AnneLandmanBlog Voter Guide for the Nov. 3, 2026 Mesa County General Election

Following are AnneLandmanBlog’s recommendations for how to vote in the Tuesday, November 3, 2026 Mesa County General Election. These recommendations consider the stakes of this election and what it means for the future. To make these determinations, AnneLandmanBlog has paid attention to local, state and national politics, studied the 2026 state-issued Ballot Information Booklet (the “Blue Book”), examined the origins of each of the ballot initiatives as well as the groups and funders behind them and who is likely to benefit financially from them.

With very few exceptions, AnneLandmanBlog recommends voting strictly for Democrats across the board wherever one is running. Democrats have been willing to speak out against the extreme corruption, legal and Constitutional violations that current Republican-dominated federal officials have been committing while most Republican elected officials have stayed silent and failed to take any action against these serious violations, which are occurring more by the day. The situation is dire and poses a distinct threat to the United States’ future as a democracy. The last two years have shown the country that citizens cannot count on most Republicans to uphold the law and protect our rights. We are at a point where we must be sure we elect people with integrity, who won’t attempt to profit personally from their public service, who care about average Americans’ quality of life, who will protect, defend and obey the U.S. Constitution and who will fight to uphold the rule of law equally without exception. Currently that means Democrats.

As a brief summary, AnneLandmanBlog recommends voting “Yes” for only three of the 14 state-wide measures on the ballot. They are:

• Amendment 87, a constitutional measure that would replace Colorado’s current 4.4% fixed-percentage state income tax with a graduated state income tax that charges high income individuals and businesses a slightly higher tax rate, resulting in more income for the state to be put towards funding K-12 education, health care, and early childhood care and education;
• Proposition NN, a statutory measure to increase funding for K-12 public education over the next 10 years without raising taxes, but instead by raising the current limit on such spending, and
• Proposition 137, a statutory measure that, without raising taxes, would put more of the sales tax the state collects on sporting goods and equipment towards conserving and protecting Colorado’s water, land and forests, preventing wildfires and supporting outdoor recreation.

For all other ballot measures, a NO vote is recommended.

As always, constructive discussion and disagreement on all choices is welcome in the comments section. Please include your rationale when discussing differences of opinions, so people can understand your thought process.

Starting from the beginning of the ballot and moving through it, here are the recommendations:

FEDERAL OFFICES:

United States Senator: John Hickenlooper (D)

District 3 U.S. House Representative: Dwayne Romero (D)

STATE OFFICES:

Governor & Lieutenant Governor: Phil Weiser and Leslie Dahlkemper (D)

Secretary of State: Amanda Gonzalez (D)

State Treasurer: Jeff Bridges (D)

Attorney General: Jena Griswold (D)

State Board of Education Member, Congressional District 3: Barb Clementi (D)

State Senator, District 7: Incumbent Republican Janice Rich is running unopposed so will win – no Democrat on the ballot

State Representative – District 54: Mallory Martin (D)

State Representative – District 55: Brittni Packard (D)

MESA COUNTY OFFICES:

Mesa County Commissioner, District 2 – Republican incumbent is running unopposed and so will win, there is no Democrat on the ballot for this office.

Mesa County Clerk and Recorder: Bobbie Daniels (R) [Bobbie Gross has remained non-partisan and done an excellent job as County Clerk, cleaning up the mess left behind by convicted felon Tina Peters.]

Mesa County Treasurer:  Either Dave Edwards (D) OR Christina Schultz (Forward Party) – Both are highly competent, experienced and knowledgeable about finances. DO NOT VOTE FOR GREG HAITZ (R). He is unqualified and ideologically driven in the vein of Tina Peters, which could mean more trouble for County taxpayers if he should choose to use the position to grandstand and draw national attention to conspiracy theories. There is a danger that the two highly competent and qualified people running for Treasurer could end up splitting the vote and  hand the office to the unqualified Haitz, so whichever candidate you pick, make the extra effort to convince your friends to vote for that same person as well, and consider putting whomever you intend to vote for Treasurer in the comment section so others can see which candidate is getting the most support and vote accordingly.

Mesa County Assessor: There is only one candidate, Republican Brent Goff, who is running unopposed

Mesa County Sheriff: There is only one candidate, Republican Ross Young, who is running unopposed

Mesa County Surveyor: There is only one candidate, Republican Jon Kobylarz, who is running unopposed

Mesa County Coroner: There is only one candidate, Republican Dean Havlik, who is running unopposed

 

JUDICIAL RETENTION QUESTIONS::

 

Colorado Supreme Court:

Justice William W. Wood, III – YES, retain

Colorado Court of Appeals:

Judge Rebecca Rankin Freyre – YES, retain

Judge Elizabeth L. Harris – YES, retain

Judge Katharine E. Lum – YES, retain

Judge Pax Moultrie – YES, retain

Judge Karl L. Schock – YES, retain

Judge Grant Sullivan – YES, retain

21st Judicial District, District Court:

Judge Jeremy Chaffin – YES, retain

Judge Craig Peter Henderson – YES, retain

Judge Gretchen B. Larson – YES, retain

Judge Jennilynn E. Lawrence – NO, do not retain [NOTE: This is the only judge I recommend against retaining due to performance issues noted in the Blue Book.]

Mesa County Court:

Judge Scott Joseph Burrill – YES, retain

Judge Bruce R. Raaum – YES, retain

 

STATE BALLOT MEASURES:

Amendment 81 – Law Enforcement Communication with Federal Immigration Authorities – NO

Amendment 82 – Constitutional Right to Purchase and Sell Natural Gas – NO

Amendment 83 – Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish – NO

Amendment 84 – Mail Ballot Voter Identification – NO

Amendment 85 – Plain Language Ballot Titles – NO

Amendment 86 – Requirements for Off-Cycle Congressional Redistricting – NO

Amendment 87 – Graduated State Income Tax – YES

Proposition NN – Keep and Spend Money for Education and Other Purposes – YES

Proposition 132 – Increase Penalties for Fentanyl Crimes – NO

Proposition 133 – Penalties for Human Trafficking of a Minor – NO

Proposition 134 – Male and Female Participation in School and Collegiate Sports – NO

Proposition 135 – Prohibit Surgery on Minors in Response to Perception of Sex or Gender – NO

Proposition 136 – Income Tax Rate Limit – NO

Proposition 137 – Direct Sporting Goods Sales Tax Revenue for Conservation – YES

 

CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION MUNICIPAL MEASURE:

 

Orchard Mesa Pool Ballot Issue 2B – (to increase City sales tax from 3.39% to 3.46% to fund repairs, renovations and equipping the Orchard Mesa Swimming Pool and to keep it operating into the future – YES

School District 51 Ballot Measure 4A – Raise property taxes to enable the District to raise teachers’ salaries to where they are closer to market rates in peer district and attract more qualified teachers, increase school security by adding more security personnel and expand workforce readiness training in trade, technical and STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). The property tax increase is estimated at about $18.09/month on a $400,000 home: YES