The Erie Town Council on Tuesday voted 4-1 to endorse a ballot initiative for November\u2019s election that could increase the number of Boulder County commissioners from three to five.<\/p>\n
Mayor Andrew Moore voted to sign a resolution expressing support for the ballot measure<\/a>, joined by Councilmembers John Mortellaro, Anil Pesaramelli and Brian O\u2019Connor.\n<\/p>\n Councilmember Emily Baer voted against the resolution. Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Bell and Councilmember Dan Hoback were absent from this week\u2019s council meeting.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been for growing government or spending more money for government, but representation is critical,\u201d Mortellaro said before voting, adding: \u201cOur county is so diverse.\u201d<\/p>\n With the current structure in Boulder County, two commissioners equals a quorum, generally preventing more than one commissioner from talking about county business outside of meetings announced beforehand to the public.<\/p>\n Moore got involved \u201cpretty early in the campaign,\u201d he said of the move to add more county commissioners \u2014 what he called a \u201cbipartisan effort.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my own frustrations with three commissioners is I can never talk to more than one at a time, because of the open meeting laws,\u201d Moore added.<\/p>\n One dissent<\/p>\n With her dissenting vote, Councilmember Baer said she would prefer for the town\u2019s council to \u201cnot take a position\u201d on the measure, just as neighboring councils in Lafayette and Louisville have not.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Among her concerns about adding commissioners, Baer said, is the potential impact to the county\u2019s already-tight budget<\/a>.\u00a0She also questioned whether more commissioners would provide better and more diverse representation for voters, as proponents of the measure claim.<\/p>\n In 2020, voters elected Marta Loachamin, who said she is Boulder County\u2019s first Latina commissioner.\n<\/p>\n In a February opinion piece<\/a>\u00a0submitted to Boulder Reporting Lab, current Boulder County Commissioners Loachamin and Claire Levy, and former Commissioners Elise Jones, Deb Gardner and Will Toor, asked voters not to support an increase in commissioners.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile no doubt well-intentioned, we believe this idea is unnecessary, expensive and will result in less effective county decision-making,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cFive commissioners elected by district would fracture existing communities of color across two districts, potentially diluting votes in order to have 66,000 residents per district,\u201d their piece adds.<\/p>\n \u2018We have been listening\u2019<\/p>\n