Across the Aisle: Boulder County could expand to five commissioners. How should they be elected?
In this ongoing series, Boulder Reporting Lab columnists Brian Keegan and Bob Yates discuss local issues, exploring where they agree, where they differ and what’s at stake for Boulder.
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Boulder County voters face two related questions this November: whether to expand the Board of County Commissioners from three members to five, and how to elect an expanded board. Ballot Question 200 asks voters to decide on expansion. Ballot Question 201 asks them to choose between five commissioners elected by district and a combination of three elected by district and two elected countywide. The second question takes effect only if expansion passes.
For the latest Across the Aisle conversation, Boulder Reporting Lab columnists Brian Keegan, a CU professor, and Bob Yates, a former Boulder City Councilmember, discuss what those choices could mean for representation across the county. Yates is helping lead Big Tent Boulder County, the group behind the ballot initiative. Both support a five-member board, but they favor different approaches to electing it. Keegan favors electing three commissioners by district and two countywide; Yates favors electing all five by district.
Brian: Bob, we are back for another round, discussing the issues on the November ballot. You are leading a ballot initiative to expand the number of Boulder County commissioners from three to five. This is the first of two related ballot questions about changing how the county commissioners are elected. Can you say more about what these questions would do and why you are backing the expansion?
Bob: Thanks for asking, Brian. Many counties of our size in Colorado have already moved to five commissioners for better representation and more diversity of background, experience and political philosophy. This year, laggards Boulder and Douglas counties will have the opportunity to shift from three to five commissioners if this is the will of voters. In Boulder County, that’s on the ballot as Ballot Question 200. As you observe, in addition to deciding between three and five, voters can also decide in Ballot Question 201 how they will elect five commissioners, either with five districts or three districts and two at-large across the county. I see pros and cons to each method. Do you have a preference?
Brian: Well, first off, I support the effort to expand the number of commissioners for a few reasons. Although there are certainly diminishing returns to increasing any group’s size, I agree with you that five commissioners should mean more perspectives and expertise than the current three. Boulder’s local politics have strong incumbency effects as well as a tendency for elected officials to run for other offices. Expanding the number of commissioners could bring some fresh faces into these musical chairs.
The current three commissioners are elected by all county voters, while this ballot measure would narrow county voters’ ability to elect every commissioner under the current model. What would you say to reassure people concerned about this narrowing of their voting power from all (three of three) to most (three of five) or just some (one of five) of the commission?
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Bob: I agree with you that having five county commissioners makes sense. Boulder County has grown significantly, doubling in population over the last 50 years. With five commissioners, we’ll have better representation of the diverse people of the county, from the cities of Longmont and Boulder to the suburbs of Louisville, Lafayette and Superior, from communities like Niwot and Lyons to the farms in the east and the mountain communities in the west. In answer to your question, our current system of all at-large election of commissioners almost ensures that Boulder and Longmont will dominate, as they have historically. Cities and states across the country are moving away from at-large elections, which tend to suppress minority views.
Brian: As you said, the second ballot question of whether to divide up the representation into three districts and two at-large seats or five districts has some interesting implications. Boulder County has approximately 330,000 residents, so a five-district model would end up with around 66,000 residents each, and a three-district model would end up with around 110,000 residents each. Boulder and Longmont are conveniently already 110,000 residents each, so that seems like a straightforward split of the county into its two largest cities and everywhere else. The five-district model of 66,000-resident districts would require splitting Boulder and Longmont into separate districts and the attendant risks of gerrymandering, territoriality and other electoral shenanigans.
Only getting to vote for one commissioner under the five-district model seems like a downgrade from the three votes for commissioners I currently have. So count me in the three-plus-two camp where I will still get three votes on a five-member commission, one for my district and the two at-large seats. But I have also heard some skeptics argue that anything but the five-district model could result in overrepresentation from within our city to the detriment of other communities.
Bob: The group that placed these questions on the ballot, Big Tent Boulder County, is not taking a position on which of the two methods of electing five commissioners is best. I could imagine that voters living outside of Longmont and Boulder might prefer five separate districts, so their voices and interests can be heard. Conversely, residents of the two big towns (which collectively hold two-thirds of the county’s population) might prefer three districts plus two at large, giving them the possibility of having not only their “own” representative but also a shot at one or two of the at-large seats. Of course, an at-large commissioner could come from anywhere in the county, so there’s no guarantee that Boulder or Longmont will dominate, the way they do now.
Personally, I’m inclined to support five separate districts to ensure the greatest diversity of voices and interests on the Boulder County commission. If the voters select this, state law requires that the districts be drawn up by July 1, 2027, using some pretty strict state guidelines to avoid gerrymandering and with the input of residents from across the county. The selection of commissioners from those five districts would then be phased in during the 2028 and 2030 elections.
Brian: Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these county ballot questions, Bob. We will be back soon with a conversation about some of the other local measures on this large even-year ballot. Until then, we would love to hear from readers in the comments below.
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