Kevin Duggan

kevinduggan@coloradoan.com

With spring comes the Fort Collins municipal election and a chance for voters to help chart the course of the city's future.

This year, voters will decide who occupies four of the seven seats on City Council and consider four amendments to the City Charter, which is essentially the city’s constitution. Here's a quick guide to what voters need to know before ballots hit their mailboxes.

How it works

The April 4 election will be conducted through a mail-in ballot: The only polling place where a ballot may be filled out and dropped off will be at the City Clerk’s Office at city hall, 300 Laporte Ave.

The deadline for the City Clerk’s Office to send out ballots is March 20. Ballots must be returned to the clerk’s office by 7 p.m. April 4.

Fort Collins voters: It's too late to mail in your ballot. Find drop-off locations here

Ballots will be mailed to city residents who appear on county voter registration rolls 22 days before the election. Other mailings will be sent to those who register 21 to eight days before the election.

Voters may register up to and on Election Day through the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, www.sos.state.co.us, or the Larimer County Clerk’s Office, 200 W. Oak St.

What’s at stake

Voters will elect the mayor and three district representatives. Municipal elections are nonpartisan and candidates are not required to divulge their party affiliations.

The mayor will be elected by all city voters to a two-year term; voters in districts 1 (northeast), 3 (southeast) and 5 (west-central) will choose their representatives to four-year terms.

MAP: Find your council district

The candidates

Mayor

Kwon Atlas

Age: 22

Occupation: banker

Education: bachelor’s degree in economics

Family: married

Priorities include: housing, transportation, small business

Website: votekwonatlas.com

Elizabeth Hudetz

Age: 65

Occupation: retired teacher

Education: bachelor’s degree in music, master’s in education

Family: divorced with three children; two grandchildren

Priorities include: sustainability, Climate Action Plan, quality of life

Website: elizabeth4mayorfortcollins.nationbuilder.com

Michael Pruznick

Age: 49

Occupation: small business owner

Education: bachelor’s degree in computer science, graduate work

Family: married; two children

Priorities include: bringing the community together to solve problems, transportation

Website: vote.pruz.org/2017-mayor

Wade Troxell (incumbent)

Age: 60

Occupation: associate professor and associate department head, mechanical engineering, Colorado State University

Education: bachelor’s degree in engineering, master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering

Family: married; two children

Priorities include: Interstate 25 expansion, broadband service, rewriting City Plan

Website: www.voteforwade.org

District 1

Nate Budd

Age: 28

Occupation: associate director of development, Colorado State University College of Engineering

Education: bachelor’s degree in natural resources

Family: single

Priorities include: affordable housing, business growth

Website: www.votenatebudd.com

Bob Overbeck (incumbent)

Age: 54

Occupation: former commodities floor trader

Education: associate degree in business

Family: single

Priorities include: community policing, affordable housing, quality of life

Website: boboverbeck.com

District 3

Gordon Coombes

Age: 43

Occupation: executive director of TEAM Wellness and Prevention, small business owner

Education: bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration

Family: married; two children; two stepchildren; two grandchildren

Priorities include: local economy, quality of life, public safety

Website: www.coombes4council.com

Ken Summers

Age: 63

Occupation: governmental affairs/nonprofit consulting

Education: bachelor’s degree in business education, master’s in nonprofit management

Family: married; two children; six grandchildren

Priorities include: supporting businesses, environmental stewardship

Website: www.kensummers.us

District 5

Ross Cunniff (incumbent)

Age: 52

Occupation: engineering manager

Education: bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and computer science

Family: married; two children; one grandchild

Priorities include: quality of life, diversification of city revenue, open data access

Website: ross4council.com

Duane Hansen

Age: 35

Occupation: courtesy manager at State student housing

Education: bachelor’s degree in political science

Family: single in a long-term relationship

Priorities include: community engagement, housing affordability, transportation

Website: www.duanehansen.com

Ballot issues

Amendment 1: Would move the date for certifying the results of a city election to 10 days after Election Day rather than the current three days.

The extra time would be needed to digitally verify signatures on ballots and give voters up to eight days to correct discrepancies, such as a missing signature or a signature that does not match with registration records.

A new council’s organizational meeting, during which the mayor pro tem is selected, would be moved from the first meeting after an election to the first meeting after the certification.

Amendment 2: Would allow the city manager after consulting with the mayor to cancel a council meeting in the event of inclement weather, natural disaster or other unforeseen circumstance. Currently, the city clerk and attorney have to be at city hall to determine no one is there to convene a meeting in order to cancel it.

Amendment 3: Would clarify conflict-of-interest provisions to prohibit the sale of property or services to the city by city officers, employees and their relatives when that person has decision-making authority over the property sold or services provided.

Amendment 4: Would allow the City Council to appoint additional judges to the municipal court and appoint a chief judge in response to an increasing workload for the court.

Campaign finance

Contributions to council candidate committees are limited to $100 for mayor and $75 for district campaigns. Candidates may contribute as much as they like to their campaigns, including loans.

Political committees may make independent expenditures to support or defeat a candidate. There are no limits on the amount a person may contribute to a political committee nor how much a committee may spend. Any independent expenditure more than $100 must be reported to the city clerk.

These political committees were registered with the city as of Feb. 27:

Coalition for Public Policy – Advocates for transparent and accountable public policy by supporting or opposing candidate/issue committees.

Democracy with Vision – Encourages citizens to engage in local issues to better their community.

Protecting Our Housing Future – Addresses issues related to housing affordability in the Fort Collins area.

More election coverage

Read the Coloradoan or visit Coloradoan.com Tuesday through Friday for expanded previews of each City Council race.

Editorial: We need leaders, not representatives