Kristin Stephens announces reelection bid for Larimer County commissioner seat
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a candidate for Larimer County Clerk and Recorder.
Larimer County Commissioner Kristin Stephens has announced her bid for reelection to a second four-year term.
Stephens, a Democrat, was elected in 2020 to represent District 2, beating Republican challenger Bob McClusky, a former council member who also served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives.
She joins fellow Democratic Commissioner Jody Shadduck-McNally in seeking reelection to the three-member Board of County Commissioners. John Kefalas, the third commissioner, was reelected in 2022 to his second term. He will be eligible for reelection in 2026.
Stephens, who served for six years on Fort Collins City Council before winning the commissioner's seat, touted the board's work on strengthening oil and gas regulations, improving air quality and protecting the environment.
She has served on the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization helping increase regional transportation options, including funding transit, building trails and working to bring passenger rail to Northern Colorado.
"Our I-25 project has been about doing things in new and original ways from creating bus and carpool lanes, to expanding technology and providing more safety features," she said in her reelection announcement.
Gov. Jared Polis recently appointed Stephens to the state's Middle Income Housing Authority, created in 2022 for the purpose of promoting affordable rental housing projects for middle-income workforce housing.
“Our residents consistently ask us to create more housing options across the county. We have responded locally by pledging resources to build and preserve housing, address homelessness, including youth homelessness, and prevent evictions," Stephens said in her announcement.
“Larimer County is a special place, and I want to continue serving our hard-working residents and preserving our precious natural resources," she said. "We still have important work to do to build equity in our county and to make sure that all residents have affordable housing and childcare. I am committed to building a Larimer County that works for all, where everyone can succeed.”
Colorado will have three elections this year: a presidential primary, statewide primary and general election in November. Windsor, Wellington and Timnath residents will have municipal elections April 2.
Who else is running in Larimer County
In addition to county commissioner seats, Larimer County residents will elect a district attorney and county clerk.
Two candidates have announced plans to run for district attorney in the 8th Judicial District, which represents Larimer and Jackson counties.
Current District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin is running for reelection and faces challenger Dawn Downs, a former chief deputy district attorney for the district attorney’s office and current attorney for the city of Fort Collins.
Both candidates have prior experience working as prosecutors in the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
In 2020, McLaughlin beat out his Republican challenger by almost 14% of the vote to become the district’s first Democratic district attorney in more than 80 years. Downs is the first woman and first unaffiliated candidate to ever run for 8th Judicial District Attorney, according to her campaign.
Larimer County Clerk & Recorder Tina Harris, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated when Angela Myers retired in May, will have to run to fill the remainder of Myer's 2022-2026 term. Harris has not made any announcement about her plans.
Wyatt Schwendeman-Curtis, a Wellington Democrat, has announced he will run for the seat.
Schwendeman-Curtis, a demand planner for Noosa Yoghurt in Bellvue, forecasts for the compnay to ensure retail customers received their products.
He ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Wellington in 2022 but remains on the town's utility board working with residents to get a new wastewater treatment plant to help lower the water bills of Wellington's resident.
Schwendeman-Curtis said he plans to focus on election transparency, efficiencies in the clerk and recorder's licensing and records process and ensuring accessibility for the county's rural communities.
For a list of who is running to represent Larimer County, including Fort Collins, Windsor and Loveland, at the state capitol, visit Coloradoan.com.
When are the elections in Colorado in 2024?
Tuesday, March 5: Presidential preference primary.
Tuesday, June 25: Statewide primary election to decide political parties' nominees for statewide and local offices.
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024: This is a presidential election year, and all seven of Colorado's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be decided. In the Colorado legislature, voters will decide all state representative seats and some state Senate seats. Multiple local and statewide ballot measures are also expected.
Deadlines to run for office
March 19: Last day to file major party candidate petitions. These candidates are certified to the primary ballot
April 1: Last day to file minor party candidate petitions. If more than one candidate for the minor political party has been designated by assembly or petition, these candidates are certified to the primary ballot. If only one candidate of the minor political party has been designated by assembly or petition, this candidate is certified to the General ballot.
April 19: Last day a write-in candidate may file an affidavit of Iintent for the June 25 Primary Election.
July 11: Last day to file unaffiliated candidate petitions. These candidates are certified to the general ballot.
July 18: Last day for a write-in candidate to file an Affidavit of Intent for the 2024 General Election.
How do I register to vote?
First, while you can register to vote at age 16 in Colorado, you can't vote until you are 18. Also, you must:
Be a U.S. citizen.
Be a Colorado resident for at least 22 days before the election.
Not be serving a sentence of confinement or detention for a felony conviction. (Those on probation or parole are eligible to vote.)
To register online, go to govotecolorado.gov and click on "Yes, register online" under the Register to Vote header.
Or on the same website, you can download a form to fill out and send to your county clerk's office.
You can also register to vote anytime of the year when you obtain your Colorado driver's license at a DMV.
Coloradoan reporters Sady Swanson and Rebecca Powell contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Stephens announces reelection bid for Larimer County commissioner seat
