🗳️ Let the primaries begin!

June 6, 2022

As you read this newsletter, clerks across the state are dropping ballots into mailboxes to be delivered to registered voters for Colorado’s primary elections. So what do you need to know as our primary races really take off?

Some general tips:
👉 Today is your LAST DAY to change your party affiliation if you were planning to do so.

👉 You can track your ballot through BallotTrax to stay on top of your ballot’s whereabouts — when it’s on its way to you, when it’s been received by officials, and when it’s been accepted for counting.

👉 Find your nearest ballot drop box or in-person voting center with this interactive map from Denver.gov.

Meet the candidates:
🇺🇸 If you like getting in the weeds, you can read the full unabridged, unfiltered list of primary candidates.

🇺🇸 If you’re like me and find the “official” primary info too much to dig through, there are lots of great resources for getting a sense of who’s who and which races are especially contentious. I found 303 Magazine’s breakdown of the candidates the most useful. The Colorado Sun also offers this list of top primaries to watch.

🇺🇸 Here’s a preview of the Democratic ballot and the Republican ballot.

What happens next:
🗳️ Cast your vote! 24-hour ballot drop-off boxes open today across the city.

🗳️ If you are planning on mailing back your ballot, the last day to do so is June 20. (After this date, you’ll need to drop your ballot off or vote in person.)

🗳️ On June 20, in-person vote centers will open across the city. (Although, the Webb Municipal Building vote center will open on June 13.)

🗳️ June 28 is ELECTION DAY! Aka, your voting deadline. All ballots must be turned in by 7 p.m. on this date. If voting in person, you must be in line at a vote center by 7 p.m.

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News You Should Know

🐝 Congratulations Vikram Raju! The 12-year-old 7th grader from Aurora took second place at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. last week. Raju advanced through 18 rounds of spelling and made it to the 90-second lightning round tiebreaker, earning the second place prize of $25,000 👏 [CPR]

🕰️ Colorado is ready for year-round Daylight Saving: Gov. Jared Polis signed a trigger law into place last week. BUT in order for anything to take effect, we still need the federal government to give us the OK, and at least four of our fellow Mountain Time Zone neighbors to join the cause. [Denver Post]

🪦 Loretto Heights nuns’ graves to be relocated: Because of the ongoing redevelopment happening at the historic Loretto Heights Catholic school campus in southwest Denver, the Sisters of Loretto have decided to close the campus cemetery. The bodies of the 62 nuns buried there will be exhumed and relocated. [Denver Post]

🚫 Bye-bye forever chemicals: On Friday, Gov. Polis officially signed House Bill 1345 into law, banning the sale or distribution of highly toxic PFAS chemicals (aka, “forever chemicals”) in certain household products. [Conservation Colorado]

👏 Meet the 11-year-old who helped make this happen: Last month, we interviewed Madhvi Chittoor, the young Arvada climate champion who inspired this bill.

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Picture Your Favorite Denver Small Business

How did your favorite Denver small business get started? Did the owner get a loan? Who mentored the founder? Now imagine that this business never launched because the owner was denied access to resources and capital. Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute knows how important small businesses are to Denver, and they work to ensure entrepreneurs have access to the support they need, regardless of background or life experiences. Visit rmmfi.org to get involved as an entrepreneur, volunteer, or supporter.

Yes In My Backyard: Ideas For Tackling Denver’s Housing Crisis

“Being a YIMBY is about valuing people, valuing our community, and saying that our neighborhoods aren’t these scarce resources that we need to be afraid for and keep people out of.” — Adam Estroff

As we look toward the upcoming election, we’re asking Denverites for their Big Ideas to help steer this conversation. So we want to know: What can the Mile High do to make this place better for everyone? Today on the show, Host Bree Davies talks with fellow housing wonk Adam Estroff, member of YIMBY Denver and possible future politico.

Take me to the pod!

Be A Better Denverite

📺 Keep old electronics out of the landfill: Retrievr, a new Denver-based electronics recycling service, will come by appointment right to your doorstep to pick up things like obsolete flatscreens, ancient video game consoles, and retired computer monitors for proper recycling.

🆓 Bonus: For the next few weeks, Retrievr’s pickup fees are being waived thanks to subsidies from big tech companies trying to do their part.

🏳️‍🌈 Get the city ready for Pride: It’s Pride Month, and Denver’s gearing up for the in-person return of Denver PrideFest for the first time in two years. Volunteer to help with the event, and explore other ways to support The Center on Colfax this June and all year round.

☕ Give what you can to SAME Café: Denver’s pay-what-you-can restaurant is hosting its annual fundraiser dinner this Thursday with delicious local food and beverages. Tickets are a suggested $75 donation or give-what-you-can in money or volunteer services.