You’re gonna see some big changes on your ballot in November regarding Fort Collins elections.
I went to City Hall on Tuesday night to speak in favor of RCV for Fort Collins, and was tremendously proud of our City of Fort Collins staff and City Council for being willing to hear from 60+ residents on a variety of issues with around 40 about RCV in particular.
The 3 big issues likely to hit your ballot in November are:
- Ranked Choice Voting
- Moving the April elections to November (off-year) to coincide with school board elections
- Increasing City Council pay.
I’m in favor of all of these things along with a HEFTY investment in voter and civic education.
I’m working on a few personal projects now that lean in that direction (I’ll share more about this soon), but in the meantime: if you have questions, ask! Get involved!
You may hear City Council is asking for a 400% increase in pay (out of context).
The more accurate context is this: City Council hasn’t had an increase in pay in around 25 years and this latest increase is tied directly to 50-75% percent of AMI (area median income). A City Councilperson will earn 50% AMI – around $40K – with benefits, the Mayor Pro Tem (60%) and Mayor (75%) a bit more.
It’s a huge opportunity to increase the representation of diverse candidates on the Council including single parents, parents in general, and full-time workers. It will make these races more competitive and hopefully we’ll have RCV to make THAT process fairer and more efficient too.
Stay tuned. The future of Democracy in Fort Collins is bright indeed.
Nick Armstrong 