Updated Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023 at 8:48 a.m.
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 would have changed the formula that calculates property values to keep property taxes from rising too quickly over the next decade.
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, [and] 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
The mayor's race in Boulder is too close to call as of Wednesday morning. City councilmember Bob Yates was an early frontrunner Tuesday night ahead of incumbent Aaron Brockett, but the race narrowed to within less than a couple hundred votes by the next morning. This was Boulder's first popular mayoral election using ranked choice voting - a process of ranking candidates by preference instead of voting for just one. The candidate with more than 50% of the vote wins in the ranked choice process. As of Wednesday morning, Yates has just over 50%, with votes still being counted.
Also in Boulder, as of Wednesday morning voters appeared close to approving a ballot measure concerning the removal of homeless encampments near schools. The Safe Zones 4 Kids initiative would amend 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.
Correction: This story, originally published late Tuesday night, Nov. 7, suggested Bob Yates was a likely winner in the Boulder mayor race and that the Boulder's Safe Zones 4 Kids ballot measure had been officially approved. The story has been updated to reflect a close Boulder mayor's race Wednesday morning and the current status of the Safe Zones 4 Kids ballot measure.
