This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Dear Editor,
Recently, there has been media coverage about a citizens’ initiative that
would increase the number of Boulder County Commissioners from three to
five. The ballot language would also offer two choices for how those five
commissioners would be elected.
Option one is for each of the five commissioners to be a resident of a
specific district and be elected only by the voters living in that
district. Option two would be for three of the commissioners to be a
resident of a specific district and to be elected only by the voters living
in that district, and the other two commissioners to be elected at-large by
all Boulder County voters. (Currently, the three commissioners are
residents of a specific district, but are elected by all Boulder County
voters, regardless of which district the voters live in.)
The League of Women Voters of Boulder County (LWVBC) supports increasing
the number of County Commissioners from three to five, and the League would
support option two.
Five commissioners would broaden the input into complex decisions by our
County government and would allow for more voices to be part of the
decision-making process when a commissioner is absent. In addition,
expanded representation could help to reflect the diversity of interests
and opinions within the county. By having three commissioners elected by
district, voters in each district can choose their own representative. The
two commissioners elected at-large could provide a county-wide view on the
commission as well.
Looking further into the future, the League would like to see enabling
legislation to allow county elections to use a voting method that promotes
proportional representation rather than only geographical representation. Meanwhile,
LWVBC strongly endorses this issue for the 2018 ballot, whether through
petition signatures or by the Boulder County Commissioners referring this
to the ballot.
Sincerely,
Peggy Leech, President
League of Women Voters of Boulder County
lwvbc.org
