Larimer county commissioner - kristin stephens

Larimer County Commissioner - Kristin Stephens

Party: Democrat | District: 2

2026-05-15

Reelection bid: Stephens announced she is running for reelection to her District 2 seat in 2026.
HOME Act signing: Attended the Governor's signing of the HOME Act and the Workforce Housing & Housing Tax Credit Bill, both aimed at helping local governments and community partners build more affordable and workforce housing.
Ranch Fairgrounds progress: Outlined progress on The Ranch Master Plan (Larimer County Fairgrounds, Loveland) — Phases One and Two are complete, including the relocated Arena Circle, expanded Larimer County Road 5, the Origin Arena, the expanded Equine Center, and approximately 1,000 new parking spaces.

Sources:
- Kristin Stephens announces reelection bid for Larimer County commissioner seat
- Progress at The Ranch moves forward — Estes Valley Voice

2026-05-30

Republican challenger confirmed: Erick Selgren (R) has filed to challenge Stephens in the November 2026 general election. Stephens faces no Democratic primary opponent and is expected to advance directly to the general. The race is the only competitive major-party county commissioner contest in Larimer County this cycle (D1 is effectively uncontested Democrat, D3 is not up until 2028).

Sources:
- 2026 Larimer County Commissioner Election: Candidates & Info — IndivisibleNOCO

2026-06-08

Property tax appeal deadline today: Last day for all Larimer County property owners to protest their 2026 Notices of Valuation. The BOCC has appellate jurisdiction over protested valuations; Stephens participates as a board member.
BOCC meeting tomorrow (June 9): Regular administrative matters meeting at 9 AM, 200 West Oak, Fort Collins.
Re-election race: No primary; Stephens faces Republican Erick Selgren in November 2026 general — the only contested county commissioner race this cycle.

Sources:
- Residential Property Appeals — larimer.gov
- Upcoming Commissioners' Meetings — larimer.gov

2026-08-15

Votes Aug 17 on first reading of the unincorporated-county parking ordinance, public hearing 6:00–9:00 PM. Covers abandoned/unregistered vehicles on neighborhood streets, RVs on public easements, and vehicle camping on county property and in rights of way. Civil process; fines $100/$200/$300, capped at $300. She is the only commissioner on the November ballot — Republican Erick Selgren is the challenger — so her vote here is the one that carries into a contested race.
- Hearing Room, 1st Floor, 200 W. Oak St, or Zoom registration. Agenda packet.
Aug 17 work sessions: 11 AM Behavioral Health Services 2026 Impact Fund grant recommendations; 1:30 PM The Ranch paid parking, campus-wide.
Aug 18, 9 AM — Administrative Matters, public comment by email, phone, or in person; phone requires registering by 4:30 PM Aug 17.
See Larimer County Commissioner - John Kefalas for the full county calendar and the Horsetooth/Carter Lake project completion.

Sources:
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov
- Larimer County commissioners consider camping ban, abandoned car rules — Coloradoan via AOL

2026-08-17

Parking ordinance first reading tonight, 6:00–9:00 PM, 200 W. Oak St or Zoom. She is the only commissioner on the November ballot, against Republican Erick Selgren.
8:00 AM today — virtual Transportation Commission meeting.
Thu Aug 20, 2:00 PM — may participate in the U.S. 287 Coalition meeting.

Sources:
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-08-18

Aug 20, 2:00 PM — may attend the virtual U.S. 287 Coalition meeting. Her second transportation body this week after Monday's Transportation Commission.
No campaign news. Nothing else scheduled through Aug 31.

Sources:
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-08-21

Data center moratorium expires Tuesday, Aug 25 with no regulations adopted and no code-amendment hearing scheduled. Stephens is the only sitting commissioner on the November ballot, which makes her vote on whatever replaces the moratorium the one with electoral consequences. 94% of survey respondents opposed data centers in the county. Full item and comment channels: Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.
Parking ordinance: no outcome published from the Aug 17 first reading; second reading unscheduled.

Sources:
- Temporary Moratorium on Data Center Facilities — Larimer County

2026-08-22

The moratorium deadline is in dispute. Colorado Newsline reported Aug 10 that Larimer extended the data center moratorium to February; KFKA reported June 30 that commissioners supported a six-month extension to be voted July 13. County pages still show Aug 25, 2026 and carry no record of that vote. If the extension is real, Stephens gets roughly six more months before she has to cast the vote that follows her onto the November ballot — she is the only sitting commissioner running. Detail in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.
LifeQuest Campus Rezone (25-ZONE3797) rescheduled from Aug 24 to Mon Sept 28, now falling about five weeks before the election.
No individual Stephens news this window. Republican challenger Erick Selgren, no new activity surfaced.

Sources:
- Local governments in Colorado enact moratoriums on data center development — Colorado Newsline (Aug 10)
- Upcoming Planning Meetings and Agendas — Larimer County

2026-08-23

Moratorium extension confirmed: July 13 vote, runs through Feb 25, 2027. The data center vote lands well after the November election, not before it. Stephens is the only sitting commissioner on the ballot. Sourcing in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.
LifeQuest rezone: planning says Sept 28, the commissioners' schedule still says Mon Aug 24. Unresolved on the county's own site.
No individual Stephens news this window. Nothing new from Erick Selgren.

Sources:
- Colorado Data Center Policy — Server Country
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-08-24

Data Center Framework Draft Now Public

The county's consultant report — Full Draft v6, May 12, 2026 — became readable this run via Fort Collins' Aug 25 work session packet. It proposes MW thresholds (5 / 20–50 / 50+), a five-tier regulatory menu, and identifies the county's 50% Business Personal Property Tax rebate as its primary lever over behavior it can't regulate directly. Its "Key Thresholds" section is still an empty placeholder.

Details in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally. Moratorium confirmed through Feb 25, 2027.

No individual news for Stephens.

Sources:
- Data Center Planning Framework draft, in the Aug 25 Fort Collins work session packet (PDF)

2026-08-27

Voted to put a 0.3% sales tax on the November ballot

At the Aug 25 Administrative Matters session the BOCC referred a 0.3% county sales and use tax to the Nov 3, 2026 ballot — ~$30M/yr for wildfire mitigation, disaster preparedness, watershed protection, and road and bridge safety, effective Jan 1, 2027. Groceries, gasoline, diapers, prescription drugs, and feminine hygiene products are exempt.

Stephens on the case for it: "We try to use our budget wisely and run a very lean operation, yet we are facing mounting costs."

Full details in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.

This lands on the same ballot as Stephens' own reelection race against Erick Selgren (R) — the only contested county commissioner seat this cycle. A tax measure and her name will be in front of the same voters.

Sources:
- Sales tax issue heads for Larimer ballot — BizWest (Aug 26)
- Infrastructure, Wildfire Mitigation Tax Proposed In Larimer County — 1310 KFKA (Aug 26)

2026-08-29

County posts its first official word on the tax (Aug 28)

Larimer County published a spotlight Aug 28 naming the measure the Community Resilience and Needs Sales Tax and grouping it into three categories: wildfire and natural hazard resilience, transportation and infrastructure safety, and community resilience and public services. It adds a chair quote and confirms the exemptions and the annual independent audit.

It still does not disclose how Stephens voted, the ballot issue number, or whether the tax sunsets — which matters more here than for the other two, since Stephens is the only commissioner whose name shares this ballot. Full detail and the TABOR comment mechanism in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.

The week per the commissioners' schedule is transportation-heavy: state and regional transportation planning meetings Thursday and Friday.

Sources:
- Larimer County Commissioners Place Community Resilience and Needs Sales Tax Measure on November Ballot — larimer.gov (Aug 28)
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-08-30

The Sales Tax She's Running Alongside

Stephens is the only sitting commissioner on the Nov 3 ballot — seeking reelection in District 2 against Republican Erick Selgren — while the board's 0.3% Community Resilience and Needs Sales Tax is on the same ballot. Her position on the referral is still not public: no vote count has been published five days after the Aug 25 referral, by the county or by BizWest.

New from BizWest's Aug 26 account: the tax exempts groceries for domestic home consumption, gasoline, diapers, prescription drugs, and feminine hygiene products; adds watershed protection to the funded purposes; and subjects revenues to annual independent financial audits. No sunset is mentioned in either source. Full detail in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.

Also county-wide this window: $3 million in Impact Fund behavioral health grants to 43 organizations (Aug 29), funded by the 2018 voter-approved behavioral health tax and approved by the Board of County Commissioners.

Schedule

Beyond the Sept 1, 9:00 AM Administrative Matters: work sessions Mon Aug 31 (Community Justice Alternatives 10:00 AM; Special Event Land Use Code Update 1:30 PM) and Wed Sept 2 (Caring for Our Spaces performance measures 1:30 PM; Xcel Targeted Underground Project 4:00 PM). No formal BOCC meetings Sept 3–5.

No individual news for Stephens.

Sources:
- Sales tax issue heads for Larimer ballot — BizWest (Aug 26, 2026)
- Larimer awards $3M in grants to 43 organizations — BizWest (Aug 29, 2026)
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov

2026-08-31

The Tax and Her Own Race Share a Ballot, and Neither Has Language Yet

Stephens is the only sitting commissioner on the Nov 3 ballot — District 2, against Republican Erick Selgren — and that ballot also carries the 0.3% sales tax the board referred Aug 25. Six days on, the county has published no ballot language, no issue number, no sunset, and no vote count, so her recorded position on the measure she is running alongside still is not public.

Scaling from the 2025 transportation measure's certified text (0.15%, $17.4M/year, 15-year term, same exemption list), the new measure at double the rate plausibly raises ~$35M a year — a derived estimate, not a published figure. That 2025 text also printed its term inside the ballot question itself, which is where a 2026 sunset would appear if there is one.

Elections: elections@larimer.gov · (970) 498-7820
Stephens: kstephens@larimer.org · commissioners (970) 498-7010

No individual campaign news found this run.

Sources:
- Larimer County Ballot Issue 1A (2025 transportation tax) ballot language — BallotReady
- Sales tax issue heads for Larimer ballot — BizWest (Aug 26, 2026)

2026-09-01

Where to Find Her in Person This Week

Sat Sept 5, 10:00–11:00 AM — Storytime at the Larimer County Farmers' Market, 200 W. Oak Street, Fort Collins. Listed as "will host," so it's a committed appearance rather than a maybe — and it's the only scheduled public appearance by the District 2 commissioner in the next two weeks. She is the one commissioner on your November ballot.

Also on her calendar: North Interstate-25 Coalition (Sept 2, 6:30 PM, virtual), Statewide Transportation Advisory Committee and the NACo Transportation Policy Steering Committee (Sept 3, virtual), GoNoCo 34 TMO Board and the North Front Range MPO Planning Council (Sept 3, 4:30 and 6:00 PM, Milliken Meeting House, 1201 Broad St., or Teams), and the Regional Air Quality Council (Sept 4, Denver or Zoom). The MPO Planning Council is a hybrid public body and the regional venue where transportation money actually gets programmed.

Eight days after the referral there is still no recorded vote on the 0.3% sales tax she is running alongside. Re-checked larimer.gov/clerk/elections this run: no November 2026 content, no ballot issue number.

Stephens: kstephens@larimer.org · (970) 498-7010

Sources:
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov
- Elections — Larimer County Clerk and Recorder

2026-09-02

She's On the Record for 1A After All

Previously logged as having "no recorded position" on the sales tax she voted to refer. BizWest's Aug 26 story quotes her directly making the cost argument:

"We face mounting costs, including a 100% increase in transportation costs over the last decade."

That places her with Shadduck-McNally and Sheriff John Feyen — who put a single-engine air tanker at $3,300 to start the engine and $2,000 an hour to fly — as the public voices for the measure. Stephens is the only sitting commissioner who is also on the November ballot.

The full ballot text is now public and carries no sunset and a Justice Center line item; see Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally for the verbatim question and analysis.

A Full Transportation Week

Her Sept 2–3 is almost entirely regional transportation, where the money 1A would raise for roads and bridges actually gets programmed:

Wed Sept 2, 6:30–8:00 PM — North Interstate-25 Coalition.
Thu Sept 3, 8:30 AM–1:00 PM — transportation meetings.
Thu Sept 3, 1:00–4:00 PM — Upper Front Range Transportation Planning Region.
Thu Sept 3, 4:30–5:30 PM and 6:00–8:00 PM — GoNoCo 34 TMO and North Front Range MPO Planning Council, Milliken Meeting House, 1201 Broad St., or Teams.
Sat Sept 5, 10:00 AM — storytime, Larimer County Farmers' Market, 200 W. Oak St. Her only unstructured public appearance in the next two weeks.

Sources:
- Sales tax issue heads for Larimer ballot — BizWest (Aug 26, 2026)
- Commissioners' Schedule — larimer.gov
- 2026 Elections — Larimer County Clerk and Recorder

2026-09-05

Two board meetings next week: Administrative Matters Tue Sept 8, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM (phone comment registration by 4:30 PM Mon Sept 7), and the joint Commissioners / Planning Commission Work Session Wed Sept 9, 6:00–10:00 PM, hybrid — data center regulations, manufactured housing preservation, legislative rezoning, strategic growth and water supply. Detail in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.
Her race: Stephens is seeking reelection in District 2 against Republican Erick Selgren. Mail ballots go out starting Oct 2; election Nov 3.
1A roll call still unpublished — thirteen days after the Aug 25 referral, no individual vote has been posted for any commissioner.

Sources:
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County
- 2026 Elections — Larimer County Clerk
- Temporary Moratorium on Data Center Facilities — Larimer County

2026-09-12

Fire restrictions extended 3-0 to Nov 3, downgraded to Stage 1 (Sept 8). Detail in Larimer County Commissioner - John Kefalas.
1A roll call still unpublished, day 18. TABOR pro/con statements due noon Fri Sept 18 — see Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.
Calendar:
- Mon Sept 14 — Commissioners' 2027 budget retreat.
- Tue Sept 15, 6:30–8:30 PM — Wellington Town Board work session, North Front Range MPO presentation, Leeper Center, 3800 Wilson Ave.
- Wed Sept 16 — Colorado Communities for Climate Action legislative committee (virtual).
Her race: District 2 vs. R Erick Selgren. Mail ballots from Oct 2.

Sources:
- Larimer County extends fire restrictions (Sept 10)
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-09-16

Tue Sept 15, 6:30–8:30 PM — attended the Wellington Town Board work session for a North Front Range MPO presentation, Leeper Center, 3800 Wilson Ave, Wellington. Her second NFRMPO appearance logged this month.
Wed Sept 16, 12:15–1:30 PM — Colorado Communities for Climate Action legislative committee (virtual), with Shadduck-McNally. This is where CC4CA's 2027 state legislative agenda gets set.
Mon Sept 14 — commissioners' retreat on the 2027 county budget, 8:30 AM–12:30 PM.
Nothing new published under her name; no county spotlight quotes her this window.

Sources:
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-09-27

Her week is almost entirely transportation, which is notable given she's the commissioner on the ballot in November: CCI Road and Bridge Working Group (Mon Sept 28), Statewide Transportation Advisory Committee 8:30 AM–noon and NACo Transportation Policy Steering Committee (both Thu Oct 1), U.S. 34 Coalition (Oct 1, 4:30 PM), and the North Front Range MPO Transportation Planning Council, Thu Oct 1, 6–8 PM, 222 Laporte Ave (hybrid, in person or Microsoft Teams) — that last one is a public meeting in Fort Collins and the body that programs regional transportation money.
Also: Ranch tour with Shadduck-McNally (Sept 28, 11:30 AM, 5280 Arena Circle, Loveland), NACo Midsize County Caucus (Sept 30), Regional Air Quality Council Board, Fri Oct 2, 8:30 AM–3 PM, Longmont Museum, and Northern Colorado Equality Pride (Oct 3).
Re-election context: she faces Republican Erick Selgren on the Nov 3 ballot, and Ballot Issue 1A — which she voted to refer — is on the same ballot. No campaign events appear on her county schedule, as expected; county time and campaign time are kept separate.
Nothing new published under her name this window.

Sources:
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County
- 2026 Elections — Larimer County Clerk

2026-09-30

Correction to the Sept 27 entry: she is not on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot. She beat Erick Selgren in Nov 2024 (56.9–43.1); her term runs to Jan 2029. The only commissioner race this year is District 1 (Kefalas's open seat).
National Assessor Day proclamation (Sept 29 Administrative Matters). Stephens to Assessor Bob Overbeck: "The transparency you show and the ability for people to find things online...is really important." Assessor's office: 970-498-7050, LCassessor@co.larimer.co.us; senior, disabled veteran and Gold Star spouse property tax exemptions are handled there.
Nothing else from the Sept 29 session has been published.

Sources:
- Important services from the Assessor (spotlight, Sept 29)
- 2026 General Election sample ballot (PDF)

2026-10-02

Moved to continue the LifeQuest rezone to Mon Nov 16, 3 PM (Sept 28, passed 3-0). The applicant presented a revised plan at the hearing, without the amphitheater and campus housing and with lodging moved out of the Green Ridge Glade Reservoir watershed. Public comment was deferred to Nov 16. She also made the August continuance. Comment: 25-zone3797@publicinput.com.
Fri Oct 2: Regional Air Quality Council board, Longmont.

Sources:
- Board defers public comment and votes to continue LifeQuest hearing to Nov. 16 — Citizen Portal
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County

2026-10-03

Parking ordinance 2nd reading: Mon Oct 5, 6:00 PM, public hearing, decision possible. 200 W. Oak or Zoom. Narrowed since Aug 17: camping provisions are out, and it now covers only abandoned or inoperable vehicles (72 hours in one spot; vehicles within 700 ft of the owner's address are exempt). Civil fines are $10, $20 and $30. Comment: publicaffairs@larimer.org. Details are in Larimer County Commissioner - Jody Shadduck McNally.
Mon Oct 5, 7 AM: Colorado Counties, Inc. board (virtual).

Sources:
- 2026 Larimer County Parking Ordinance — PublicInput
- Commissioners' schedule — Larimer County