The Boulder County Democratic Party proudly supports the Our Mayor, Our Choice ballot initiative for the 2020 election! In a time when democracy itself is under attack at the highest levels of government, the Our Mayor, Our Choice initiative seeks to expand opportunities to participate in direct democracy and introduce a more modern, representative way to vote. Please join the Boulder County Democratic Party and vote YES on Boulder Initiative 2E, Our Mayor, Our Choice!

Since voters are already electing the council members who select the mayor, there’s no harm in making this incremental change.  Think of this ballot issue as evolution rather than revolution. Quite often, a go-slow approach ends up working out better in the long run. We think this ballot measure would move the city in the right direction and we recommend its approval.  We urge a “yes” vote on Ballot Question 2E.  Read Editorial HERE

We like RCV as a proven way to increase democracy; it’ll strip away power from voting slates that have cropped up in Boulder in recent years, allow voters to select their most preferred candidate and, at the very least, it’ll give voters a say as to who is mayor, which would bring the City in line with almost every other like-sized municipality in the state. Vote yes.  Read Editorial HERE

Better Boulder supports increased participation and inclusion in all elections, particularly local contests. Currently the mayor is selected by Council rather than elected by a majority of Boulder voters. This measure would, if passed, move the mayoral election to an even non-presidential year and incorporate ranked-choice voting updates an outdated model that has long disenfranchised minority groups. We support more voice, more choice. READ MORE HERE.

Boulder Progressives is pleased to support the Our Mayor-Our Choice initiative to directly-elect the Mayor of Boulder, and introduce ranked-choice voting to the City of Boulder.

We believe the Our Mayor-Our Choice initiative supports our goals of increasing representation of, and participation by renters, working class people, young adults, and BIPOC communities in Boulder - all groups that have been historically underrepresented in local elections and on elected and appointed bodies. READ FULL ENDORSEMENT HERE.

Key to Open Boulder’s governance vision is a city that harnesses the ideas and concerns of people who are often too busy with life to engage politically and is responsive to what the majority of its residents want. We fully support this petition as it increases accountability while offering more voice and more choice to voters. This measure is nonpartisan and non-slate; it is pro-democracy and in support of good governance. Many community members that would generally be opponents on other positional issues agree that this is a great idea. Read Full Endorsement HERE.

The Boulder Chamber recognizes the important role our mayor often plays as the lead representative of our community’s vision and for providing direction on key policy issues. We see opportunity for increased community engagement in shaping that vision and guiding policy direction if citizens directly vote in a mayoral election. We also anticipate it will give the mayor greater influence to encourage collaboration and achieve balance in City Council’s policy making activities. Read Full Endorsement HERE.

Instant Runoff Voting system (the kind of RCV on the ballot)  is a voting system that helps people vote their conscience without fearing their vote will be wasted unless they vote for the lesser of two evils.  Instant Runoff Voting is better than the  traditional first-past-the-post voting system.

We believe voting for our mayor is an important form of direct democracy. Why wouldn’t we, the voters, want a say in choosing one of the top leaders of our city? Secondly, we’ll introduce a new form of voting, ranked choice voting. It’s more representative and encourages greater voter turnout. This will lead us to better governance in local government and eventually bust up “political normalcy” in Boulder.