spending

Hard-working, grassroots volunteers working on a popular referendum were hit with a campaign finance complaint from a political insider. The complaint alleges that money spent on getting a referendum printed needs to be documented through a campaign finance committee. The City Clerk deemed otherwise.

The original complaint was filed on October 20, 2025 by Kip Kolkmeier, former Chair of Lakewood Planning Commission and a vocal supporter of the zoning overhaul. He said that money spent on things like the extremely popular yard signs should be documented for transparency. He gathered pictures of many yard signs as evidence of improper behavior. He did not document that signs were meant to influence City Council votes before the referendum. Kolkmeier no longer lives in Lakewood.

The City Clerk filed the required response on October 23. The determination reads (in part and emphasis added):

“The Clerk further notes that Petitioners previously reached out to his office desiring to register as an issue committee prior to circulating their referendum petitions for signature.