Moves Montrose's general municipal election from April to November of even-numbered years.
City of Montrose
Kim's Recommendation
YES
Vote Yes on the City of Montrose charter question moving the general municipal election to November
This year the council sent four charter amendments to the November ballot, while voters elect the council in April. I want Montrose residents to weigh the council's proposals and choose the council on the same ballot. Higher voter participation in city elections is one of the two aims the council gives for this change, and I share it. Councilors answer to the residents who elect them, and I want more of those residents choosing the council at each November election.
I recommend a yes vote on the City of Montrose charter question moving the general municipal election to November.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Ballot question
Shall Article I and III of the Charter of the City of Montrose, Colorado be amended to move the general municipal election from April of even-numbered years to November of even-numbered years?
A yes vote means
City elections would move from April to November of even-numbered years, extending current councilmembers' terms by seven months during the transition.
A no vote means
Montrose's city elections would stay in April of even-numbered years.
From April to November01
The Montrose city charter now holds general municipal elections on the first Tuesday of April in even-numbered years. A yes vote moves them to the first Tuesday of November in even-numbered years, rewriting Article III, Sections 1 and 2, and updating a cross-reference in Article I, Section 8. At each general election two council members win four-year terms and one wins a two-year term. Voters elect members from Districts 3 and 4 in 2028 and every four years after, and members from Districts 1 and 2 in 2030 and every four years after. A no vote keeps the April date.
According to Ordinance 2727, the city's original 1914 charter held general elections in November of odd-numbered years, and in 1993 Montrose voters moved them to April of even-numbered years. The council states that it wants to increase voter participation in city elections and reduce the cost of the general municipal election.
Longer Terms for Sitting Members02
The amended Section 1 says council members whose terms would have ended with the April elections of 2028 and 2030 serve until their successors take office after the November elections of those years. At the August 18 meeting, City Attorney Chris Dowsey said that if the amendment passes in November, it would extend the terms of sitting councilors by seven months.
Public Comment and Council Votes03
At the August 18 hearing, Tom Cheney, who was on the council in 1993 when it adopted Ordinance 1486 to move elections from November to April, opposed the change, citing concerns about partisanship. Cliff Faurer spoke for keeping a nonpartisan election focused on local issues, and Bob Nicholson said that adding seven months to council terms violates the charter. Monty George and John Brown supported the ordinance as a way to increase voter involvement. On September 1, seven speakers backed it and five opposed it. Councilors Dave Frank and J. David Reed cast the only votes against it at both readings.
Four Charter Questions on One Ballot04
Ordinance 2727 carries this amendment, one of four charter amendments the council sent to the November 3 ballot. The term-limits amendment in Ordinance 2728 rewrites two of the same sections, Article I, Section 8 and Article III, Section 1. Section 1 as printed in Ordinance 2728 still carries the April election dates that this amendment would change to November, and it adds a lifetime limit of eight years of elected service that, in that ballot question's words, applies "to any candidate after November 3, 2026." Neither ordinance refers to the other.
