Heads up Aurora, you’ve got a packed ballot this November! Lakewood citizens pushing back on the city’s zoning plan. Lots of special district tax and debt measures on ballots across Colorado.
Heads up Aurora, you’ve got a packed ballot this November!
Per the Complete Colorado article below, Aurora’s ballot is stuffed to the rafters with both candidates and ballot issues, including a vote on a Downtown Development Authority as well as a slew of city charter amendments.
Big decisions to make if you live in Aurora (or know someone who does). Pay careful attention to the two I mentioned above.
Amendments to the city charter make structural changes to how your government will work. You can make a loose analogy here to amending the constitution.
The Downtown Development Authority is another big issue. It’s another term for an urban renewal authority and you will be voting not only on whether to create it, but whether to allow it to raise funds via tax increment financing (another of those government shell games involving money).
If you live in Aurora give the article a read and, if you’re not familiar with urban renewal or tax increment financing, follow the links in the story back so you can educate yourself on them prior to voting.
https://completecolorado.com/2025/10/09/aurora-colorado-ballot-downtown-development-authority/
Lakewood citizens pushing back on the city’s zoning plan
Like Greeley’s fight with its own city council, Lakewood is facing a similar struggle (albeit for a different reason).
Lakewood City Council and mayor are undertaking a pretty massive change to zoning in that city, nominally to fix the housing crisis they feel they have, but also to snatch up that sweet, sweet government money available via Prop 123 from a couple years back.
A great compendium/summary of the issue is linked first below. It’s the Lakewood Informer Substack newsletter.** The second link below is to Colorado’s Prop 123 page.
The bigger issue at hand here, by what I can read about the problem is that the City of Lakewood is acting contrary to what some citizens want.
Looking back through the links in the Lakewood Informer’s newsletter, it’s clear that (and this echoes Friday’s post about Commerce City’s housing needs assessment) residents feel that the city government is hiding reality behind government jargon, bolstering their policy with flawed claims about the needs for housing.
It’s clear too, in yet another overlap with Greeley, that many see the city’s move as a gimme to developers. It’s a way to make sure a developer can get his or her hands on government dollars which the residents feel won’t be of benefit to them.
Some Lakewood residents have exercised their right in the Colorado Constitution to putting an initiative on the ballot there to repeal the first of the city’s zoning changes. To my knowledge, thus far Lakewood hasn’t done the same kinds of dirty tricks that Greeley has, but I’ll keep my ear to the ground and let you know if I hear different.
Disagreements are bound to happen. Its natural. What I like about Colorado, what makes this state wonderfully unique, is that we have the ability to make a direct and rapid responses to the actions of our local and state governments via the initiative process.
I’m glad to see Lakewood residents taking this on; not only are they working to make their local government responsible, they are providing a reminder to other residents and other governments that ultimately it is we the people that should be running things, not them.
If in reading this and/or any of the Lakewood Informer stuff, you as a Lakewood resident (or concerned citizen) want to help, I reached out to the publisher of the Informer to get contact info for the group running the petition.
Apparently the group running the petition is shy of public and/or media attention so they don’t have any public contact info. From what I hear, they put last-minute notices up on NextDoor, so if you use that check there.
**If you live in Lakewood or know someone who does, you ought to be subscribed to this newsletter. It’s a wonderful hyper-local news resource, well done and researched.
https://oedit.colorado.gov/proposition-123-colorado-affordable-housing-financing-fund
Lots of special district tax and debt measures on ballots across Colorado.
Do you live in Jefferson County, Mesa County, El Paso County, Arapahoe County, or Larimer County (or know someone that does)?
If you do, give the Complete Colorado article linked below a look for links to your Grey Book (local equivalent of the state’s Blue Book for ballots) as well as a quick summary of all the various special district (think Fire Departments, Libraries, Water Conservation Districts, etc.) broken down by the counties listed above.
Many of these measures are about increasing taxes (while retaining revenue above TABOR limits), and/or going into debts which you as a taxpayer will be on the hook for. Take a minute to look them over and give them some serious thought.
https://completecolorado.com/2025/10/15/special-district-tax-debt-measures-colorado-ballots/
Related:
Concerned about the passage of statewide measures that will further erode TABOR and almost surely end up trickling down to tax you no matter what sponsors say?
The quote below (with links left intact) is from a recent Independence Institute newsletter and had some great, simple ideas you can use to get involved.
I’m Taking Action—Will You Join Me?
All across Colorado, I see citizens standing up to stop local tax hikes disguised as “debt” and statewide ballot measures like LL and MM—schemes that play on envy to take from some and give to others, all under the familiar slogan “for the children.” (Sound familiar? That’s exactly how they sold us Prop FF in 2023.)
My Role
As part of the growing Citizen Involvement Project, I’m collecting stories from Coloradans who’ve stepped up—who’ve helped their neighbors understand TABOR and vote with their eyes open. I’m building a network of local leaders who are ready to restore transparency and accountability in our government. If you’ve had success pushing back in your community, I want to hear from you.
Your Role
If you’re good at persuading others—or just passionate about protecting taxpayers—now is the time to get involved.
Host a simple “TABOR talk” with your HOA, church, or neighborhood group. I’ll help you set it up.
Help friends and family look past the misleading ballot slogans and dig into what these measures really mean.
We can push back against government overreach—one conversation, one community at a time.
Email me today and let’s get to work.
-Kathleen Chandler, Director, Citizen Involvement Project
They just can't leave TABOR alone, can they?