Colorado State Senator Janice Marchman (D-Loveland), who represents Estes Valley in Senate District 15, has come out against two Estes Park ballot initiatives, 300 and 301, today in a voter guide issued to her constituents.
If passed, Question 300 would require owners of a property to receive approval from two-thirds of other property owners within 500 feet of their property for a rezoning request.
Question 301, a repeal of a workforce housing density bonus, would repeal section 11.4 of the building code and remove a housing tool in place to support the development of workforce housing.
Other positions
Marchman supports the two state questions, Proposition LL and MM, which deal with funding for school lunches.
Proposition LL is a TABOR retention matter that would allow the state to retain already collected money without collecting new taxes.
Proposition MM would raise state income taxes for filers earning over $300,000 to fund universal meals, local food, and cafeteria wages providing about $95 million per year statewide. Her voter guide indicates that this would increase taxes on approximately 3,500 people in SD15.
She supports two sales tax increase questions on the ballot in Larimer County, Issue 1A and 1B.
Issue 1A is a transportation sales and use tax that would add a 0.15 percent county tax for 15 years to fund roads, bridges, intersections, and safety for people who walk and bike. Food and prescription sales are exempt.
Additionally, she supports 1B, an early childhood and child care sales and use tax that would add a .25 percent county sales tax for 20 years and provide $28.7 million annually aimed at funding for child care wages, lowering family costs, and providing funding for facility needs. This measure, if passed, would require an annual audit of the funds.
Marchman’s voter guide also takes positions to support Issues 1A and 1B in Boulder County, both of which are 0.15 sales tax increases, the first dealing with open spaces and the second with mental health care.
In the Thompson School District R-2J, Marchman supports passage of 5A, a $99 million bond authorization and she endorsed Dmitri Atrash, Alexandra Lessem, Mike Scholl for the school board.
She has also endorsed Poudre School District R-1Board candidates Andrew Spain, Coronda Ziegler, and Karla Baise; Boulder Valley School District RE-2 Board candidates Nicole Rajpal, Deann Bucher, and Ana Temu-Otting; and St. Vrain Valley School District RE-1J Board candidate Hadley Solomon, Meosha Babbs.
In Wellington, Marchman supports Ballot Issue 6D, a local fire district sales tax that would add a 0.5 percent sales tax on qualifying goods sold within the Wellington Fire District. The money would create a dedicated source of funding for a long-term capital plan for fire and emergency equipment and facilities.
In Fort Collins, Marchman supports Issue 2A, a community capital improvement program that would extend the current 0.25 percent city sales and use tax from 2025 to 2035. The funding would be used for parks, roads, and public facilities.
She also supports Issue 302, which would extend the 0.25 percent sales and use tax to continue funding for open space, natural areas, and wildlife habitats and add flexibility after 2061 for conservation and maintenance.
Additionally, Marchman has endorsed the following individuals who are running for municipal office in the District 15:
In Loveland, she has endorsed Troy Daniels for mayor, Craig Martinbeault in Ward 1, Sarah Rothberg in Ward 2, Caitlin Wyrick in Ward 3, and Jon Mallo in Ward 4.
In Fort Collins, Marchman has endorsed Tricia Canonico for mayor and in Longmont, she has endorsed Susie Hidalgo-Fahring.
Marchman has a degree in industrial and systems engineering from Georgia Tech and has worked both as a systems engineer and a middle school math teacher. She was elected to the Colorado Senate in 2022 to represent Boulder County and Larimer County in the Colorado State House. She is the vice chair of the Education, Finance, and Join Technologies Committees, and she also serves on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
Ouch!!!! It does not speak well of fact-checking at the Valley Voice to mis-spell our State Senator’s name in a headline. A little more care in getting the facts correct would do a lot for the credibility of this publication.
Thank you for pointing out the spelling error.
VOTE YES on 300 & 301…Because Senator Marchman does not directly represent Estes Park. She lives in Loveland, does not own property here, and is not part of this community — yet she continues to involve herself in decisions that will permanently change our town. Estes Park deserves local voices guiding its future, not outside influence from those who neither live here, own property, nor understand the daily realities of our residents.
Our community includes not only full-time residents but also part-time homeowners who care deeply about Estes Park, invest in its future, and contribute to its character. These individuals understand the balance between preservation and progress because they have a real stake in this place.
Her support for so-called “workforce housing” is misplaced. These projects are not truly affordable and risk disrupting the character of our neighborhoods while failing to meet the needs of the people who actually live and work here. It is deeply concerning that a senator who supports taxes to preserve open spaces and wildlife habitats elsewhere also backs policies that would erode those very qualities within Estes Park.
Estes Park’s future should be guided by those who live here — full-time or part-time — and who genuinely care for this community.
VOTE YES on 300 and 301