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Voters Misled on Colorado Ballot Measures LL and MM as Costs Outpace Promises
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Voters Misled on Colorado Ballot Measures LL and MM as Costs Outpace Promises

By: Nash Herman | Complete Colorado Were Colorado voters duped into passing Propositions LL and MM based on false information? It certainly looks that way based on a recent Joint Budget Committee (JBC) hearing on the Department of Education’s budget request for the coming fiscal year where some enlightening information was revealed about the Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program (the relevant discussion began at the 9:38 am mark).  Background on ‘free’ school lunch As I previously explained, HSMA, also known as the “free” school lunch program, was created via Proposition FF in 2022 and was quickly recognized as financially unsustainable in just its first year of operation.  The legislature responded by asking voters to save the program by de-TABORi...
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Billions in Marijuana Taxes and Crumbling Roads Sparks Online Fight Between Polis and DeSantis
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Billions in Marijuana Taxes and Crumbling Roads Sparks Online Fight Between Polis and DeSantis

By: Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–An online beef erupted between Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Wednesday evening on X (previously Twitter) over legalized marijuana and Colorado’s poor road conditions. In a thread of posts, the Florida governor said Colorado’s declining marijuana taxes have not helped alleviate anything for the state, rather the recent decrease in marijuana sales is due to a surge in the black market caused by high taxes on legal weed. The claims led Governor Polis to jump in the conversation, defending his record. The battle at the keyboard started from a post made by Florida’s Voice, highlighting a survey saying a majority of Floridians want the right to vote on marijuana legalization themselves, “not have...
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Weiser’s Anti-Trump Agenda Comes at Taxpayer Expense
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Weiser’s Anti-Trump Agenda Comes at Taxpayer Expense

By: Rob Natelson | Complete Colorado Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser says he favors trashing Colorado’s legislative reapportionment system to get more Democrat members of Congress elected. His statement offers some useful instruction in how, when conservatives make political deals with the left, it usually comes back to bite them. The current reapportionment system resulted from such a deal. It was made only seven years ago and ratified overwhelmingly by the voters. Now Weiser wants to renege. The Colorado background In 2018, Coloradans voted for Amendments Y and Z. Amendment Y transferred the job of drawing congressional districts from the state legislature to an independent commission. Amendment Z did the same for state legislative districts. I ...
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Governor Polis Pushes Record $50.7 Billion Budget Amid Fiscal Concerns
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Governor Polis Pushes Record $50.7 Billion Budget Amid Fiscal Concerns

By: Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–Governor Jared Polis recently proposed his more than $50 billion Colorado state budget, requesting a flood of money to education and public safety while acknowledging Medicaid spending has gotten out of hand. The 2026-27 spending plan was presented to the Joint Budget Committee on Oct. 31, three days ahead of schedule. Polis’ total request stands at $50.7 billion, with $18.6 billion being General Fund (or discretionary) money. The plan dedicates an additional $167 million to school finance, as well as reallocating remaining revenue from the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund to the education fund , while increasing universal pre-school funding by $14.3 million. The state will then issue $2 million for the evidence-based math accelerator program, $...
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Democratic Socialists Claim Local Victories in Colorado School Board Races
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Democratic Socialists Claim Local Victories in Colorado School Board Races

By: Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado FORT COLLINS – An unusual twist on candidate support appears to have paid off for the Fort Collins chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – an overtly extreme left-wing organization. The socialism advocacy group officially “endorsed” just one candidate, Zoelle Lane in Fort Collins City Council District 5,  while “recommending” two dozen others in local races around northern Colorado the DSA said “represent our chapter’s best advice to voters,” including a pair of Republican school board candidates in Greeley. Although their lone endorsement lost her bid for city council, the group’s recommendations were successful in 15 out of 22 other races, including clean sweeps on both the Greeley Evans School District 6 and Poudre Schools b...
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Colorado Democrats Eye New Map Powers as Weiser Calls for Constitutional Change
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Colorado Democrats Eye New Map Powers as Weiser Calls for Constitutional Change

By: Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser recently becomes the first statewide elected official–and the only candidate for governor–to announce his support for a constitutional amendment allowing Colorado to redistrict congressional seats mid-cycle in his efforts to “Trump-proof” Colorado. Weiser gave a nod to partisan gerrymandering to favor Democrats first on a 9news interview Oct. 23, with his gubernatorial campaign following up with a statement soon after. “When states like Texas and North Carolina redraw their maps to stack the deck in favor of Republicans, Colorado must be prepared to respond,” Weiser says in his statement. If elected governor in 2026, Weiser says he will support a mid-cycle map redrawing before th...
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Colorado’s Competitive Edge Fades Under High Taxes and Regulation
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Colorado’s Competitive Edge Fades Under High Taxes and Regulation

By: Nash Herman | Complete Colorado The non-partisan Tax Foundation just published its 2026 edition of the State Tax Competitiveness Index. Colorado — already in the bottom half of states for tax competitiveness — continues to slide in the rankings, and the current political trajectory will only exacerbate the situation. Colorado losing its edge  In last year’s index, Colorado placed 32nd in overall tax competitiveness, worse than all of the state’s immediate neighbors.  According to its subcategories, Colorado ranked 10th in corporate taxes, 18th in individual income taxes, 37th in sales taxes, 36th in property taxes, and 39th in unemployment insurance taxes.  This year, Colorado’s rank dropped to 33rd ...
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Telluride Voters Weigh New Lift Ticket Tax to Fund ‘Free’ Gondola
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Telluride Voters Weigh New Lift Ticket Tax to Fund ‘Free’ Gondola

By: Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado SAN MIGUEL COUNTY—Voters in Telluride are deciding several tax and debt related measures on the November ballot, including a lift ticket excise tax to fund gondola transit, a debt package to subsidize housing, and a hotly debated citizen-initiated charter amendment mandating voter approval for big-ticket town projects. Telluride is a ski town of around 2,600 year-round residents in San Miguel County, located in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. A lofty lift ticket tax If approved by voters, Ballot Issue 2A slaps a 5% excise tax on Telluride Ski & Golf Resort lift ticket purchases. The revenue will go to improvements, maintenance, and rebuilding of the town’s year-round public gondola system by pledging the reven...
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Jeffco Teachers Union Retracts Endorsement After Candidate’s History Emerges
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Jeffco Teachers Union Retracts Endorsement After Candidate’s History Emerges

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado LAKEWOOD–The Jefferson County teachers’ union has withdrawn an endorsement for a highly favored school board candidate after a sexual offense committed as a juvenile came to light. Michael Yocum is running for Jefferson County School Board in District 1, originally as part of a teachers’ union-backed slate, along with fellow candidates, Peter Gibbins and Tina Moeinian. The Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) referred to the trio as “the cleanup crew.” The JCEA endorsed the slate on Aug 8, presumably without knowledge of Yokum’s criminal history (his name has since been removed from the endorsement). Both the JCEA and the Colorado Education Association (the state teacher’s union) are his top campaign contributors. Juvenile adjudicat...
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