Arvada Voter Guide: Quick Facts for Propositions and City Council

Election Day: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 Voter service and polling centers open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ballots are mailed to all registered voters between October 10-17, 2025

Drop Box Locations for Jefferson County and Adams County 

As the leaves turn and our community prepares for another election, Arvada Voices has prepared this guide on what Arvada voters will decide on November 4, 2025: two statewide ballot measures and local City Council races.

Statewide Ballot Measures

All Colorado voters, including those in Arvada, will vote on two state propositions related to school meals and food assistance programs.

Proposition LL: Retain and Spend State Revenue Exceeding the Estimate for Proposition FF

What it does:

• Allows the state to keep $12.4 million in tax revenue already collected (instead of refunding it) to continue funding free school meals for all public school students in participating schools

• Maintains current tax deduction limits for households earning $300,000+ annually

Background: In 2022, voters approved Proposition FF to provide free breakfast and lunch to all public school students regardless of family income. The state collected $11.3 million more than originally estimated, plus $1.1 million in interest. Under Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), the state must refund revenue exceeding estimates unless voters approve keeping it.

Who is affected: About 200,000 households (6% of Colorado tax filers) earning $300,000+ annually currently have deduction limits of $12,000 (single filers) or $16,000 (joint filers). If Proposition LL fails, these limits will increase in 2026, lowering taxes for these households, but if it succeeds, tax rates will remain the same.

A YES vote means:

• State keeps the $12.4 million already collected

• Current deduction limits stay in place

• Free school meals continue for all students

A NO vote means:

• State refunds $12.4 million to households earning $300,000+

• Deduction limits increase based on current law

• School meal program may face funding challenges

Fiscal impact: If passed, the state would increase spending by $33 million in 2025-26 and $67 million in 2026-27 for school meal reimbursements and local food purchasing programs.

Proposition MM: Increase State Taxes for School Meals and Food Assistance Programs

What it does:

• Increases state income taxes on households earning $300,000+ annually

• Raises up to $95 million annually for expanded school meal programs and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• Reduces tax deduction limits from $12,000/$16,000 to $1,000/$2,000

  • EXAMPLE: A married couple earning $300,000+ annually with a $31,500 standard deduction would face these state tax impacts:

• Current law (2025): Pay $682 more in state taxes due to the $16,000 deduction cap

• Under Proposition MM: Pay $1,298 more in state taxes due to the $2,000 deduction cap

• Difference: $616 additional state taxes under Proposition MM

How it raises taxes: Currently, households earning $300,000+ can deduct up to $12,000 (single) or $16,000 (joint) from their Colorado taxable income. Proposition MM would lower these limits to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (joint), meaning more of their income would be taxed.

Average tax increase:

• Single filers earning $300,000+: $327 more annually

• Joint filers earning $300,000+: $574 more annually

• Households earning under $300,000: No change

What the money funds:

1. School meal reimbursements - Continue free meals for all students

2. School meal worker wages - Pay increases for cafeteria staff

3. Local food purchasing - Help schools buy Colorado-grown products and use fresh ingredients

4. SNAP support - Help fund Colorado's food assistance program for low-income families

A YES vote means:

• Tax increase averaging $486 annually for households earning $300,000+

• Full funding for all components of school meal program

• Additional support for SNAP program

• No tax change for households earning under $300,000

A NO vote means:

• No tax increase

• School meal program continues at current funding levels

• No additional SNAP funding from this measure

Interaction with Proposition LL: Both measures can pass independently. If both pass, the school meals program receives maximum funding. If only one passes, free meals continue but with fewer additional programs. If both fail, only eligible low-income students would receive free meals starting January 2026.

Arvada Charter Amendment: Question 3G: Municipal Court Judge Residency Requirement

What it does:

Removes the requirement that Municipal Court judges must live within Arvada city limits.

Background: Arvada's Municipal Court, led by Presiding Judge Katie Kurtz, handles traffic violations, ordinance infractions, and more serious offenses. Currently, the City Charter mandates that all Municipal Court judges, including part-time Relief Judges, must be residents of Arvada.

Arvada is one of only seven cities out of 215 with municipal courts in Colorado that maintains this residency requirement. The requirement now presents recruitment and retention challenges, limiting the court's ability to build a reliable, diverse, and qualified team of judges. Arvada currently has only three Relief Judges available to cover for the Presiding Judge during absences.

A YES vote means:

• Municipal Court judges can live anywhere

• Wider pool of qualified judicial candidates

• Easier recruitment of Relief Judges

• Reduced concerns about perceived bias and recruitment challenges

  
  

A NO vote means:

• Judges must continue to live in Arvada

• Maintains community connection and potential for greater understanding of local issues

• Continues current accessibility and public trust benefits

• Continues recruitment limitations

Considerations:

Arguments for the residency requirement (voting NO) include community connection and investment, potential greater understanding of local issues, increased public trust, and greater accessibility to judges.

Arguments against the residency requirement (voting YES) include a limited talent pool, reduced diversity of perspective, potential for perceived bias, and recruitment challenges.

Arvada City Council Races

Three City Council seats are on the ballot. Depending on where you live in Arvada, you will vote for different races.

Who Can Vote in Each Race

All Arvada residents vote for:

• At-Large seat (represents the entire city)

Only District 1 residents vote for:

• District 1 seat

Only District 3 residents vote for:

• District 3 seat

Find your district on the Arvada district mapRead more on each candidate based on their answers to our questionnaire and the RVC forum.

At-Large City Council Race

All Arvada residents vote for ONE candidate. The two candidates are:

Michael Griffith

Background: Planning Commission Chair; urban designer and planner with 10+ years managing major infrastructure projects

Key priorities:

• Infrastructure maintenance (currently funding roads at 60% of needed levels)

• Smart growth aligned with job creation

• Business-like efficiency in city operations

• Comprehensive Plan update to guide next 10-20 years

Positions:

• Supports selling unused city properties to recover taxpayer money

• Proposes third-party audit of homelessness spending

• Advocates for reducing parking minimums to lower housing costs

• Wants to strengthen short-term rental restrictions (require owner occupancy)

• Emphasizes "city-sized" solutions to homelessness

• Supports cold weather emergency sheltering

Approach to governance: Views city as a business with residents as stakeholders; emphasizes data-driven decisions and professional project management

Denise Vargas

Background: Clinical psychologist with 15 years in corrections; 11 years in Arvada

Key priorities:

• Transparency and accountability in spending

• Mental health and behavioral health services

• Community safety balanced with compassion

• Connection, conversation, and community ("three C's")

Positions:

• Supports selling unused city properties to recover taxpayer money

• Advocates comprehensive homelessness expenditure tracking

• Emphasizes wraparound services (mental health, addiction treatment, job support)

• Supports proportional regional funding for homelessness based on population

• Open to easing zoning that limits affordable housing

• Wants to expand CORE mental health crisis response

Approach to governance: Emphasizes bridge-building between perspectives; applies corrections experience to accountability and structured systems

District 1 City Council Race

Only District 1 residents vote. One candidate is running:

Eric Bodenstab

Background: Engineer; previously ran for Jefferson County Commissioner; technical training in weighing projects from social and technical perspectives

Key priorities:

• Establish fair rules that protect current residents while ensuring Arvada thrives for next 50-100 years

• Anticipate how emerging technologies will reshape transportation and city planning

• Public health including environmental cleanup, traffic safety, and water security

• Maintain quality of life as city grows

Positions:

• Concerned about overdevelopment: "with too much density, it's going to be difficult to maintain the quality of life that we enjoy"

• Supports stricter cleanup standards at contaminated sites, especially near schools and residential areas

• Proposes citizens' assemblies - randomly selected resident groups who deliberate on land-use issues and make recommendations to council

• Questions mixing certain uses in residential neighborhoods; skeptical about retail in purely residential areas and opposes hotels in suburban mixed-use zones

• Cautiously optimistic about AI and technology: "The human element's never gone. There's always going to be a human check on just about every decision"

• Emphasizes nonpartisan approach: urges residents to see themselves as "team Arvada" above party labels

Approach to governance: Technical, data-driven decision-making balanced with long-term community planning; emphasis on protecting quality of life while planning for future generations

Randy Moorman (Incumbent)

Background: 4 years on City Council; 30 years managing non-profit budgets; Director of Policy at Eco-Cycle

Record from first term:

• Safer streets and reduced fire hazards

• Pothole repairs and road improvements

• Multimodal transportation investments

• Lake Arbor Pool reopening

• Various neighborhood improvements (crosswalks, lights, park maintenance)

Key priorities:

• Address $12 million annual road maintenance shortfall

• Affordable housing (200 new affordable units opened recently, 400+ coming)

• Regional cooperation on homelessness

• Balanced growth with environmental protection

Positions:

• Supports using reserves for infrastructure after ensuring recession buffer

• Defends "land banking" practice for city property purchases

• Points to homeless navigator success (21 permanently housed out of 79 served since January)

• Opposes annual caps on affordable housing units

• Wants to strengthen short-term rental restrictions

• Supports maintaining current police funding levels

Approach to governance: Incremental progress; collaborative problem-solving; "do all the good you can in all the places you can"

District 3 City Council Race

Only District 3 residents vote for ONE candidate. The two candidates are:

Aaron Skoff

Background: Lifelong Arvada resident; single father raising 14-year-old daughter in Olde Town

Key priorities:

• Protecting Olde Town as "gem of the city"

• Homelessness in Olde Town (his #1 concern)

• Fiscal discipline ("watch the pennies and the dollars will follow")

• Supporting District 3 small businesses (generate 60% of city sales tax)

• Infrastructure without waste

Positions:

• Self-funding campaign with under $1,000 budget; not seeking reelection or other office

• Wants comprehensive homelessness budget transparency

• Supports expansion of CORE and Colorado Rangers programs

• Emphasizes enforcement for individuals who decline services

• Critical of recent city spending (ECA building, 52nd Ave infrastructure)

• Weekly office hours "every Tuesday" at City Hall or local spots with public

Approach to governance: Direct accountability; populist fiscal conservatism; neighbor rather than politician; "not running for another term or another office"

Rebecka Lovisone

Background: Hospitality professional; Arvada Festivals Commission Chair; community organizer active in multiple local organizations

Key priorities:

• Community engagement and transparent communication

• Long-term planning for next generation

• Comprehensive approach to homelessness

• Infrastructure modernization

Positions:

• Detailed homelessness strategy (6-step process from first contact to permanent housing)

• Supports regional nonprofit leadership model for homelessness services

• Wants to eliminate parking minimums to reduce housing costs

• Supports making ADUs (accessory dwelling units) easier to build

• Emphasizes intergenerational planning philosophy

Approach to governance: Extensive community organizing; meet residents "where they are"; decisions made with community, not for community

Key Themes from Candidate Forum

At the September 29 Ralston Valley Coalition forum, all six candidates found common ground on several transparency measures.

All candidates answered YES to:

• Allowing virtual participation in city meetings

• Letting citizens move consent agenda items to full hearings

• Requiring visible redlined documents during hearings

• Considering 5-minute public comment (up from 3)

• Allowing citizen rebuttal time during hearings

• Creating infill development designation

• Regulating drone delivery in residential areas

• Expanding voter protections for open space lands

Areas of disagreement centered on:

• Housing density: How much and where to allow high-density development

• State housing mandates: Whether to support or oppose state laws limiting local control

• Growth management: Balancing new development with infrastructure capacity

• Homelessness approach: Enforcement vs. services emphasis

Making Your Decision

Consider these questions as you review the candidates and measures:

For State Propositions:

• Do you support continuing free school meals for all students?

• Should households earning $300,000+ pay more in state taxes?

• How important are school meal worker wages and local food sourcing?

• What role should state government play in food assistance programs?

For City Council:

• What's your priority: infrastructure, housing, homelessness, fiscal discipline, or community engagement?

• Do you prefer incremental change or bolder reforms?

• How important is prior government experience vs. outside perspective?

• What approach to homelessness aligns with your values: enforcement, services, or balanced approach?

• How should Arvada balance growth with infrastructure capacity?

Important Election Information

How to Vote:

• Mail ballots arrive between October 10-17

• Return by mail (must be postmarked by Nov 4) or at drop boxes by 7pm Nov 4

• Vote in person at voter service centers (open 7am-7pm on Election Day)

Need Help?

• Jefferson County Elections: (303) 271-8111

• Adams County Elections: (720) 523-6500

• Find your district here

  
  

More Information:

• State measures: leg.colorado.gov/bluebook

• Colorado Secretary of State: coloradosos.gov

• Arvada City Council candidates: Arvada City Council Election 2025: Your Complete Candidate Guide 

This guide was prepared by Arvada Voices to help residents make informed decisions. It presents information from official sources and candidate responses without endorsing any candidate or position.