Nine municipalities became the latest Colorado communities to mute a state law that prohibits local governments from providing broadband Internet service, while five towns nixed legalizing recreational pot.
The vote Tuesday in Akron, Fruita, Pagosa Springs and six other towns was part of an election day that involved 117 Colorado municipalities choosing mayors, trustees and council members and deciding on a wide range of local issues.
The broadband pushback is part of an effort by Colorado towns and cities to take on a 2005 law that was designed to ensure that private Internet providers weren’t forced to compete with government-funded data networks in providing high-speed Web service.
More on recreational pot politics in Colorado
Weed news and interviews: Get podcasts of The Cannabist Show.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
Watch The Cannabist Show.
Recreational marijuana was also a common theme Tuesday. That issue did not fare so well.
Voters in five communities — Buena Vista, Hotchkiss, Julesburg, Poncha Springs and Silver Cliff — said no to recreational pot sales and cultivation. Only Crestone said yes.
On the question of taxes on marijuana sales, half a dozen communities passed weed-specific levies, including Blanca and Sedgwick.
Voters in Parachute rejected the recall of the mayor and two town trustees, all three of whom had been targeted by anti-marijuana forces.
Ward voters passed a measure requiring cyclists to ride single-file through the mountain town west of Boulder.
And Hudson became Colorado’s 101st home rule municipality, after voters in the town approved the measure 89-50.
Tax measures were a mixed bag Tuesday, with many communities approving tax hikes or extensions but Carbondale voters saying no to an excise tax on gas and electric bills for a municipal climate plan.
John Aguilar: 303-954-1695, jaguilar@denverpost.com or @abuvthefold