Election Information

Election Day - Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Vote ButtonsJuly 2025

Potential city council member candidates,

Election Day is Tuesday, November 4, 2025.  The City of Steamboat Springs will enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Routt County Clerk and Recorder to participate in a Coordinated Mail Ballot Election under the Colorado Uniform Election Code.

Jenny Thomas, Routt County Clerk and Recorder, will be the chief coordinated election official.  The City Clerk will be working closely with Jenny and will oversee the municipal portion of this election. (This includes the certified candidate section of the election ballot.)

Municipal Office Candidate Information

The Steamboat Springs City Council will have four openings: 

  • One (1) – District I.......................................Term expires November 2029
  • One (1) – District II......................................Term expires November 2029 
  • One (1) – District III.....................................Term expires November 2029 
  • One (1) – At-Large.......................................Term expires November 2027 

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS

  • District I - Gail Garey1 - November 2025
  • District I - Brian Swintek - November 2027
  • District II - Joella West1 - November 2025
  • District II - Michael Buccino - November 2027
  • District III - Dakotah McGinlay1 - November 2025
  • District III - Amy Dickson - November 2027
  • At-Large - Steve Muntean1 - November 2025

 1 Four offices to be filled at the November 4, 2025 Coordinated Election.

Current Council Compensation

  • President - $17,964.36/Annual paid @ $1,497.03 on the first pay cycle of each month
  • Pro Tem - $15,742.32/Annual paid @ $1,311.86 on the first pay cycle of each month
  • Member - $13,488.96/Annual paid @ $1,124.08 on the first pay cycle of each month 

Plus, option to enroll in City Medical and Dental plans.   

City Council meetings for the City of Steamboat Springs are on the first three Tuesdays of every month, beginning at approximately 5:00 pm. Meetings are held in Citizens’ Meeting Room located in Centennial Hall, 124 10th Street. 

Candidate nomination petitions will be issued on August 5, 2025, and are due to the City Clerk on August 25, 2025. The City Council President and President Pro-Tem are elected from the duly elected Council members at the Council’s organizational meeting on November 18, 2025.

Every qualified elector 18 years of age or older on the day of the election may be a candidate for, and hold office in, any municipality. The proposed candidate must have resided in the municipality for a period of at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the date of the election. A candidate for City Council member must be a resident of the District that they will represent at the time his/her nomination petition is filed. The At-Large candidate can reside anywhere within the city limits. 

If you have any questions or concerns with the enclosed information or the coordinated election, please contact City Clerk Julie Franklin at 970-879-2060, or email the City Clerk. 

TERM OF OFFICE

The Council member At-Large shall be elected for a two-year term and each District Council member shall be elected for a four-year term.   Typically, one candidate from each District and the Council member At-Large shall be elected in each Regular Election per the City Charter. The newly elected Council members shall take office at the first Regular City Council meeting following their election: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 (November 11 is Veteran’s Day).

PROCEDURE FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER NOMINATION

Candidates for Municipal offices shall be nominated (without regard to political party affiliation) by a petition form supplied by the City Clerk (this form will be released on August 5, 2025, at 7:30am). 

Nomination petitions may be circulated and signed beginning on day 91 prior to the election (August 5, 2025) and ending on day 71 prior to the election (August 25, 2025).  Each nomination petition shall be filed with the City Clerk no later the 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 25, 2025.

Each nomination petition shall be completed with the candidate’s name, place of residence, office he/she is seeking, and name as he/she wishes it appear on the ballot.  The candidate’s name may be a nickname or include a nickname but shall not contain any title or degree designating the business or profession of the candidate.

The nominating petition for each candidate shall be signed by at least 25 registered electors from the District that the candidate will represent.  Except for a candidate for Council member At-Large, whose petition may be signed by at least 25 registered electors from the entire city. 

An elector has the right to sign only one petition for nomination for a specific District and one for the At Large seat.  Each registered elector signing the petition shall also print his or her name and physical address as it appears on their voter registration (no P.O. Boxes please) and must reside within the appropriate District. 

Petitions will be verified by the City Clerk’s Office and, if needed, the ability to cure a petition will be accommodated.  Letters of petition acceptance from the City Clerk will be provided.

Candidate Affidavit and Committee Registration forms can be downloaded from the State Campaign Finance Forms webpage. 

CANDIDATE INFORMATION FORUM & “DRAWING BY LOT”

Wednesday, September 4, 2025, at 3:00 pm - Citizens’ Meeting Room 

  • The public, press, and all candidates are invited to attend. 
  • The City Manager or designee will provide an overview of the city. 
  • The City Clerk will provide information on the candidate and election process. 
  • Candidate questions will be accommodated. 
  • The drawing by lot will be conducted to establish candidate names, as they are to appear on the ballot.

ELECTION/CAMPAIGN SIGNS

Handbills
Pursuant to the Steamboat Springs Revised Municipal Code Section 10-94, no person shall place a handbill on the windshield of any motor vehicle and no person shall post any handbill upon any power or telephone pole. 

Campaign Signs
Pursuant to the Steamboat Springs Revised Municipal Code, Article IX, Section 26-222 (7); it is prohibited to place, tack, post or otherwise affix a sign to any curb, sidewalk, post, pole, hydrant, bridge, tree or any other surface located on, over, or across any public street, right-of-way, property or thoroughfare. 

However, in accordance with Article IX, Section 26-221 (8), campaign signs may be displayed, in an acceptable location, without a permit, but must be removed no later than seven days from the date of the election (by November 11, 2025). 

If a candidate/issue committee wishes to post a campaign sign on private property, please get consent from the property owner prior to erecting the sign. 

As soon as the ballots are mailed (October 10-20, 2025), no campaigning within 100 feet of the courthouse or any mail ballot drop off site. 

It is prohibited to place any campaign sign in the public right-of-way or a city park.

COLORADO FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES ACT (FCPA)

Candidates for municipal office in Steamboat Springs must meet the reporting and filing requirements set forth in the Colorado Fair Campaign Practices Act relating to campaign funding. 

Forms necessary to complete this requirement will be provided and a copy of the Colorado Fair Campaign Practices Act can be provided.  Please review the documents thoroughly to proceed within these guidelines. 

CANDIDATE AFFIDAVIT

If a candidate fails to file a candidate affidavit pursuant to Title 1, Article 45, it shall result in the disqualification of the individual as a candidate, after proper notification. This affidavit is required to be filed with the City Clerk within 10 days of becoming a candidate (when a person publicly announces intention to run for office and thereafter receives a contribution or makes an expenditure in support of the candidacy) or may be attached to the nomination petition that must be filed with the City Clerk’s Office by 5:30pm on August 25, 2025. 

FCPA/ELECTION NOTES

As a candidate, it is your responsibility to be familiar and understand the constitutional/statutory provisions and rules of campaign finance in Colorado. 

  • Steamboat Springs has no contribution limits. 
  • The occupation and employer must be disclosed with contributions of $100 or more. 
  • Itemize contributions of $20 or more. 
  • Itemize expenditures of $20 or more. 
  • Keep track of contributions/expenditures of $20 or less, but they do not need to be itemized. 
  • You can’t accept a contribution or make expenditure over $100 in cash. 
  • If there are unexpended contributions after the election, they can be donated to a charity recognized by the IRS, returned to contributors, or retained for use in a subsequent campaign. 
  • FCPA filing dates: Sept. 5, Oct. 7, Oct. 20 and Dec. 4. 
  • Amended filings can be filed within 15 business days after the due date (CRS 145-109(4)(b). 
  • No election signs in the public right-of-way. 
  • Ask permission to put signs on private property. 
  • Ballots will be mailed between October 10-20.

2025 City Council Meetings Remaining

Schedule Subject to Change

Meetings are the first three Tuesdays of the month unless noted, and usually begin at 5pm inside Centennial Hall, 124 10th Street and via Zoom. The second Tuesday is usually a work session.

  • November 18, 25 - Regular City Council Meetings
    • Election Day November 4 
    • Veterans Day is Tuesday, November 11
    • Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 27
  • December 2, 16 - Regular City Council Meetings
  • December 9 - Work Session
    • Christmas Day Thursday, December 25
    • School Winter Break, December 23-January 3