City Writes New Procedures for Referendum Hearing

Former Lakewood resident Kip Kolkmeier has filed complaints about the referendum signatures on behalf of Joshua Comden and Reverend Ben Hensley. The complaint alleges very technical violations about the referendum petitions while also complaining about the hearing itself.  Without documented procedures, the hearing officer is free to use their experience to guide a successful, neutral process. Kolkmeier disagrees and dictated how the complaint process should be handled, including the hearing and even who is allowed to talk to the City Clerk.

The eight bullet points listed in Kolkmeier’s hearing complaint are not suggestions for future hearings. They are demands to be implemented immediately. He uses words such as “shall”, “is” and “must.” This is a complete departure from suggested advice and does not acknowledge various alternatives of holding public hearings.

As a result, Lakewood has written new rules for the hearing that comply with Kolkmeier’s demands. Information on the hearing, including the complaint and new hearing procedures, can be found on Lakewood’s website.

None of these rules are strictly necessary. At base, all that is really needed is equal time given to both parties.

There is one complaint filed against each of the three petitions that have initially been approved. ALL THREE will have a hearing Friday, Decemeber 19.

Complaint Against People Exercising Their Right to Referendum

The complaint itself reads like a complaint against the idea of a referendum. It starts by saying “A special election to consider total repeal of multiple lawfully adopted ordinances is an extreme remedy.”

In point of fact, it is the only remedy reserved by law to ensure that WE THE PEOPLE are heard in cases when elected representatives are not adequately listening. A referendum is the people exercising their VETO POWER.

“The purpose of a referendum is to enable voters to participate in political issues, particularly those relating to legislation or public policy. It is grounded in the principle of democracy that empowers the electorate to share their opinion on popular issues. Through referendums, voters can essentially push or veto issues presented by the legislature. In some cases, they can even do this with issues and statutes that aren’t brought up by the state officials” -ElectionBuddy (emphasis added)

Complaints Against Petitions

The main complaint against the petitions is that signatures may be illegible. This is typical – people have sloppy signatures. The petitions include other identifiable information including addresses.

However, Kolkmeier argues that addresses cannot be used to verify signatures. In fact, he argues that anything that is required to be legible cannot be used for verification, even though page 4 of the complaint admits that the legible parts are used to verify voter registration.

Each part of the petition is subject to similar complaints and scrutiny. He alleges that:

• Forgetting the zip code but having a verifiable address within Lakewood, Colorado is grounds to be thrown out.
• Being able to read the name but not the address is grounds for being thrown out. And vice versa.
• Being able to find the voter based on the address is not allowed and those should be thrown out.
• One family member filling out the address in consecutive lines for other family members to sign is not allowed without initialing the petitions.
• All the information should fit within the prescribed boxes even if the person’s handwriting is normally large.

Some people even WROTE OUTSIDE THE BOXES!!! The tragedy.

All of these details are used to suffocate the referendum process, rather than enable the peoples’ voices.

The complaint doesn’t claim invalid voters, fake addresses or unwilling people. The claim is only that people didn’t write legibly in a tiny box. Welcome to lawyers treating residents like kindergarteners.

Other complaints

The complaint also alleges:

• Many duplicate signatures. Any duplication is likely due to the multiple referendums required from splitting up one very complicated zoning ordinance.
• The petitions included a page that didn’t look like the rest. All petitions were approved.
• Notaries notarizing petitions with incomplete boxes or incomplete notary addresses.

Money versus the People

The referendum is a tool of the people to rein in legislation. Even so, the requirements of a referendum or initiative are so onerous that many resort to paying for signatures. This takes the ability away from the people and puts the power back in the hands of private donors.

In Lakewood, there is immense funding for the newly adopted zoning code. Over fifteen well-funded non-profits came out to support passing the initial zoning ordinances on August 25, 2025. Just the personnel support and volunteers these organizations can readily muster easily outweighs any grassroots activism.

In the end, all the problems Kolkmeier raises will be evident if the referendum goes to ballot and people vote it down. That is the most directly democratic process possible and yet the complaint suggests arguing about legibility and coloring inside the lines is safeguarding democracy.

Perhaps the beginning was the most accurate and the problem is not the petitions, but the possibility of “A special election to consider total repeal of multiple lawfully adopted ordinances.”