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Issue #10 — Tuesday, October 13, 2026
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My Boulder Ballot, Top to Bottom
Every City and County Choice on Your Ballot, and How I’m Voting
This Engage Boulder Newsletter reflects the personal opinions of Dan Caruso, written with the support of the Caruso Ventures team.
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Ballots are due by 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 3. Below are my recommendations for the whole Boulder ballot.
This election will be decided by voter turnout. Are you unsatisfied with how Boulder is being governed? Do you want change? If so, I need you to be all in. This starts with you voting. However, I need you to encourage your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to also submit their ballots. I also need you to contribute to each candidate.
This could be the most consequential election for Boulder in a generation. Six of nine council seats are up for election. If the slate I am recommending below is elected, the message of change will be delivered. Please go all in.
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Vote for Change
Bob Morehouse is a friend and a neighbor who is influential in Boulder politics. I think it is fair to say that he is an advocate for the far left. He and I sometimes agree and sometimes don’t. When providing his recommendation for Boulder mayor, he said the following:
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“If continuity is your preference, if you think things are going pretty well, rank Aaron Brockett #1 on your ballot. If you sense things are not all that great and want change, if you favor a more assertive stance by the mayor and council, rank Aquiles La Grave #1 on your ballot.”
— Bob Morehouse
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Over the past several issues of Engage Boulder, I’ve laid out the evidence that things are not going well in Boulder:
| 1. |
Boulder is shrinking. Take the students out, and Boulder’s population fell about 9% in a decade, roughly 7,000 people. |
| 2. |
Young families are leaving. Kindergarten-age children living in Boulder fell from 962 to 454. The school district is closing three schools in the city and relocating two more. |
| 3. |
A quarter of our offices are empty. Office vacancy rose from 15% to 24.8%. Commercial property sales fell 78% in four years. |
| 4. |
Housing affordability is getting worse. Even so, the City continues to pile on regulations and costs that suppress the supply of new housing for middle-income families. |
| 5. |
City spending is running away. The operating budget grew 52% in five years, nearly three times inflation. Staffing grew almost 18% in a city that did not grow. |
The City’s new headquarters is costing more than $350 million on 8.8 acres at Alpine-Balsam, land that could have held 250 to 350 households. The City is also asking voters for $400 million more, up to $650 million with interest.
So I say to Bob and the rest of the voters of Boulder: we need a more assertive stance by the mayor and council.
Bob’s framing covered the city council as well as the mayor. Yet his council recommendations include candidates who would not bring a more assertive stance. So, with all due respect to Bob: if you believe change is the path forward, this is the slate to vote for.
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My Slate
City Council (vote for all five):
| 1. |
Ryan Jamieson. Army veteran and former internal auditor. He wants an independent city auditor who reports to council in public. |
| 2. |
Tara Winer. Small-business owner for more than 25 years, and the only council member running this year who voted to send a Downtown Development Authority to downtown voters. |
| 3. |
Scott Rendleman. Retired civil trial lawyer. He opposes the $400 million bond and wants more well-trained officers and first responders. |
| 4. |
Dave Martus. Former Colorado PERA portfolio manager. He opposes the bond, noting it could cost up to $650 million to repay. |
| 5. |
Jill Adler Grano. Former councilmember. She wants an independent city auditor and a real plan for downtown’s empty storefronts. |
Please give $100 to each campaign.
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Ballot Measures
City of Boulder
| NO |
2J: Residential Vacancy Excise Tax |
| HARD NO |
2K: $400 Million Recreation and Safety Bond |
| YES |
2L: Firefighter Collective Bargaining |
| HARD NO |
2M: Debt Limit Charter Change |
Boulder County
| YES |
1A: Early Childhood Care and Education |
| YES |
200: Increase County Commissioners from three to five |
| Option A |
201: Five commissioner districts |
Regional
| YES |
7A: Front Range Passenger Rail |
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State Measures
| NO |
Amendment 87: Graduated Income Tax |
| NO |
Proposition NN: Ends TABOR refunds |
| YES |
Proposition 136: Caps the state income tax rate at 4.4% |
| YES |
Proposition 137: Directs existing sales tax on sporting goods to conservation and wildfire work |
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Vote. Then make sure your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues vote. Forward this to every Boulder voter you know, and give $100 to each of the six campaigns.
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