Dear Editor,

A citizens’ petition for “Boulder County Home Rule” is being circulated by leaders of two local non-profits, Best Democracy and Direct Colorado. For Boulder County, home rule is a big step towards a better Boulder County government.

County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann, speaking at a Best Democracy public meeting held in January at the Longmont Library, noted that “the purpose of county home rule is to provide more flexibility over elections and management of county affairs than Colorado counties currently have under State statute” (CRS Section 30-11-101-605).

With a home rule charter, Boulder County could meet the challenges of 21st Century democratic governance that go beyond the state’s minimum requirements. It would create the opportunity for systematic changes in democratic governance. Boulder County will have more flexibility regarding the county government’s management and election supervision, transparency and accountability, human and environmental rights protection.

“It’s up to our generation to make Boulder County’s government more responsive to and representative of the people of the County. We can do a better job designing government that includes everyone than they did back in 1861,” stated Jesse Kumin, founder of Best Democracy and one of the two petition sponsors.

Expanded petition rights for citizens are a major benefit of home rule, especially for people living in unincorporated neighborhoods throughout the county. Petitioning is severely restricted at the county level by the state’s boiler-plate statutory county charters. Only residents in municipalities have full petition rights – unless their county is home rule.

Going beyond mere representation, petitions add a vehicle for direct democracy which is important because “public sentiment does not always agree with the people in charge. The public “can push for changes that are popular and necessary,” stated Josh Maynard, petition co-sponsor and founder of Direct Democracy Colorado and Direct Colorado.

Public discussions about Boulder County Home Rule are scheduled so far at Boulder Public Library branches on 4/25 at 3 p.m. main branch Arapahoe Room and on 5/14 Meadows Branch at 5:30 p.m. and at Inkberry Bookstore in Niwot on 5/30 at 7 p.m.

Nederland based organizations interested in hosting a talk on Boulder County Home Rule and/or get involved in the county-wide petition campaign are asked to email liz@bestdemocracy.org. For more information and upcoming event details, visit Boulder County Best Democracy on Facebook or contact Liz@BestDemocracy.org.

Liz Marsis

Longmont