Term Limits#
At the general election on November 8, 1994, Colorado voters approved an amendment to the Colorado Constitution establishing term limits for municipal elected officials. Referred to as Amendment 17, the citizen-initiated constitutional amendment placed statewide term limits on every local elected official in Colorado. The provisions of Amendment 17 relating to local officials are codified in Section 11 of Article XVIII of the Constitution.
In Fort Collins, Councilmembers are elected for four-year terms and are limited to two terms. The Mayor is elected for a two-year term and is limited to three terms. The following table outlines the term history and eligibility of the current Mayor and Councilmembers:
Jeni Arndt
Mayor
Elected to first term: April 6, 2021
Elected to second term: November 7, 2023
Eligible to seek third (and last) term: November 4, 2025
Susan Gutowsky
District 1 Councilmember
Appointed January 15, 2019 to fill a vacancy
Elected to first term: April 2, 2019 (until April 2021)
Elected to second term: April 6, 2021
Julie Pignataro
District 2 Councilmember
Elected to first term: April 2, 2019
Elected to second term: November 7, 2023
Tricia Canonico
District 3 Councilmember
Elected to first term: April 6, 2021
Eligible to seek second (and last) term: November 4, 2025
Melanie Potyondy
District 4 Councilmember
Elected to first term: November 7, 2023
Kelly Ohlson
District 5 Councilmember
Elected to first term: April 6, 2021
Eligible to seek second (and last) term: November 4, 2025
Emily Francis
District 6 Councilmember
Elected to first term: April 2, 2019
Elected to second term: November 7, 2023
Excerpt from Article XVIII of the Colorado Constitution#
Section 11. Elected government officials - limitation on terms. (1) In order to broaden the opportunities for public service and to assure that elected officials of governments are responsive to the citizens of those governments, no nonjudicial elected official of any county, city and county, city, town, school district, service authority, or any other political subdivision of the State of Colorado, no member of the state board of education, and no elected member of the governing board of a state institution of higher education shall serve more than two consecutive terms in office, except that with respect to terms of office which are two years or shorter in duration, no such elected official shall serve more than three consecutive terms in office. This limitation on the number of terms shall apply to terms of office beginning on or after January 1, 1995. For purposes of this Section 11, terms are considered consecutive unless they are at least four years apart.
(2) The voters of any such political subdivision may lengthen, shorten or eliminate the limitations on terms of office imposed by this Section 11. The voters of the state may lengthen, shorten, or eliminate the limitations on terms of office for the state board of education or the governing board of a state institution of higher education imposed by this Section 11.
(3) The provisions of this Section 11 shall apply to every home rule county, home rule city and county, home rule city and home rule town, notwithstanding any provision of Article XX, or Sections 16 and 17 of Article XIV, of the Colorado Constitution.