About a week after the November ’24 election, a like-minded political associate pointed out there was an open At-Large seat on the Arvada City Council. I spoke to outgoing Council member, Lisa, and a few of the other active members. I submitted my application and ended up 8th in scoring of the 17 applicants. While I consider my interest in Arvada Government, Boards & Commissions (as well as other services) higher than 1 (on scale of 10), there is always room for improvement with regards to one’s knowledge of his/her community. There are over 120,000 people living here in the City and a growth is expected to resume at 3 to 4% clip.
Admittedly, with my involvement with the Unity Party and its State & National focus, I have had less time to engage with my immediate community. The problem with local politics, is people treat it in a highly-partisan manner and pull issues down from the “higher” levels that are irrelevant for most municipalities, or outside their control. I would like to see Arvada take a step back to a non-partisan basis, that may be lacking at this time.
I live in Lake Arbor (NE Arvada) which is in District 1, represented by Randy Moorman. He was elected in 2021 with 51.7% of the vote from the 9,597 ballots cast. As of now, I don’t plan to run for that seat in 2025 as he is valued member of the Democratic party and good representative for the LGBTQ community and for Arvada in general. He also possesses good interpersonal skills, which are essential for any local politician. Chelsea Canda, a Morman mother of 4, ran against him and it’s likely someone with no previous political experience will throw their hat into the ring at the last moment so that he does not run unopposed. Typically, Republicans do this at most every level of government, including in non-competitive districts. This was the case in Jeffco in 2024.
From my analysis of the municipal, odd-year elections in Arvada since 2007 – the first year I put my own name in the hat – the Council has gotten more contested and more partisan. Rachel Zenzinger, my fellow candidate in 2024, first got her seat in government (ACC D1) when she first ran unopposed in 2013.
When I first ran for a special election for Council in Boulder in 2007, there were 14 candidates for a 120-day term. It’s possible Arvada is heading the way Boulder was 20 years ago, however, the trajectory will be different. There is a lot less Open Space in Arvada. Boulder is famously buffered by their huge tracts of open land, which I used to enjoy trail running from the South Marshall Road medium density residences that were conveniently adjacent to this Open Space. Arvada does not have the state’s flagship university or the Flatirons. Affordability used to be a major attraction to Arvada and not Boulder, and my wife and were lucky to move in in 2018 when our family became 4 members.
Homelessness is an issue for both Boulder and Arvada, and it’s hard to say that Boulder has *navigated* that issue perfectly (pun intended), in spite of they way “they coddle their homeless population” – as my boss put it in 2006. We will see how the current Council navigates this political hot potato. In some ways, I am happy not have to deal with it and can take a NIMBY approach. I am about 25 blocks from the new proposed center in Adams County, but in Arvada’s borders. I know for a fact that road rage on Sheridan Blvd is indeed a worse problem, though I have not been witness to any more recently.
In any event, it’s likely for the problem of the unhoused (and those about to be) to still be an issue in 2026 and beyond. It is a problem that we all know defies an easy solution. Perhaps the City Council should continue to pick lower-hanging fruit.
Saving money is always popular.
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I intend to apply for vacancies on the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority, commonly known as AURA, and the Planning Commission, as well as the Transportation Committee. These boards are commonly known as the stepping stone for those on the cusp of entering electoral politics; indeed it was the case back in 2007 in Boulder. These boards & commissions are popular to serve on, perhaps because they allow citizenry to have a good say without the trouble of being a public candidate. This is especially true in Arvada, and many other municipalities in Colorado, but painfully not the case in my hometown.
Applications are due January 6th. Please reach out to me if you have any suggestions or concern about the issues germane to these committees.
In the meantime until 2026, please continue to donate to the United Colorado Committee as it is the best way to fund non-partisan development in this state. The Forward Party despite its huge resources and having good people at the reigns, only has 128 members as of last September. It is a long haul ahead for all of us.