From left: Marcia Kosar opens a box of ballots as Robin Allegra places them in trays before heading to the sorting and signature capture machine at the Ballot Processing Center at the Clerk and Recorders Office in Boulder on Nov. 6. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
Voters in one specific area or another of Longmont did not cause the city’s three ballot issues to go down in flames on Election Day, but rather residents citywide did.
While Longmont City Council members urged citizens to vote “yes” in favor of raising their taxes to fund a new branch library, an arts and entertainment center and additional recreational facilities, the vast majority of their constituents responded with a resounding no on Nov. 7.
Had Ballot Issue 3E passed, it would have led to the construction of a new recreation center at Dry Creek Community Park in southwest Longmont, among other amenities.
That, though, won’t be happening as more than 22,000 residents voted against Ballot Issue 3E whereas fewer than 10,500 people voted for it.
Even in Ward 2, which includes the southwest region of the city near where the new recreational facility would have been built, residents shot down Ballot Issue 3E with more than 6,400 voting against it and fewer than 4,400 voting for it.
Scott Conlin, who is an organizer with Let’s Get Physical Longmont, which supported Ballot Issue 3E, said in an email that the group was “surprised and disappointed” by the low voter turnout.
Despite Longmont having roughly 100,000 residents, just over 33,000 voted either for or against Ballot Issue 3E.
“Property tax increase concerns and those who are generally against paying for infrastructure that does not directly impact them were the two biggest concerns raised online,” Conlin said, citing websites such as Facebook and NextDoor. “Many cited their current financial struggles or being older and on a fixed income.”
Residents in north Longmont showed some of the strongest disdain for all three ballot issues, according to the precinct-by-precinct election results.
In Precinct 651, which touches the city’s northernmost boundary within Ward 1, only 355 residents voted in favor of 3D, funding an arts and entertainment center, whereas 789 voted against doing so.
In another one of the city’s northernmost regions, Precinct 650, just 97 residents supported increasing their taxes to pay for an arts and entertainment center compared to 364 people who did not.
Ward 1 Councilmember Tim Waters said during the Council’s Nov. 14 meeting — one week after the election — that he had read numerous people write something to the effect of, why isn’t the City Council “listening to the public?”
“To think that (the City Council) didn’t listen to the public is simply misinformation. It’s not true,” Waters said during the Nov. 14 council meeting. “The only reason those got on the ballot is that we listened to the public and we had members of the public come not just to present but lobby this council to put these on the ballot.”
It remains to be seen what, if anything, the city will do to improve public amenities such as the Longmont Public Library, which was built to accommodate a population of up to 68,000 people — nearly 32,000 less than Longmont’s population today — according to a previous feasibility study.
Citywide, nearly 22,000 residents voted against Ballot Issue 3C, which would have led to the construction of a new branch library. Fewer than than 11,500 residents voted in support of Ballot Issue 3C.
“Obviously, the public was not in a … mood to be taxed,” Councilmember Marcia Martin said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “Bigger … projects we’re going to have to get a lot more creative about, but I hope we do.”
VOTE TOTALS
3C (LIBRARY)
Ward 1
For: 3,172
Against: 7,300
Ward 2
For: 4,358
Against: 6,403
Ward 3
For: 3,946
Against: 8,087
3D (ARTS CENTER)
Ward 1
For: 3,152
Against: 7,326
Ward 2
For: 4,137
Against: 6,614
Ward 3
For: 3,694
Against: 8,338
3E (REC CENTER)
Ward 1
For: 2,753
Against: 7,707
Ward 2
For: 4,325
Against: 6,432
Ward 3
For: 3,393
Against: 8,636
