FORT COLLINS, Colo. (KDVR) — Fort Collins held local elections on April 6, and with a commanding 63% of the vote, Rep. Jeni Arndt has claimed the town’s mayoral seat.
Representative Arndt of District 53 is currently serving as a member of the state’s House Rural Affairs and Agriculture Committee, a member of the Colorado Commission of Higher Education, and is the Vice-Chair of the Western Council of State Government’s Agriculture and Water Committee.
It was not a close race as Molly Skold, another Fort Collins native, claimed 25% of the vote. Skold previously worked as Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Mutual of Omaha’s real-estate arm at Midtown Crossing at Turner Park. Currently, she works at East Campus Realty.
Third place was claimed by Gerry Horak with 12.11% of the final tally. Horak has served the Fort Collins area in one way or another since he arrived 40 years ago. He was elected the city’s first Mayor back in 1984 after spending several years as a member of the city council.
Currently, He serves as a founding member for WaterNow as well as the Governor Polis-appointed Chair of the Colorado Public Health and Environment’s small business Advisory Committee.
The election results will be certified on April 26, making Ardnt, a Fort Collins native and University of Colorado graduate, the town’s newest mayor. A special meeting is scheduled for the day after on April 27, which would be the first event for the newly elected official.
Elected Offices:
Councilmember – District 1
Susan Gutowsky – 3,333 (50.26%) Nick Armstrong – 3,299 (49.74%)
Councilmember – District 3
Tricia Canonico – 3,634 (55.08%) Gavin Kaszynski – 2,964 (44.92%)
Councilmember – District 4
Shirley Peel – 2,199 (30.22%) Melanie M. Potyondy – 2,170 (29.82%) Erin Hottenstein – 1,571 (21.59%) Jessica Dyrdahl – 988 (13.58%) Sidna Rachid – 349 (4.8%)
Councilmember – District 5
Kelly Ohlson – 3,193 (67.48%) Jeff Hansen – 1,539 (32.52%)
Ballot Measures:
City-Initiated Proposed Charter Amendment No. 1
Shall Section 4 of Article II of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, pertaining to the election of the Mayor Pro Tem and other Council organizational matters, be amended to clarify that the election of the Mayor Pro Tem shall occur at the meeting at which newly-elected Councilmembers take the oath of office and further to provide for election by Council of a new Mayor Pro Tem in the event of a resignation from that position?
Yes – 30,480 (84.25%) No – 5,698 (15.75%)
City-Initiated Proposed Charter Amendment No. 2
Shall Section 8 of Article VIII of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, pertaining to campaign contributions for city elections, be amended to remove the stated prohibition on campaign contributions and expenditures and instead provide that Council shall by ordinance establish prohibitions on, and requirements for, campaign contributions and expenditures for city elections, in addition to limits on contributions to support or oppose candidates for Council?
Yes – 16,033 (44.58%) No – 19,931 (55.42%)
City-Initiated Proposed Charter Amendment No. 3
Shall Sections 9 and 11 of Article V of the City of Fort Collins Charter be amended to provide that City Council may make supplemental appropriations from not only the City’s actual and expected revenues in a fiscal year, but also from all other sources of funds the City receives or expects to receive during the fiscal year, and to provide that the City Council may designate by ordinance as non-lapsing its annual and supplemental appropriations for capital projects and for federal, state and private grants and donations until the completion of the capital project or until the earlier of the expiration of the federal, state or private grant or donation or the city’s expenditure of all funds received from such grant or donation, but without limiting the City Council’s ability to terminate earlier any such capital project or federal, state or private grant or donation?
Yes – 22,549 (63.52%) No – 12,948 (36.48%)
City-Initiated Proposed Charter Amendment No. 4
Shall Section 17 of Article II of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, requiring an independent audit of city books and accounts at least annually, be amended to increase the time for publication of a summary of such audit to seven (7) months after the end of each fiscal year, instead of five (5) months?
Yes – 21,726 (58.45%) No – 15,445 (41.55%)
City-Initiated Proposed Charter Amendment No. 5
Shall Section 5 of Article VIII of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, establishing the Board of Elections, be amended to replace a reference to “Municipal Judge” with “Chief Judge” in conformance with a 2017 update to that title?
Yes – 31,677 (85.92%) No – 5,192 (14.08%)
Council-Referred Ordinance (regarding disposable bags)
On February 16, 2021, the City Council adopted on second reading, and referred to the registered electors of the City, Ordinance No. 026, 2021, Amending Chapter 12 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to Establish Regulations Regarding Disposable Bags and Mitigation of Other Sources of Single Use Plastic Pollution (the “Ordinance”), regulating the use of disposable bags by (a) prohibiting large grocers from providing disposable plastic bags; and (b) requiring payment of a disposable bag fee of $0.12 for disposable paper bags. Shall the Ordinance be approved?
Yes – 23,657 (58.98%) No – 16,451 (41.02%)
Proposed Citizen-Initiated Ordinance (relating to the former Hughes Stadium property)
Shall the City enact an ordinance requiring the City Council of the City of Fort Collins to immediately rezone upon passage of the ordinance a 164.56-acre parcel of real property formerly home to the Hughes Stadium from the Transition District to the Public Open Lands District, and requiring the City to acquire the property at fair market value to use said property for parks, recreation, and open lands, natural areas, and wildlife rescue and restoration, and further prohibiting the City from de-annexing, ceasing acquisition efforts or subsequently rezoning the property without voter approval of a separate initiative referred to the voters by City Council, and granting legal standing to any registered elector in the City to seek injunctive and/or declaratory relief in the courts related to City noncompliance with said ordinance?
Yes – 27,787 (68.61%) No – 12,714 (31.39%)