SUperior residents, be sure to vote yes on home rule this election!
Agendas, video links of past meetings, and additional resources can be found on the home rule charter commission page.
If you have questions or public comment about Home Rule in Superior, please email homerule@superiorcolorado.gov
Home Rule and the home rule Commission
Dalton’s campaign for Home Rule Commissioner was featured in The Daily Camera and Boulder Weekly.
The Commission is comprised of nine elected members of the Superior community and they will be the ones who draft the charter for the Town of Superior. A special election in 2023 saw nine individuals elected to write a Home Rule Charter. It is now up to Superior residents come November 2024 to choose to adopt this guiding document. From municipal autonamy to government structure to taxes, home rule offers many advantages to communities reaching maturity and seeking greater independence from the state legislature.
History of Home Rule in Colorado
“Home Rule” is not a recent phenomenon in Colorado. In fact, municipal home rule was first adopted by voters way back in 1902, with additional clarification on the duties of home rule being enacted in 1912. Yet we can go back even further, prior to Colorado’s statehood, to see how home rule came to dominate municipalities throughout the Centennial State.
Denver was granted a territorial charter in 1861 and Denver, along with other towns during Colorado’s territorial period, were able to be grandfathered into the state with these territory charters. Fun fact! Georgetown remains the only municipality which still is governed by its territorial charter, dating back to 1868.
Denver’s territorial charter would be amended by the newly formed Colorado State Assembly seeing amendments added and friction increase between municipal government bodies and the state. This friction came to a boiling point in 1891 when the state had effectively taken control over Denver’s public improvement projects, public safety, and similar municipal activities. Armed conflict would break out in 1894 over Governor Davis H. Waite’s appointments to Denver’s Fire and Police Commission and local leaders knew something had to be done.
A growing movement in the Progressive Era (1896-1917) called for greater authority amongst more local leaders and governments, along with consolidation of cities and counties to reduce bureaucracy. With the support of Governor James Orman and Denver Senator John A. Rush, legislation was passed in 1901 and then sent to the voters for approval to allow for the creation of Denver as a home rule city and county. This also would allow for other cities the right to adopt local charters and become home rule municipalities themselves. The amendment to allow for home rule passed 59.75% to 25.76%.
In his inaugural address, Governor Orman lauded the new home rule amendment (Article XX) and said:
“The question of home rule for Denver has been a disturbing one ever since the enactment of the law under which the governor appoints the Denver Board of Public Works and the Fire and Police Board. It may occur that governors will be elected that have little or no knowledge of the governmental affairs of such a city as Denver (and) the responsibilities for all city employees should be cast upon the people who live in the cities. Place the responsibility where it belongs—upon the voters of the city.”
Between 1902 and 1912, numerous other cities across the state began adopting their own home rule charters. These included Colorado Springs (1909), Grand Junction (1909), and Pueblo (1912). 1912 saw additional language pass which clarified some of the powers of home rule and was approved of by Colorado voters. The most significant change with this was the allowance of smaller municipalities to craft their own home rule charters, reducing the population requirements down to just 2,000 municipal residents.
In this era, the most popular form of government for home-rule municipalities was commission form. This gave a small number of elected officials both administrative and legislative authority. Commission forms of government would gradually give way to council-manager forms and strong mayor-council forms. (With Superior’s current statutory status, council-manager is the closest equivalent).
Home rule continued to proliferate throughout the state and further ballot measures about home rule did not appear until 1950. This would amend Section 2 of Article XX which related to the compensation of Denver officers and allowed for charter amendments and the question of whether or not to form a charter convention to be referred to voters by action taken by the governing body as well as by voter-backed initiatives. (This is the step in which Superior has taken; the Board of Trustees voted to move forward with the creation of a special election for a Home Rule Commission who would draft the charter before said charter is approved of by residents).
In 1970, home rule saw another amendment change which eliminated to population requirements for municipalities, paving the way for every municipality regardless of size in Colorado to adopt home rule should they choose so. The following year, the Colorado Municipal League drafted its Municipal Home Rule Act of 1971, which has remained largely unchanged since and has been used by municipalities as a procedure to adopt and amend their own charters.
Over 100 cities and towns have adopted home rule, representing 93% of the state’s municipal population. Superior’s neighboring municipalities have all adopted home rule including Broomfield, Longmont, Louisville, and Westminster. Over the decades, Colorado voters have regularly supported home rule and clarifying and expanding its options for municipalities and voters alike. Most importantly, there has never been an instance where town residents have voted to repeal their home rule status.