Thank you for your continuing support of the Ramspondents.
Starting today, we’re launching our new afternoon edition, in which we’ll be profiling the people and issues that will appear on Fort Collins residents’ voting ballots this fall. Look for a new issue around 1 p.m. each day for about the next month or so.
Our goal is to interview every person running for city council this term, starting with the seven mayoral candidates. We’ll also interview the candidates in districts 1, 3 and 5, and we’ll take a look at the various ballot issues we’ll vote on as well.
We’ve already published two stories in previous editions, such as this in-depth look at everything that will be on the ballot this fall by Ava Fricke. Another good piece you may want to check out is this Q&A article with two experts on ranked-choice voting by Scott Reif. Yesterday, we also published this TikTok video explaining how it works with Luke Purvis and Kaileen Gruber, who also authored the profile you’re about to read.
In addition to the interviews, we’re also looking to provide a greater depth of coverage on the major ballot initiatives we’ll vote on this fall. Chief among them are the two initiatives that have to do with the site of the former Hughes Stadium land.
We welcome your questions, feedback and story tips about election coverage and anything else going on in Fort Collins at our email address, [email protected].
— Jake Sherlock, editor and faculty instructor
Mayoral candidate profile: Emily Francis
Key priorities for Emily Francis
Housing Affordability: Building more houses which is streamlining the city's development review process, making sure that the departments are de-siloing and working together, and having a dedicated funding source for housing as well as expanding housing choices across the city.
General Affordability, making sure there are opportunities for good-paying jobs and being able to comfortably live in Fort Collins; 98% of firms in Fort Collins are small businesses. It has become expensive to run a local business, so reducing costs to open and maintain small businesses is essential.
Neighborhood investment, making sure that everyone regardless of where they live should have the same access to a good quality of life. This would mean making sure that all neighborhoods are invested into equally. Some areas of town have more money being put into them than others, so evening the investments will help the whole town have access to all the same quality of services.
KAILEEN GRUBER
The Ramspondents
Emily Francis, the current district 6 councilmember and mayor pro tem, is running for mayor in the upcoming 2025 Fort Collins Elections.
Elected in 2019, Francis has spent the past six years serving her community, focusing on key issues such as affordability, sustainability, and economic prosperity. One of her key priorities is making Fort Collins more affordable and investing more in neighborhoods across the city.
“This goes back to the affordability issue, where people really don't have a lot of expendable income. We need to create more expendable income for folks so that they are able to spend money on the things they need.”
With her two-term limit on city council coming to an end, she will be running for mayor . In addition to her spot on city council, Francis has served as the vice mayor, or mayor pro tem, for the past four years.
“I’m acting mayor when the mayor is out of town,” Francis said. “I know how to do the job. I know what the job entails.”
If elected mayor, in addition to her key priorities, Francis said she plans to implement a revenue-generating strategy for Fort Collins. This plan also ties directly into her affordability platform.
“This goes back to the affordability issue, where people really don't have a lot of expendable income,” she said. “We need to create more expendable income for folks so that they are able to spend money on the things they need.”
Francis emphasized that increasing the city's revenue is essential, especially as the city faces a shortfall in sales tax income. Fort Collins had projected a 3% income from sales tax revenue for 2025 and it only reached 1.2%, which is leading to budget cuts.
“We haven't had these issues in a long time, so we've been adding services and expanding what the city offers,” Francis said. “Now, we need to look at things we can stop doing to make room for higher-priority needs.”
One funding solution she supports is the implementation of paid street parking in Old Town.
“Right now, parking is subsidized through our general fund. That’s over a million dollars a year,” Francis said. “Moving to paid parking on the street makes it so that we are not subsidizing parking anymore through the city's general funds.”
Another crucial priority to her run for mayor is her climate resilience plan. With Fort Collins working toward a carbon neutrality goal by 2030, she said she plans to promote energy efficient home upgrades, such as better insulation and protection against poor air quality.
“I want to make sure there is protection against bad ozone days and wildfires,” she said. Francis also said plans to create a pilot program for food composting.
Finally, Francis said she wants to ensure that a high city priority is the upkeep and expansion of public transit, bike lanes and walking infrastructure. She also remains committed to maintaining the Fort Collins diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which ensures that the city remains a welcoming place for everyone.
For more information on the Francis campaign, go to emilyforfc.com.
Kaileen Gruber is majoring in Journalism and Media Communication as well as a minor in Music Business at CSU. She is the vice president of the Music Business Collective.