Golden is in the midst of a City Council election, and while most of the seats are uncontested residents of Golden’s Ward 4 will have to make a choice. There are also a handful of other important issues and elections, including school board seats and a statewide school funding measure.

Bill Fisher did a good job laying these out, so I’ll just excerpt from his newsletter:

Golden Election Endorsements
We have Ward Councilors up for election in 2013. 3 of the 4 wards are uncontested, but I am happy to endorse current Mayor Pro-Tem Joe Behm for Ward 1, current Councilor Marcia Claxton for Ward 2, and Pamela Gould for Ward 3. Here in Ward 4, I am very excited about the candidacy of Laura Weinberg. She will be a knowledgeable and energetic addition to City Council. Many folks have mentioned seeing Laura and her family walking our neighborhoods this fall, and she has expressed appreciation for getting to know the breadth and variety of neighborhoods and people here in Golden!

Golden DDA & associated ballot titles – Vote YES on all. A special election covering downtown, a DDA will help maintain the special character of our unique, historic downtown. Some people in Downtown Golden will receive this separate ballot with several measures aimed at creating a Downtown Development Authority. I urge adopting all the measures to help keep our Historic Downtown going in a vibrant direction for the community!

Golden: Selling surplus land
We have two minor parcels of land which would be better out of our inventory with reduced maintenance costs … and with proceeds going towards our Parks & Rec and open space program. I urge you to vote yes to allow the City to consider these transactions if we get the right offer. [I don’t know enough about this one to have an opinion, but Bill certainly does so I’m including it here – Jacob] 

JeffCo School Board
Jefferson County Schools have been going in the right direction these past several years, with a responsive administration that puts our children first and funnels every available dollar into the classroom. I urge you to continue this trend which is demonstrating great progress in graduation rates and scores that puts JeffCo among the elite districts in Colorado. I am strongly endorsing Jeff Lamontagne, “Spud” Van de Water, and Tonya Aultman-Bettridge for the Jefferson County School Board. Let’s turn the corner on disruptive politics and endorse smart, caring, thoughtful parents!

The easy way to remember who to vote for: Vote for the LOOOONG names to go a LOOOONG way for JeffCo schools and our children!
Spud4JeffcoKids.com
TonyaForJeffcoSchools.com
Jeff4Jeffco.com

Statewide Ballot Measure
Amendment 66: Education – Vote YES. Colorado embarrassingly ranks near the bottom of education funding. Amendment 66 is a thoughtful, tightly budgeted effort that goes a long way towards bringing Colorado to the competitive middle in funding and giving teachers the tools to help our kids be tops in education! The Golden City Council recently heard comments regarding the measure and voted to pass a Resolution in favor of Amendment 66 this fall. This measure gets education in the state back on track, and focuses money in the classrooms. More info: http://coloradocommits.com

General Election Information
The best Election & Voting details are at JeffCo’s website. FYI – It’s now easier than ever to register to vote, including online. It’s not too late, so surf on over and sign up! Statewide legal ballot issue information is located at the Secretary of State website.