Kristin Stephens announces reelection bid for Larimer County commissioner seat - Coloradoan
Thomas Clayton
Kristin Stephens announces reelection bid for Larimer County commissioner seat
Pat Ferrier
Larimer County Commissioner Kristin Stephens has announced her bid for reelection to a second four-year term.
Stephens, a Democrat, was elected in 2020 to represent District 2, beating Republican challenger Bob McClusky, a former council member who also served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives.
She joins fellow Democratic Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally in seeking reelection to the three-member Board of County Commissioners. John Kefalas, the third commissioner, was reelected in 2022 to his second term. He will be eligible for reelection in 2026.
Stephens, who served for six years on Fort Collins City Council before winning the commissioner's seat, touted the board's work on strengthening oil and gas regulations, improving air quality and protecting the environment.
She has served on the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization helping increase regional transportation options, including funding transit, building trails and working to bring passenger rail to Northern Colorado.
"Our I-25 project has been about doing things in new and original ways from creating bus and carpool lanes, to expanding technology and providing more safety features," she said in her reelection announcement.
Gov. Jared Polis recently appointed Stephens to the state's Middle Income Housing Authority, created in 2022 for the purpose of promoting affordable rental housing projects for middle-income workforce housing.
“Our residents consistently ask us to create more housing options across the county. We have responded locally by pledging resources to build and preserve housing, address homelessness, including youth homelessness, and prevent evictions," Stephens said in her announcement.
“Larimer County is a special place, and I want to continue serving our hard-working residents and preserving our precious natural resources," she said. "We still have important work to do to build equity in our county and to make sure that all residents have affordable housing and childcare. I am committed to building a Larimer County that works for all, where everyone can succeed.”
Colorado will have three elections this year: a presidential primary, statewide primary and general election in November. Windsor, Wellington and Timnath residents will have municipal elections April 2.
Who else is running in Larimer County
In addition to county commissioner seats, Larimer County residents will elect a district attorney and county clerk.
Two candidates have announced plans to run for district attorney in the 8th Judicial District, which represents Larimer and Jackson counties.
Current District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin is running for reelection and faces challenger Dawn Downs, a former chief deputy district attorney for the district attorney’s office and current attorney for the city of Fort Collins.
Both candidates have prior experience working as prosecutors in the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
In 2020, McLaughlin beat out his Republican challenger by almost 14% of the vote to become the district’s first Democratic district attorney in more than 80 years. Downs is the first woman and first unaffiliated candidate to ever run for 8th Judicial District Attorney, according to her campaign.
Larimer County Clerk & Recorder Tina Harris, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated when Angela Myers retired in May, will have to run to fill the remainder of Myer's 2022-2026 term. Harris was not immediately available to comment on her plans.
For a list of who is running to represent Larimer County, including Fort Collins, Windsor and Loveland, at the state capitol, visit Coloradoan.com.
When are the elections in Colorado in 2024?
Tuesday, March 5: Presidential preference primary.
Tuesday, June 25: Statewide primary election to decide political parties' nominees for statewide and local offices.
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024: This is a presidential election year, and all seven of Colorado's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be decided. In the Colorado legislature, voters will decide all state representative seats and some state Senate seats. Multiple local and statewide ballot measures are also expected.
How do I register to vote?
First, while you can register to vote at age 16 in Colorado, you can't vote until you are 18. Also, you must:
- Be a U.S. citizen.
- Be a Colorado resident for at least 22 days before the election.
- Not be serving a sentence of confinement or detention for a felony conviction. (Those on probation or parole are eligible to vote.)
- To register online, go to govotecolorado.gov and click on "Yes, register online" under the Register to Vote header.
- Or on the same website, you can download a form to fill out and send to your county clerk's office.
- You can also register to vote anytime of the year when you obtain your Colorado driver's license at a DMV.
 | Tom Clayton Communication and Media Specialist, Public Affairs |
| Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80522 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7005 tcla...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org |