Thornton Council Seats and Candidacy for Other Offices
Government structureResign to run
Amends Thornton's charter so a council member, including the mayor, gives up the seat on formally declaring candidacy for any other elected office.
City of Thornton
Kim's Recommendation
YES
Vote Yes on City of Thornton Ballot Question No. 2A
I support a rule that empties the seat of any Thornton council member or mayor who files for another elected office, and gives the remaining members no say over whether a colleague keeps it. A council member who runs for mayor, and a member or the mayor who runs for reelection, keeps the seat; the rule reaches only a run for some other elected office.
Thornton residents elect their council members and mayor to serve the city for a term. I want those officials answering to the voters who put them in office, and an official who formally seeks another office is campaigning for it during the term those voters granted. The change applies one rule to the mayor and to every council member, and each of them can still seek reelection, and a council member can still run for mayor.
I recommend a yes vote on City of Thornton Ballot Question No. 2A.
Kim Monson
Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026
Certified ballot question
Shall Section 4.5 of the Thornton City Charter be amended to require that any member of the Thornton City Council, including the Mayor, shall be deemed to have resigned and vacated the member's office upon formally declaring candidacy for any elected office other than Thornton City Council member or Mayor, including by filing a candidate affidavit, petition, or other official candidacy document required by law?
A yes vote means
A Thornton council member or the mayor would be treated as having resigned on formally declaring candidacy for any elected office other than Thornton council member or mayor, including by filing a candidate affidavit or petition.
A no vote means
Section 4.5 of the charter would stay as it is, and a council member could run for another office while keeping the seat.
A Seat Vacated on Declaring01
Question 2A adds a new subsection D to Section 4.5 of the Thornton City Charter, which governs vacancies. Under it, any person serving as a council member or as mayor is deemed to have vacated and resigned the office upon formally declaring candidacy for any elected office other than council member or mayor. The office becomes vacant immediately, without further action by the council, and the member must notify the city clerk within 10 days.
The amendment states its purpose: "to prevent conflicts between holding office on the Council and campaigning for another elected office during an active term on the Council." In a resolution supporting the question, the council says its members and the mayor "are elected by the residents of Thornton to serve the interests of the City and its residents during their terms of office."
What Counts as Declaring02
The amendment counts any of these as declaring: filing a candidate affidavit, a nominating petition, a statement of candidacy, or paperwork to create or designate a candidate committee; publicly announcing a candidacy together with a filing Colorado election law requires; or taking any other official action that federal, state, county, municipal or special district law requires to qualify as a candidate.
The rule does not apply to a run for Thornton council member or mayor.
A Divided Council03
The council passed the ordinance on first reading on August 11 by a 5-4 vote. On August 25 it passed on second reading with five in favor (Acunto, Ayala, Byrd, Kulmann and Morris) and three opposed (Alge, Martinez and Salazar), and the supporting resolution carried by the same split. State law requires the city to put any charter amendment to its voters. The amendment is approved "if a majority of all votes cast at the election are in favor of the question."
Election and Vacancy Costs04
City staff estimated the cost of a special election on the amendment this November at $65,000 to $70,000, and wrote that adding the question to the 2027 regular municipal ballot would carry no added cost. On August 11 a council member moved to put the question on the November 2, 2027 ballot instead, then withdrew the motion.
Staff also wrote that, if approved, the amendment "could result in vacancies that would be filled at a City-conducted special election." The city's 2025 special election to fill a Ward 1 vacancy cost $78,356, and staff estimated a citywide special election to fill a mayoral vacancy at around $300,000.
The September 8, 2026 Thornton City Council packet contains the draft minutes of the August 25, 2026 regular meeting, in which Council passed on second reading (5-3) an ordinance referring to voters an amendment to Charter Section 4.5 so that a councilmember or the Mayor is deemed to have resigned.
The City of Thornton's August 11, 2026 City Council packet includes item 14D, a council communication, staff presentation and first-reading ordinance referring to the November 3.
