Next up are 2026 Elections
We are seeking to run Forward Candidates in county and state races, and/or endorse candidates. If you or someone you know is interested in learning about running for office, write to me or complete the Run for Office form, and we will be in touch.
Wendy Petry - Grand Valley Community Organizer - [email protected]
D51 School Board election on November 4, 2025.
D51 deserves the best school board voters can vote for.
WesternSlopeNow talks to D51 school board winners
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Click here to view the Restore the Balance (RTB) Candidate Survey results. The remaining candidates declined to complete the questionnaire and did not attend the Grand Junction High School Student Forum hosted by RTB. Their refusal to engage raises questions about their commitment to collaboration and transparency in serving the entire community.
All voters in the D51 School District boundaries vote for one candidate in each District. If it is on your ballot, you have the opportunity to vote.
Andrea Haitz - District C (Incumbent) - WON
Mike Rathbone - District C
Will Jones - District D (Incumbent)
Kaci Cole - District D - ENDORSED - WON
Angela Lema - District E (Incumbent)
Vicki Woods - District E - ENDORSED - WON
MESA COUNTY CLERK - 2025 Election Information:
Mesa County Elections 2026 "I Voted" Sticker Contest For young residents in grades 1 through 12. Entries must be received by October 31, 2025.
COLORADO SECRETARY OF STATE - Ballot Initiatives:
Propositions on the 2025 Statewide Ballot - Both measures passed
Proposition LL – Healthy School Meals for All Program - House Bill 25-1274
Referred to the voters by the Colorado State Legislature: Without raising taxes, may the state keep and spend all revenue generated by the 2022 voter-approved state tax deduction limits on individuals with incomes of $300,000 or more and maintain these deduction limits to continue funding the Healthy School Meals for all program, which pays for public schools to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students in kindergarten through twelfth grade?
Proposition MM - Healthy School Meals for All Program - Senate Bill 25 SB003
Referred to the voters by the Colorado State Legislature: Shall state taxes be increased by $95 million annually by a change to the Colorado revised statutes to support access to healthy food for Colorado kids and families, including the healthy school meals for all program, and in connection therewith, increasing state taxable income only for individuals who have a federal taxable income of $300,000 or more by limiting itemized or standard state income tax deductions to $1,000 for single tax return filers and $2,000 for joint tax return filers for the purposes of fully funding the healthy school meals for all program to continue paying for public schools to offer free breakfast and lunch to all public school students while also increasing wages for employees who prepare and serve school meals, helping schools use basic, nutritious ingredients, instead of processed products, and ensuring that Colorado grown and raised products are part of school meals; supporting supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) that helps low-income Colorado families afford groceries; and allowing the state to retain and spend as a voter-approved revenue change all additional tax revenue generated by these tax deduction change?
Changes in Income Taxes Owed by Income Category
Income category of $299,999 or less = $0 Proposed change in average income tax owed
Income category of $300,000 or more = +$486 Proposed change in average income tax owed
Articles and Reports of interest (Some support, some oppose)
Sentinel Op Ed: Yes on LL and MM
Sentinel Article: Taggart among supporters of ballot items extending Healthy School Meals for All
Complete Colorado Article: 'Free' school lunch tax hike expanded to include food stamps
One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Nutrition Provisions Affecting States
All about the April 2025 City Council Elections
The Colorado Forward Party endorsed three candidates. Winners were sworn in on May 4. The candidate recruitment team and I met with most of the candidates. Not all candidates requested an endorsement. As the local community organizer, I attended candidate forums and monitored local media. Fortunately, every Grand Junction City Council candidate scored well on the Restore the Balance questionnaires.
The Colorado Forward Party endorsed the following candidates:
- District A - Cody Kennedy WON - Now Mayor
- District D - Laurel Cole WON - Now Mayor Pro Tem
- District E - Randall Reitz
There were two initiatives on the ballot:
2A - Move Grand Junction Municipal elections to November PASSED
- The Mesa County Clerk's Office and the Colorado Secretary of State recommend holding elections in November.
- This change is expected to improve voter turnout.
- If approved, Council Members elected in 2023 with terms designed to end in April 2027 will serve until January 2028.
- For more details, consider this article: Council leans toward moving city elections to November.
2B - Salary increases for Council Members FAILED
- If approved, pay increases will begin in April 2027 or January 2028, depending on the outcome of 2A (above).
- No Council Member involved in putting this initiative on the ballot will receive a raise unless re-elected in 2025 or 2027.
- The current pay has not changed since 1999.
- Current monthly salaries are $750 for the Mayor (President) and $500 for Council Members.
- The ballot measure creates a benchmark related to the Area Median Income (AMI) for annual increases. 2024 Mesa County four-person household AMI is $94,200.
- If the measure had been in place in 2024, the salaries would have been as follows:
- $1,727 monthly for Mayor (President)
- $1,178 monthly for Council Member