STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903
75cI
VOLUME 119
Issue 46
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 17, 2022
Voters lean toward yes to 27J tax increase
CASTING HER BALLOT
Would be first mill levy override since 2000 BY SCOTT TAYLOR STAYLOR@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Voters appear to be supporting a property tax increase for Adams County 27J School District at the polls. Voters are being asked to approve an increase of eight mills to provide for school safety, retention of teachers. The district includes Brighton, Thornton and Commerce City. As of 1:30 p.m. Nov. 9, the district received 19,073 yes votes compared to 14,923 no votes.
Bonnie Azevedo puts her paper ballot in the sealed ballot bag at the Nov. at the Adams County Building in Brighton.
BY JESSE PAUL AND SANDRA FISH THE COLORADO SUN
Democrat Yadira Caraveo will be the first representative in Washington from Colorado’s new 8th Congressional District after she beat Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer in a very close race.
BELEN WARD
Caraveo, who works as a pediatrician, will be the first Latina to represent Colorado in Congress. The 8th District’s population is nearly 39% Latino. Caraveo, a state representative, was leading Kirkmeyer, a state senator, by less than 1 percentage point and fewer than 500 votes when Kirkmeyer conceded Wednesday night at about 6 p.m.”While this is not the outcome we hoped for, I am proud of our team and our campaign,” Kirkmeyer
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
LOCAL VOICES OBITUARIES CALENDAR CLASSIFIEDS LEGALS
SEE 8TH DISTRICT, P13
BY MARK HARDEN ROCKY MOUNTAIN PBS
Coloradans gave themselves a tax break in the Nov. 8 election, while also blocking a proposal to let liquor-store operators add more locations. Voters also agreed to raise taxes on high-income Coloradans to support free school meals, refused to relax rules for charity bingo games and raffles, and expanded property tax exemptions for the surviving spouses of fallen military service members. By nearly a 2-1 margin, Colorado voters approved Proposition 121, reducing
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SEE OVERRIDE, P3
Coloradans vote to cut income taxes, limit liquor chains
Caraveo wins close race in Colorado’s new 8th District Thornton pediatrician first Latina to represent Colorado in Congress
The district made a strong push to convince voters to approve the tax increase. In Commerce City, the city council voted to lower the municipal tax rate to support the school district. Voters have not approved a mill levy override for the school district since 2000. The tax increase is expected to cost is less than $1 a day on a house with an assessed value of $500,000. If voters turn down the override, the district said it would have cut middle and high school sports programs, though no specifics are available. Extracurricular programs across the district would also be cut, as would school bus
the state income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.4%. The measure is projected to reduce state tax revenue by $412.6 million, a cut of about 2.4% to the state’s general fund, while saving the average Colorado taxpayer $119 in fiscal-year 2023-24. And nearly two-thirds of voters opposed Proposition 124, which would have let retail liquor chains grow from a limit of three stores statewide now to a maximum of eight, and then to 13 in 2027, 20 in 2032 and an unlimited number in 2037. Under existing law, liquor SEE VOTE, P4
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