Week 2: Colorado's Dedicated County Clerks

Dear Colorado Voter,

The second week of the campaign found me driving through a winter storm to Grand Junction. I met political activists, another Forward Party candidate and election officials. Thanks to all who made this trip possible and all who introduced me to Grand Valley's movers and shakers!

My husband jokes that when people ask why I am running for office, I should reply, "I want to spend less time with my family." Actually, Eric traveled with me so I didn't spend less time with him! I did spend less time with my mom who recently moved to Boulder from Arlington, Virginia.

Arlington uses the two kinds of ranked voting that are authorized in Colorado statute:

• single-winner Instant-Runoff Voting (that Boulder uses for its new mayoral contest)

• multi-winner proportional ranked voting that RCV for Longmont wants to use to elect all three at-large council seats in one ballot contest

The county clerks will not implement proportional ranked voting until the Secretary of State fulfills its statutory obligation to write the needed rules. A coalition of groups is working on state legislation to make this happen. Meanwhile, read the recent guest opinion that Boulder City Council Member Nicole Speer and I wrote about the better representation our county could achieve by electing commissioners using a proportional voting method.

While national attention is focused on the SAVE Act and the MEGA Act bills, I appreciate that Colorado's dedicated county clerks are focusing on several election bills that are winding their way through the state legislature. The clerks have given me new perspectives on some of these bills. Talking with the people who actually administer elections is critically important early and often in the legislative process.

The major political parties are gearing up for their party caucuses in early March, to be followed by county and state assemblies and then a primary election on Tuesday, June 30. The Forward Party is not expecting to have a contested primary so you won't see any Forward Party candidates on the ballot until the November 3, 2026 election – 36 weeks to go!

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With enthusiasm and purpose,

Celeste