Colorado voters rejected Proposition HH Tuesday, a statewide ballot measure that would have impacted property taxes across the state. They also chose their next mayors in Boulder and Fort Collins and new school board members in Denver.
Proposition HH would have implemented a 10-year tax relief plan backed by Democratic state lawmakers and Gov Jared Polis, a response to a predicted spike in property taxes next year due to elevated property values. The complex measure included progressive changes to the formula for evaluating property values in order to keep taxes down.
Voter approval for the measure began to lag as soon as the polls closed, and the race was called just over an hour later.
“It is a huge disappointment that it failed,” Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said after results became clear Tuesday night. “I think we need to be able to clearly communicate our values in the future on how we want to actually save people money on health care, gas and groceries property taxes.”
Along with the property tax reductions, Proposition HH would have also expanded the state budget and reduced the money available for refunds under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR.
Critics, including most Republican state lawmakers, zeroed in on those reductions, and proposed alternative initiatives to implement a statewide property tax cap instead. Those initiatives, however, also would need voter approval and will be on the ballot next year.
The other statewide ballot initiative on this year’s ballot, Proposition II, was approved by voters. Proposition II will allow the state to retain excess tax revenue from tobacco and nicotine products and put that money toward expanding access to the state’s free preschool program, which saw a rocky rollout this summer.
“We saw historic demand from Colorado families for free universal preschool,” Gov. Polis said in a statement after Proposition II was approved. “Coloradans value early childhood education and I am thrilled people voted in favor of providing more funding for our free universal preschool program that is saving families money”
Boulder
It looks like Boulder voters have likely picked Bob Yates to be their mayor. The city councilman appears to have carried Boulder's first popular mayoral election using ranked choice voting - a process of ranking candidates by preference instead of voting for just one. Yates was an early frontrunner ahead of incumbent Aaron Brockett in election night reporting. After two rounds counting first and second choice votes, Yates picked up more than 50 percent. As of late Tuesday evening Yates was trending towards a victory with votes still out.
Also in Boulder, voters approved a ballot measure concerning the removal of homeless encampments near schools. The Safe Zones 4 Kids initiative amends city code to prioritize the removal of items like tents and propane tanks within 500 feet of schools and 50 feet of multi-use paths or sidewalks.
The measure was put forward by a group of concerned parents following a series of tent fires and propane tank explosions near Boulder High School in March. At least one of the incidents resulted in students being evacuated from the area during sports practice. The school district increased security patrols on the walking paths adjacent to campus that students use to get to and from school.
While backers of the initiative have argued that Safe Zones 4 Kids prioritizes the safety of students, others believe the inclusion of paths and sidewalks makes the measure too broad.
Fort Collins
Jeni Arndt will serve a second term as mayor of Fort Collins. She easily prevailed in Tuesday's election as a stand alone candidate on the ballot. Challenger Patricia Babbitt ran as a write-in candidate. She got a small fraction of votes. Arndt was uncontested in the race until Babbit filed to run on August 31st - too late to be listed on the ballot.
Denver School Board
Denver voters also chose three new school board members to oversee the state’s largest district.
In the race for the board’s at-large seat, John Youngquist, former principal of East High School, pulled ahead of rival Kwame Spearman, former CEO of Denver bookstore the Tattered Cover, early in the race and ultimately won.
Kimberlee Sia and Marlene DeLaRosa also unseated incumbents for positions on the board representing northwest and southeast parts of the district. DeLaRosa, Sia and Youngquist were all backed by Denver mayor Mike Johnston.
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