This November, voters will elect a new Fort Collins mayor and multiple City Council members, determine who will sit on area school boards and weigh in on a variety of local ballot measures — from what should be done with the old Hughes Stadium site to tax measures to support natural areas, child care and more.
Election Day is Nov. 4, 2025, and the Coloradoan is providing comprehensive coverage of the candidates and ballot measures facing Larimer County voters as well as voters in the nearby Weld RE-4 School District.
Bookmark this guide for when you’re ready to work on your ballot. As additional stories are published, we’ll add them to the appropriate section below.
Sections are organized based on the order they would appear on your ballot.
Note: Some races and ballot measures are location-specific and won’t appear on all ballots.
Fort Collins mayor
There are seven candidates in the running to be Fort Collins’ next mayor. This race will use ranked voting. For more information on that process, click here.
About the candidates
Tricia Canonico is a current City Council member, representing southeast Fort Collins’ District 3 since 2021.
We have asked all Fort Collins mayor candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Adam Eggleston is a victim witness specialist with experience as a Realtor and on civic boards and commissions.
We have asked all Fort Collins mayor candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Emily Francis is a current City Council member, representing Fort Collins’ District 6. She is also mayor pro-tem.
We have asked all Fort Collins mayor candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Adam Hirschhorn is a community member who has advocated before City Council on social, environmental and cultural issues.
Shirley Peel is a former City Council member who represented Fort Collins District 4. She is retired with a background in education.
We have asked all Fort Collins mayor candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Jeffrey Shumway is a U.S. Air Force veteran and former police officer.
We have asked all Fort Collins mayor candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Scott VanTatenhove, or “ScottyV,” is a Poudre School District employee who has served on the city’s transportation board and the board of Fort Collins Music Association.
We have asked all Fort Collins mayor candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Fort Collins City Council District 1
There are three candidates in the runing to represent District 1 on Fort Collins City Council. This race will use ranked voting. For more information on that process, click here.
About the candidates
Chris Conway is a high school teacher and founding member of Fort Collins YIMBY, which advocates for policies that promote housing.
We have asked all Fort Collins City Council candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Susan Gutowsky is a retired teacher and current City Council member, representing northeast Fort Collins’ District 1 since 2019.
We have asked all Fort Collins City Council candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Daisy Montgomery is a small business owner and disability advocate who serves on the city’s Disability Advisory Board and the board of directors for the Autism Society of Colorado.
We have asked all Fort Collins City Council candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Fort Collins City Council District 3
There are three candidates in the running to represent District 3 on Fort Collins City Council. This race will use ranked voting. For more information on that process, click here.
About the candidates
Josh Fudge is a volunteer, board member for the Poudre River Public Library District and budget director for the Larimer County government.
We have asked all Fort Collins City Council candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Lance Smith is the former finance director for Fort Collins Utilities, where he worked with residents, City Council, and boards and commissions.
We have asked all Fort Collins City Council candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Steve Yurash is the founder of the Colorado Center Party and has served on the Fort Collins Electric Board and Larimer County Board of Health.
We have asked all Fort Collins City Council candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Fort Collins City Council District 5
There are two candidates in the running to represent District 5 on Fort Collins City Council. This race will not use ranked voting.
About the candidates
Amy Hoeven is a community advocate and serves on Fort Collins’ Citizens Review Board.
We have asked all Fort Collins City Council candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Zoelle Lane is a human resources professional at CSU with a background in nonprofits.
We have asked all Fort Collins City Council candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Poudre School District Board of Education District C
There are two candidates running for the District C seat, which covers northeast Fort Collins.
School board members in Colorado must reside within the geographic boundaries of the specific district that they hope to represent but are elected by all voters within the boundaries of their school district.
About the candidates
Karla Baise is the longtime community outreach director for Odell Brewing Co. and parent of two children attending PSD schools.
We have asked all Poudre School District Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Sabrina Herrick is the mother of a victim of Tyler Zanella, a former PSD school bus attendant who was sentenced to 12 ½ years in jail for physically and verbally assaulting and harassing students with special needs while working on a school bus transporting them to and from school during the 2022-23 school year.
Other coverage of this race
Poudre School District Board of Education District D
There are two candidates running for the District D seat, which covers northwest Fort Collins and portions of Laporte and Bellvue.
School board members in Colorado must reside within the geographic boundaries of the specific district that they hope to represent but are elected by all voters within the boundaries of their school district.
About the candidates
Tom Griggs, now retired, spent most of his professional career teaching teachers as a professor of education at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley for 20 years and at San Jose State before that. He has two adult children who attended PSD schools.
We have asked all Poudre School District Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Coronda Ziegler is a student success manager at Colorado State University and mother of three children attending PSD schools.
We have asked all Poudre School District Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Poudre School District Board of Education District E
There is one candidate running for the District E seat, which covers the northern portion of the school district, including Wellington, Red Feather Lakes and a portion of Timnath.
School board members in Colorado must reside within the geographic boundaries of the specific district that they hope to represent but are elected by all voters within the boundaries of their school district.
About the candidate
Andrew Spain was appointed June 17 to fill the District E seat on an interim basis. Spain is a former paramedic who now serves as associate executive director of a professional society promoting simulation to improve the quality of healthcare. He served as a parent representative on the Facilities Planning Steering Committee that the school board tasked in early 2024 with recommending school consolidations and closures to address declining enrollment.
Other coverage of this race
Thompson School District Board of Education District B
There is one candidate running for the District B seat, which covers northwest Loveland stretching north to Trilby Road in south Fort Collins.
School board members in Colorado must reside within the geographic boundaries of the specific district that they hope to represent but are elected by all voters within the boundaries of their school district.
About the candidate
Mike Scholl, a former economic development manager for the city of Loveland, is the parent of two boys, one in college and the other a senior at Loveland High School. Scholl has spent the past six years working primarily on economic planning and affordable housing issues for a Fort Collins business that does work in comprehensive planning and other areas.
We have asked all Thompson School District Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Thompson School District Board of Education District E
There are two candidates running for the District E seat, which covers central Loveland.
School board members in Colorado must reside within the geographic boundaries of the specific district that they hope to represent but are elected by all voters within the boundaries of their school district.
About the candidates
Mary Buchanan is a Loveland native, graduate of Thompson School District schools and parent of a current student. She works in risk assessment.
We have asked all Thompson School District Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Incumbent Alexandra Lessem was first elected to the school board in 2021 and is seeking reelection. Lessem is a family nurse practitioner with two children who attended Thompson School District schools since kindergarten.
We have asked all Thompson School District Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Thompson School District Board of Education District F
There are two candidates running for the District F seat, which covers east Loveland stretching to Interstate 25.
School board members in Colorado must reside within the geographic boundaries of the specific district that they hope to represent but are elected by all voters within the boundaries of their school district.
About the candidates
Dmitri Atrash, a former Navy pilot now working in new technologies and data modeling for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has two daughters attending Thompson School District schools. His wife is a teacher at Mountain View High School.
We have asked all Thompson School District Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Lori Goebel served on the Loveland Planning Commission from 2022-24 and currently serves on the board of directors for House of Neighborly Service. Goebel and her husband, James, are pastors of Faith Now Fellowship, a Loveland church.
We have asked all Thompson School District Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add links to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Weld RE-4 Board of Education District A
There are two candidates running for the District A seat, which covers the southern portion of the Weld RE-4 School District.
School board members in Colorado must reside within the geographic boundaries of the specific district that they hope to represent but are elected by all voters within the boundaries of their school district.
About the candidates
Christopher Kiraly worked in operations for United Parcel Service and Amazon and served as senior director of operations for a large property management company based in Chicago for many years before putting his career on hold to become a stay-at-home dad during the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his wife, Brooke, have two young children, a preschooler and first grader.
We have asked all Weld RE-4 Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add a link to those Q&As after they are published.
Incumbent Raymond Ruth is an Air Force veteran and executive with a global service company that works on test and measurement equipment for a wide range of industries. He and his wife, Christen, grew up in Greeley and have three daughters, two who graduated from Windsor High School and are now in college and a third who is a freshman this year at Windsor High.
We have asked all Weld RE-4 Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add a link to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
Weld RE-4 Board of Education District C
There is one candidate running for the District C seat, which covers the northeastern portion of the Weld RE-4 School District.
School board members in Colorado must reside within the geographic boundaries of the specific district that they hope to represent but are elected by all voters within the boundaries of their school district.
About the candidates
Board President Lance Nichols and his wife, Adele, own and operate her family’s farm and cattle feeding business, Lind Farms, near Severance, and Lance Nichols is a partner in Nichols Auctioneers, a business he runs with other members of his family. Their two children were the fourth generation on her side of the family to attend Weld RE-4 schools and graduate from Windsor High School.
We have asked all Weld RE-4 Board of Education candidates to complete a Q&A. We will add a link to those Q&As after they are published.
Other coverage of this race
As you head into the ballot measures, here’s a cheat sheet to the alphabet soup.
Colorado Proposition LL
Colorado Proposition LL would allow the state “to keep and spend $12.4 million in tax revenue that has already been collected for the Healthy School Meals for All Program,” according to the 2025 State Ballot Information Booklet, also called the blue book. It would also keep existing taxes on housesholds making $300,000 or more a year in place.
If the measure does not pass, Colorado will refund that $12.4 million to those households. A “no” vote would also mean deduction limits could change “as scheduled under current law, which will lower taxes paid by these households,” per the blue book.
Colorado Proposition MM
Colorado Proposition MM also pertains to the Healthy School Meals for All Program. This measure would increase state income taxes for households making $300,000 or more per year, with increased revenue going toward these priorities, per the blue book:
Offering free school meals to all students in public schools.
Implementing “previously approved local food purchasing and employee wage components” of the program.
Helping fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
A “no” vote for the measure would mean state income taxes for households making $300,000 or more per year wouldn’t change, according to the blue book.
Larimer County Ballot Issue 1A
Larimer County voters will be considering a 0.15% sales and use tax this November and, if passed, it would mean more dedicated funding for the county’s roads, bridges and intersections. The tax would equate to 15 cents on a $100 purchase, not including grocery, gas, diaper and prescription drug purchases. If approved, the tax is expected to generate approximately $15 million annually until its expiration in 15 years. Its revenue would go toward safer roads, bridges and intersections; construction, maintenance and improvements to the county’s transportation system; and better mobility and reliability for those traveling in Larimer County, according to the ballot language.
Read more:
Larimer County Ballot Issue 1B
Larimer County voters will have a chance to address the area’s childcare shortage and rising childcare costs this November. A quarter-cent sales and use tax designed to boost the availability and affordability of childcare and preschool programs will be on this year’s ballot. If passed, the tax — equating to 25 cents per $100 purchase, excluding grocery, gas, diaper and prescription drug purchases — would be in effect for 20 years and generate an estimated $28.7 million annually. Its revenue would go toward lowering the cost of preschool and childcare in Larimer County, increasing wages for preschool and childcare teachers and staff, and making facility improvements to improve the quality and availability of early childhood services in Larimer County, according the ballot language.
Read more:
Thompson School District Ballot Issue 5A
Thompson School District voters will decide whether they want to provide the district with $99 million annually by extending the duration of a mill on their property taxes that was first approved through a 2005 bond measure.
Money from the proposed 2025 bond, according to the district’s website, would be used for:
Critical maintenance and repairs.
Upgrading outdated safety and security systems.
Responding to shifting demographic and enrollment patterns.
Planning responsibly for the future without raising taxes.
We’ll share more information about this measure in our upcoming coverage.
City of Fort Collins Ballot Issue 2A
Fort Collins has been using voter-approved sales tax initiatives to fund major capital projects since 1973 — including landmark facilities like Old Town Library, City Hall, Mulberry Pool and the Lincoln Center. Now, the city is seeking to renew a quarter-cent capital sales tax to build new community amenities and expand or improve existing ones.
The Community Capital Improvement Program (CCIP) tax would equate to 25 cents on every $100 purchase, not including grocery purchases. If renewed, it could generate an estimated $11 million per year until 2035.
Read more:
City of Fort Collins Ballot Questions 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G (Charter Amendments)
These are six charter amendments brought to Fort Colins voters by City Council because voters must approve any changes to the City Charter.
These concern things like: council terms and vacancies, election procedures, campaign contributions, how the city notifies the public about ordinances, open records, executive sessions and council member conflicts of interest.
We’ll share more information about them in our upcoming coverage.
Read more:
Hughes Stadium site: City of Fort Collins Ballot Question 2H and Ballot Issue 303
Ballot Question 2H was referred to Fort Collins voters by City Council. It seeks to make the former Hughes Stadium site a multiuse site with not only a natural area but also a city park with a bike park and community gathering area, along with facilities for environmental education and wildlife conservation. It would be developed in consultation with Indigenous groups.
Ballot Question 303 is a citizen-referred question and required organizers to gather at least 5,070 signatures to get on the ballot. It would require the former Hughes Stadium site to be designated 100% a natural area.
Read more:
City of Fort Collins Ballot Issue 302
Fort Collins taxpayers have been supporting the city’s natural areas through a sales and use tax for decades, passing a quarter-cent tax in 1992 and extending it in 2002. A citizen group is hoping lightning strikes thrice with Ballot Issue 302, which would extend the tax without an expiration date.
If passed, the way the tax revenue is currently allocated would change, with 70% going toward land conservation activities and 30% toward operations and maintenance starting in 2061. Currently, 80% of its revenue goes to land conservation while 20% is earmarked for operations and maintenance, according to past Coloradoan reporting.
If not renewed, the tax will expire at the end of 2030.
Read more:
Town of Timnath Ballot Issue 3A
Timnath’s population is on the rise and the town is hoping to meet its growing needs with a community recreation center. The proposed center would be funded, in part, by a 1.25% sales tax that’s on the November ballot. The sales and use tax, which would not be collected on grocery purchases, would bring in $9 million in estimated annual revenue until sunsetting in 2056. Tax revenue, combined with approximately $8 million in developer impact fees, would be used to construct and maintain the recreation center at an estimated cost of $98 million, according to the town’s website.
Wellington Fire Protection District Ballot Issue 6D
Voters will decide on a potential 0.5% sales tax for the Wellington Fire Protection District, which spans from south of Wellington to Wyoming and from U.S. Highway 287 to the border between Larimer and Weld counties. The tax would bring in an estimated $100,000 annually and help fund capital projects for the district, possibly including a $4.5 million fleet replacement and station upgrades, according to the ballot language and minutes from the district’s Aug. 20 board meeting. The tax will continue until repealed.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Your guide to Larimer County-area candidates and issues on 2025 ballot