County Issue 1A

Human Services Safety Net

A “Yes”on 1A means an increase of $5.4M to support access to food assistance, medical care, financial assistance and linkages to services that can stabilize and support individuals and families in crisis.  This temporary mill levy increase (0.9 mil) would result in an annual property tax increase for a $300,000 home of approximately $21.00.  The tax has a 5-year term.

County Issue1B

  Open Space

The county’s open space program has been one of the best investments the citizens have ever made. It has helped to control sprawl and maintained the boundaries between municipalities; it has preserved valuable ecosystems and wildlife habitat; it has provided recreational opportunities for all; and it has preserved agricultural lands and operations.

Many critical parcels have become available as a result of both family circumstances and the current economy. This is an opportunity to make an important investment in our environment for our children’s future.

City Issue 2B

Franchise Fee Replacement Tax

City of Boulder ballot issue 2B replaces the franchise fee now on our electric bills with an equivalent tax that expires after 5 years, giving Boulder the time to explore all possible ways to ramp-up renewable energy at competitive prices, while keeping City revenues for services intact.  Passage of this tax will allow Boulder to pursue decarbonizing our energy supply, which is a critical step in reducing climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, and will help Boulder lead the way in innovative energy policy and technology.

BVSD Issue 3A

Mill Levy Override

Passage of 3A will enhance education in BVSD, making our community a better place to live, work, and start a business.  Issue 3A will generate $22.5 million in 2011 to restore classroom cuts, compensate teachers and staff, enhance early childhood education and close the achievement gap. None of the money will be used to restore cuts in central administration.

State Amendment 60

Property Taxes

Amendment 60 would amend the Colorado Constitution to cut local support for public schools in half by 2020 and require the state's general fund to provide the difference, repeal all past local "de-brucing" elections and limit future "de-brucings" to a period of four years and future tax increases to ten years, and impose property taxes on governmental enterprises and authorities. The state's general fund would simply lack the money to compensate for the reduction in local tax revenues for public schools.

State Amendment 61

State and Local Debt Limitations

Amendment 61 would prohibit any debt financing by the state, reduce local governmental debt financing limits from three percent of actual value to ten percent of assessed taxable value of real property (a drop of 60 percent in some jurisdictions), and mandate that local governments automatically cut tax rates when debts are repaid. This amendment would hamstring the state government by forcing it to operate on a cash basis and compel local governments to place much more of the burden of capital projects on current taxpayers, or forgo them.

State Proposition 101

Motor Vehicle, Income and Telecommunication Taxes and Fees

Proposition 101 would amend Colorado's statutes to lower the vehicle ownership tax to $2 for new cars and $1 for used cars, reduce the state income tax to 4.5 percent right away and ultimately, under certain conditions to 3.5 percent, and lower the current limit on state spending under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights ("TABOR") and "ratchet" it down after future recessions. It is projected to reduce state general fund revenues for schools, higher education, health, human services, corrections and other state functions by nearly 20 percent, reduce funding for roads and bridges by almost 20 percent from current levels, and reduce general revenues to cities and counties by more than $600 million a year.

State Amendment 62

Definition of Person

Amendment 62 is a dangerous and deceptive ballot proposal that seeks to extend legal and constitutional rights to a woman’s fertilized eggs. It would ban all abortion in Colorado, including in cases of rape, incest or when a woman's life is at risk. It could also ban emergency contraception and commonly used forms of birth control.

Cindy Dominico

Boulder County Commissioner

Boulder County Commissioner Cindy Domenico strongly supports human service programs in Boulder County that emphasize prevention and care for those in need, preservation of rural areas and our agricultural heritage, regional cooperation, and focusing development into our municipalities. Cindy  also strongly supports protection of our pristine mountain environment.

John Tayer

RTD District O

John Tayer, as our RTD representative, has worked tirelessly to ward-off attempts to kill elements of the Eco Pass program.  At the same time, he has expanded access to this valuable program for lower income residents, including initiating a pilot Eco Pass program for affordable housing units.  John remains committed to protecting the promise of FasTracks for Boulder County.  John continues to work with other community leaders in the Boulder County region to advance the Northwest Rail Line and Bus-Rapid-Transit along US 36 through federal grants and other funding sources.

Melissa Hart

CU Regent-at-large

Melissa Hart has been a CU Law Professor for ten years, is active in a vast array of pro bono and public interest service activities, and has won the “Serving Communities Award” from the University’s Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement. As a CU Regent, she vows to find long term, sustainable funding solutions to make university education affordable, but also accessible and inclusive.

Dickie Lee Hullinghorst

State House
District 10

Dickie Lee Hullinghorst has been a public servant for over 35 years, fighting for better services for the poor, for civil liberties and choice for women, for better education for children, and for affordable, convenient mass transit. She has served as a volunteer on many state and local boards and commissions, including the board of PLAN-Boulder County, chaired  the Boulder County Democratic Party, and retired in December, 2007, as Intergovernmental Relations Director for Boulder County.

Deb Gardner

State House
District 11

Deb Gardner has worked in the private sector and for important Boulder County non-profits. She's calm, diligent and productive.  Deb is creative and analytical and will bring those talents to serve the people of District 11.  She will work for honest, effective government that ensures economic opportunity for all Colorado's workers and families. 

Matt Jones

State House
District 12

Matt Jones is a leader with the experience, ideas, compassion and the judgment we need to get Colorado back on track.  He will work to secure our environmental future while creating clean energy and other jobs, providing educational opportunities and improving accessible health care.  Matt works as an Open Space planner and is a volunteer wildland firefighter.

Claire Levy

State House
District 13

Claire Levy is a former PLAN-Boulder Chair and land use attorney.  From public defender to private development rights, Claire has seen it all. As the District 13 representative, she sponsored 13 pieces of legislation in the 2010 legislative season alone. Her hard work has brought us solar gardens, accident victims' rights to recover damages, and the facility of small businesses to incorporate on-line.

Cary Kennedy

Colorado State Treasurer

Cary Kennedy has served as Colorado's State Treasurer since 2007, navigating a challenging budget and significant budget cuts. Prior to that she served as policy director for House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. Cary has a long hisotry of commitment to education; most notably she was the architect of Amendment 23.

Bernie Buescher

Colorado Secretary of State

Bernie served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives where he worked on legislation promoting the use of renewable energy for Colorado, counseling for victims of child abuse, and legislation expanding the Low Income Energy Assistance Program. As Secretary of State, Bernie has worked to improve communication with county clerks, created online voter registration and a user-friendly website, improved transparency, and enabled a process for access to public information about charities.

Stan Garnett

Colorado State Attorney General

Stan Garnett currently serves as District Attorney for Boulder County.  Stan is an advocate for strong and effective law enforcement and has made the prosecution of violent and sexual crime a top priority. As Colorado Attorney General he will prosecute abusive business practices, aggressively pursue violent crimes, protect the most vulnerable in our society, fight for our environment, maximize efficiency and maintain a high level of transparency.

John Hickenlooper

Colorado Governor

As a geologist turned entrepreneur, John Hickenlooper built Colorado's first brewpub, The Wynkoop Brewing Co., leading to the revitalization of LoDo.  As the mayor of Denver, his business abilities, partnered with his progressive vision for the city, landed him in Time Magazine's top five "big-city" mayors in the country.  John has a track record of bringing people together to solve problems instead of stoking the same old partisan  squabbles.  All of this sets him up to be a great governor for Colorado in very challenging times.

Jared Polis

U.S. Congress 2nd Congressional District

Congressman Jared Polis also has entreprenuerial roots, having launched several successful businesses before becoming a public servant.  He served six years on the State Board of Education, where he was a strong advocate for school reform and enhancing educational opportunities.  Jared is an outspoken advocate for socially progressive policies and fiscal responsibility.  His frequent and popular  "town halls" are among the best in the nation.

Michael Bennet

U.S. Senate

Senator Michael Bennet has done excellent work in the U.S. Senate since being appointed in January, 2009.  Michael holds an important seat on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and has been a strong supporter of renewable energy innovation and job creation, protection of Colorado’s treasured lands and water resources, stewardship of the environment and clean-up of the legacy of past resource extraction, as well as strong advocacy for health care reform and a strong economy.