Elections Archives

Council to Make Resident Petitions More Difficult

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on June 22, 2026Posted in Elections, Entrenched Bureaucracy, TransparencyTagged bureaucrats, direct democracy, initiative, lawfare, petition, referendum, signature gathering, signature verification1 Comment

City Council is changing petition law, making it harder for residents to take direct democratic action. These changes come after successful citizen petition measures against unpopular City Council laws, such as zoning. The proposal involves many substantive changes, despite city officials saying several times that this was not the case. The overall effect is to make it harder for residents to raise their voice.

City Attorney Alison McKenny Brown says these changes are codifying “current standard practice”. This is somewhat deceptive because “current” practice is different from past practices. Current staff, including the attorney, made new interpretations of law. Therefore, staff have arguably changed the law, leading to the necessity for codifying current standard practice.

Lakewood Changes Rules After Successful Yard Signs

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on June 20, 2026Posted in ElectionsTagged ballot, campaign finance, council decision, justice for jax, municipal code, referendum election, save belmar park, yard signs

Lakewood is expanding the definition of campaigns to apply to any City Council decision, not just elections. The move comes in response to a successful citizen-initiated referendum to roll back a Council decision. The change is purported to increase transparency but will also make things significantly harder for grassroots efforts.

Zoning Charter Amendment Pulled

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on June 17, 2026Posted in Development, ElectionsTagged amendment, charter, Lakewood Citizen Alliance, petition, zoning

From Lakewood Citizens Alliance

Hi Neighbors,

We have an important update regarding the citizen initiated charter amendment petition.

Effective immediately, we are stopping signature collection and suspending circulation of the petition following new information provided by the City regarding the election process and legal requirements for charter amendments.

City Approves Initiative for Charter Amendment

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on June 7, 2026Posted in Development, Elections, TransparencyTagged charter amendment, Lakewood Citizen Alliance, transparency, zoning, zoning election

The Lakewood Citizens Alliance (LCA) announced that the City Clerk has officially approved an initiative for a Charter Amendment aimed at improving public communication, transparency, and community engagement surrounding future large-scale rezoning and legislative land use changes.

Centered around the principle of “Transparency Before Transformation,” the proposed amendment is designed to establish clear procedural guardrails for future citywide zoning actions while protecting the character and stability of existing single-family neighborhoods.

High Turnout But Otherwise Normal Election

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 24, 2026Posted in ElectionsTagged comparison, demographics, election results, Special election, turnout

The high turnout April 7, 2026 was a surprise for a special election, especially since the election was about a normally boring topic like zoning. In most ways, the special election turnout and demographics mirrored the last two city elections, which is only surprising because so many people thought there would be something “special” about the vote.

Key takeaways include:

Lakewood is not as progressive as its Council
People vote more when they think it matters
Unopposed Council Members are vulnerable
Voter turnout was higher than expected
Generation voting rates followed historic patterns

Election Thoughts

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 22, 2026Posted in Elections, UncategorizedTagged candidates, divided, echo chamber, elections, recall, representatives, split the vote

City leaders are expressing surprise over the zoning election results and showing how completely out of touch they are with their constituents. Instead of acknowledging this fact, or even stepping down in favor of someone who is more grounded, leaders renewed their commitment to zoning changes.

Meanwhile, several trends are emerging as residents acknowledge they will have to find better leaders:

Our Tax Dollars at Work

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 14, 2026Posted in Development, ElectionsTagged election, endorsements, mandate, politicians, tax dollars, taxes, warning, zoning

By Bob Adams. The Lakewood special election is now over with an overwhelming mandate to reject the new zoning and return to the previous ordinance. This warning is that all the politicians, activists and money defending the new zoning, are still in place. Are they just going to give up? In their own words, No. One way or another, they’ll keep trying to push higher density through…. Whether Lakewood likes it or not! The battle has just begun.

Residents Reject City Council Zoning

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 14, 2026Posted in Development, ElectionsTagged citizen repeal, election results, referendum, reject, resolution, Special election, win, zoning

No one asked Lakewood residents if they wanted city-wide rezoning for urbanized high-density until April 7, 2026. On that day, Lakewood residents answered this question with a resounding “No.” The discussion lasted for years and culminated in an ongoing disconnect between residents and their elected representatives.

Meeting Move Raises Questions

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 13, 2026Posted in Elections, TransparencyTagged electioneering, Free speech, Glenda Sinks, Jeslin Shahrezaei, protest, Ward 1, ward meeting, yard signs

Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church says they did not ask the Ward 1 meeting to relocate on Saturday, April 4.

Despite the holiday weekend, the room reserved for the city was open. The meeting remained on the church’s calendar. In fact, church staff reportedly did not even know about the change until the following day, when they discovered a note left on the door.

Ward 1 City Councilors say they remember the church not being available in 2025 and offer apologies for the mix-up.

Suggestions For Next Steps

By Lakewood News from KarenPosted on April 8, 2026Posted in ElectionsTagged healing, next steps, parks, petition, savebelmarpark, Special election, steve f, zoning

By Steve F on nextdoor.com
Key steps to heal Lakewood going forward after the April 7 vote
1) The https://www.change.org/p/protect-wildlife-in-lakewood-co-via-buffer-zones petition sponsored by savebelmarpark.com has almost 8,000 verified signatures asking for parks and open space wildlife buffers modeled after the Fort Collins ordinance.

Elections

Council to Make Resident Petitions More Difficult

Lakewood Changes Rules After Successful Yard Signs

Zoning Charter Amendment Pulled

City Approves Initiative for Charter Amendment

High Turnout But Otherwise Normal Election

Election Thoughts

Our Tax Dollars at Work

Residents Reject City Council Zoning

Meeting Move Raises Questions

Suggestions For Next Steps

Lakewood Informer

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