With a new Fort Collins City Council officially forming on Jan. 13, the four outgoing members were honored for their service on Jan. 6.
- Mayor Jeni Arndt served as mayor for nearly five years over two terms.
- District 1 council member Susan Gutowsky served nearly seven years over 1½ terms.
- District 3 council member Tricia Canonico served nearly five years in her one term.
- District 5 council member Kelly Ohlson most recently served nearly five years in his most recent term, but city staff estimate he is the longest-serving elected official in modern history because he also served three other terms in 1983-1987 and 2005-2013. He was chosen by council to be mayor in 1986-87.
These council members’ terms were about nine months longer than the defined term because they were serving in 2021, when voters approved a change to move elections from April to November in 2023.
During the Jan. 6 meeting, Arndt listed several notable council actions during the outgoing members’ latest term:
- Asking voters to move elections to November (and after they did, turnout increased).
- Implementing ranked-choice voting.
- Revising ethics rules and the gifts policy.
- Revising chamber rules to keep public comment open while making sure the work could still get done.
- Working as the Fort Collins Urban Renewal Authority to purchase the old Albertsons store.
- Gaining the trust of voters on three sales tax increases or renewals: one funding the Community Capital Improvement Program; another permanently funding natural areas; and one new sales tax funding initiatives related to climate, transportation, and parks and recreation. (Voters also passed an ask for a large increase to council pay, she noted.)
- Updating the City Charter.
Jeni Arndt
Arndt said she appreciated the public electing her, and the council trusting her, even though she’s one of only three mayors elected without having been on council before. (Doug Hutchinson and Ray Martinez are the other two.)
“You are the most hardworking, committed, getting-to-page-452 type of people that I’ve ever met,” she said, referring to the many pages of documents that council members are given prior to each meeting. “And the commitment that you have for the hard work and sometimes drudgery of what this means, night after night … it is quite remarkable.”…