are empty for more than half the year (183 days). On one hand, this could provide a disincentive to keep homes vacant, so it might increase housing availability in the city. On the other hand, there might be some challenges in really figuring out whether a home is vacant for 183 days.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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If passed, this ballot measure would pay for the city’s backlog of unfunded building maintenance through renovations and replacements. It would allow the city to borrow up to $400 million to finance capital infrastructure projects related to specified city facilities.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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This measure would guarantee Boulder firefighters the right to collectively bargain for fair working conditions and safety standards. It would ensure public safety is never compromised, it strictly prohibits firefighter strikes and guarantees that if the City and the firefighters cannot reach an agreement, Boulder voters get the final say at the ballot box.
Learn more at Boulder Firefighters for a Stronger Boulder.
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If passed, this ballot measure would change how the city’s debt limitation is calculated, allowing the city to issue more debt than is currently permitted. It would update the calculation to be based upon the “actual” value of the property in the city instead of the “assessed” value. A change to “actual” value is consistent with how most municipalities and the state calculate debt limitation.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
Town of Erie Candidates
TOWN COUNCIL, DISTRICT 1
TOWN COUNCIL, DISTRICT 2
Town of Erie: Ballot measures
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This measure would:
Establish a new lodging tax of 3.5% of the rental or leasing price for short-term rentals of 30 days or less.
The types of lodging that would be taxed under 3E include hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, or other short-term rentals.
The revenue would be used for Erie general fund uses including but not limited to parks and rec, public safety, or public infrastructure.
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This measure would:
Impose a new Erie sales and use tax of .501%
Authorize up to $32.5 million in new debt, with repayment cost up to $52.6 million
The revenue and financing would be used to upgrade or otherwise improve Erie recreation facilities.
The sales and use tax would be used on projects or to pay down debt
The projects mentioned in the ballot title below has a clause saying “are not limited to,” meaning Erie could do other projects not mentioned in the ballot title.
City of Lafayette: Ballot measures
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There is currently a property tax to support capital improvements and operations of the LaMont Does Park and related facilities. If voters do not approve of this ballot measure, the tax would expire at the end of this year. If approved by voters:
The existing tax would be extended for 20 years and could not collect more than $713,000 citywide per year.
Using current property assessment figures, the maximum annual tax impact of the tax extension is approximately $36.67 per year, or just over $3 per month per household.
Residents are currently paying approximately $22 per year.
See more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
City of Longmont: Ballot measures
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This ballot measure would increase Longmont’s sales and use tax rate from 3.53% to 3.86% beginning Jan. 1 and authorize a property tax increase of up to 2.44 mills. The funds will pay to fill 86 additional public safety positions over the course of 10 years: 43 police officers, 31 firefighters, and 12 “collaborative services” staff members. Longmont’s Collaborative Services Division includes case managers to provide support for people facing mental health or housing challenges; crisis outreach responders – including behavioral health clinicians and paramedics - to work with specially trained police officers on calls involving mental health concerns; victim advocates to support victims of crime or traumatic events; and expert staff members who work to prevent and address domestic violence, collaborating with local community organizations.
Read more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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This ballot measure would amend the Longmont City Charter to require a vote of the people to allow the sale of Longmont Open Space lands. A few additional points of information:
It’s already a requirement in the Charter to hold an election to sell city Parks lands.
This ballot measure would not require an election to sell Open Space land if it’s to be used for “public rights-of-way and easements for public roads, utilities, and life-essential infrastructure, for open space operations, or for the sale or conveyance of structures, dwellings, or outbuildings on such lands.”
Read more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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Question 3C would implement ranked choice voting (RCV) in all future Longmont City Council elections beginning in 2029. RCV offers you more choice, allows you to vote honestly instead of strategically or “for the lesser of two evils”, and ensures the winners truly reflect the preferences of the voters.
With RCV, you can rank candidates in a race in their order of preference (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.), instead of picking just one. Votes are then counted in rounds, but as a voter you only have to vote once. Your vote always counts for your first choice, unless your first-choice candidate has the fewest votes—then your vote is automatically counted for your next choice.
This process continues until a candidate has over 50% of the vote, ensuring the winner has broad support from the voters.
Learn more at Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont.
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This ballot measure would amend the Longmont City Charter to change Longmont City Council “at-large” elections (covering the entire city, not just single wards) by eventually running races for all three at-large seats in the same year. Currently, Longmont uses a “stagger” system that has one election for one at-large seat, but two years later holds an election for two seats on the same ballot. Also, elections for all three Council seats elected from wards would be held in one year. Once again, there are elections for one ward seat in one year, then elections for two ward seats two years later.
This measure would better enable ranked choice voting for City Council elections. It would only take effect if the ranked-choice voting ballot measure also passes.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
City of Louisville: Ballot measures
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This ballot measure would extend an existing 0.125% City of Louisville historic preservation sales and use tax for 10 years. The first full-year revenue collection is projected to be about $1.5 million. This extension would run from Jan. 1, 2029, until Dec. 31, 2038.
The 2026 ballot measure would keep the same tax rate, but some of the allowed uses would change, as follows:
Increasing the percentage of revenue going to the Louisville Museum Campus from its current 20% to 30%
Allows funding to go toward City programs and capital projects that promote and preserve the City’s history and cultural heritage.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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This ballot measure would amend Louisville’s City Charter to align city requirements around topics that are allowable for going into executive session with State of Colorado law. In executive session, a governing body can meet in an area not accessible to the public, but it must record the meeting and cannot pass ordinances or legislation without public access. This ballot measure would allow Louisville’s City Council to enter into executive sessions for any reason allowable under Colorado law.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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The current Charter section says members will get sworn in at the first regular Council meeting “after their election.” This ballot measure would change the swearing-in to the first regular Council meeting after “certification of the election results.” This change might be necessary because it is increasingly taking longer for election results to be certified for reasons related to increased voter turnout, the use of mail ballots, and requirements relating to military and overseas voting.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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This ballot measure would amend the Louisville City Charter to increase the requirements for petition signatures on citizen initiatives from its current 5% of Louisville registered electors to 7.5% of registered electors. The measure would also increase signature requirements for referendums from its current 2.5% of registered electors to 5% of registered electors. Referendums are different from initiatives in that they are citizen challenges to ordinances that City Council adopts.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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This ballot measure would amend the Louisville City Charter to allow public meetings to be held in non-public buildings. It would not “require” meetings to be held in non-public buildings, it just allows the option. It may make it easier for the City Council and other public bodies to have joint meetings in neighboring municipalities.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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This ballot measure would amend the Louisville City Charter by requiring proponents of a citizen initiative to submit language to the City Manager for review at a public hearing. Some key points:
For any citizen-initiated ordinance or Charter amendment, the proponents would need to submit initiative text to the City Manager.
Within 10 days of getting the initiative language, the City Manager (or other staff) would need to provide comments to proponents at a public hearing.
The City Manager would not have the authority to mandate changes to the initiative, but could provide suggestions that proponents could adopt or not adopt.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
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This ballot measure would change language in several sections of Louisville’s City Charter in several ways, mostly to increase inclusivity for nonbinary people non-citizens.
Learn more at our Ballot Measures Guide.
Proposed Municipality of Niwot: Ballot measures
These measures are all discussed as a group with more detail in our Ballot Measures Guide.
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Currently, Niwot is an unincorporated area within Boulder County. Passing the ballot measure would incorporate Niwot as a municipality.
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This measure would form a 9-member Commission to draft the Niwot Charter. It’s followed by a list all the candidates running for Home Rule Charter Commission. Voters can choose up to 9 people.
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If approved, Niwot would impose a 2.5% local sales tax starting January 1, 2028. Groceries are exempt. The town council would set specific exemptions by ordinance. The use tax applies to construction materials and other tangible goods stored or consumed in Niwot. The estimated first-year revenue would be about $2.8 million.
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If approved, Niwot would impose a 4-mill property tax levy for town operations and maintenance. For a home assessed at $700,000, this is approximately $188 per year. The estimated first-year revenue would be about $900,000.
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If approved, Niwot would impose a 3% additional sales tax on retail marijuana, if any retail marijuana businesses operate in Niwot. This is a standard authorization that most Colorado municipalities include. The estimated first-year revenue would be about $60,000.
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If approved, Niwot would be able to keep and spend all revenue it collects, including grants, fees, and tax revenue, without being required to refund money under TABOR’s revenue cap. Nearly every Colorado municipality has approved this measure. Without it, the town could be forced to return revenue even if services are underfunded.
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If approved, Niwot would have the authority to issue up to $15 million in revenue bonds for road and infrastructure improvements, repaid from sales tax revenue. The maximum total repayment cost would be $28 million. This funds the repair and improvement of Niwot’s streets, roads, bridges, drainage, and sidewalks.