Fort Collins election 2023: Jeni Arndt, Patricia Babbitt vie for mayor coloradoan.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from coloradoan.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jeni Arndt will be Fort Collins next mayor.
Arndt won with about 63% of the vote, or 23,778 of nearly 38,000 votes cast, according to unofficial results from the City Clerk s Office released after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Candidate Molly Skold came in second with 25% of the vote, or 9,541 votes.
Candidate Gerry Horak came in third with 12% of the vote, or 4,593 votes.
Arndt s blowout victory was a decisive finale for an unusually competitive mayoral race. Though the race is officially nonpartisan, the results also represent a political departure for Fort Collins: The city hasn t had a registered Democrat as mayor since the 1990s.
The turnout in this year s election, which topped 41,000 ballots, was the highest turnout the city has seen in a municipal election since at least 1999. Voters returned 41,236 of 112,686 ballots sent, according to turnout figures released Wednesday morning. The turnout easily bested the last municipal election in 2019, which drew 32,799 ballots. Th
Yes (68.61%)
No (31.39%)
This means the measure passed. The city must now zone the land just east of Horsetooth Reservoir as 100% open space and attempt to purchase it from its current owner, Colorado State University. The outcome is a win for local residents who have fought to preserve the land for years. CSU has stated it still hopes to sell the land to a home developer.
Read the ballot initiative’s full text here.
Council-referred ordinance (regarding disposable bags):
Yes (58.98%)
No (41.02%)
This means the measure passed. Starting in May 2022, disposable plastic bags will be banned at large supermarkets in Fort Collins. Paper bags will also carry a new, 12-cent fee. The measure is designed to encourage shoppers to bring reusable bags to the store and reduce plastic waste.
Fort Collins election: Arndt wins mayor; Hughes open space, plastic bag ban measures pass Eric Larsen and Jacy Marmaduke, Fort Collins Coloradoan
2021 Fort Collins election: What s on your ballot
Replay Video UP NEXT
It s Election Day 2021 in Fort Collins time to decide on a new mayor, the future of the former Hughes Stadium property and whether paper or plastic will become a relic of past shopping trips.
Between those races and four City Council seats up for grabs, there s plenty to be decided once polls close at 7 p.m. The Coloradoan will have fresh stories once results are posted tonight. Until then, let s wait together.