The Commission
On May 21, 2026, the Boulder County District Court appointed six Niwot residents as Election Commissioners for the Home Rule Incorporation Election. The Commission exists to administer one election. It has no authority beyond what C.R.S. § 31-2-209 assigns it, and it dissolves when its duties are discharged.
Commissioners
- Lois Adamson, Chair
- Vicky Dorvee
- Susan Fischer
- Paula Hemenway
- Robert Olsen
- Amanda Walker
The commissioners filed their affidavits of intent to serve on May 29, 2026 and convened for the first time on June 8, 2026.
Why a Court Appoints the Commission
Niwot has no municipal clerk and no governing body. Both are created by incorporation, not before it — which leaves no one holding the offices that normally run a municipal election. Colorado’s home rule incorporation statute resolves this by assigning the clerk’s and governing body’s election functions to court-appointed Election Commissioners “to the extent practicable” (C.R.S. § 31-2-209).
That is the whole of the Commission’s authority. It is a temporary body filling offices that do not yet exist, for the single purpose of getting this election properly conducted.
Duties
- Calling the election — formally setting the date of the incorporation and charter commission vote. The Commission called the election for November 3, 2026 at its first meeting.
- Administering the candidate nomination process — under C.R.S. § 31-2-211, each charter commission candidate qualifies by filing a nomination petition signed by at least 25 registered electors residing within the proposed boundary. The Commission issues, receives, and verifies those petitions.
- Certifying ballot content — approving the form and content of the questions and the candidate list that appear on the ballot.
- Coordinating with the County Clerk — entering into an Intergovernmental Agreement so that the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder, who conducts the November coordinated election, also administers Niwot’s ballot questions and candidate races.
- Reporting results to the court — certifying the canvassed results back to the Boulder County District Court, which enters an order of incorporation if the measure passes.
What the Commission Does Not Do
The Commission does not advocate for or against incorporation. It does not draft the charter — that is the work of the nine charter commissioners elected on November 3, 2026. It does not register voters, mail ballots, or operate drop boxes; those are functions of the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder.
Independence from the Incorporation Committee
The Election Commission and the Niwot Incorporation Committee are two different bodies. The Committee is a group of resident volunteers that advocates for incorporation, publishes its own research, and operates the website at niwot.town. The Commission is a court-appointed, statutorily defined body that administers the election. They have separate roles, separate authority, and separate accountability.
Some commissioners have also volunteered with the Committee. The Commission’s election duties are carried out independently of it, and material published by the Committee is not published by, reviewed by, or attributable to the Commission. Nothing on this site should be read as the Commission endorsing or disputing any claim made by any campaign.
This separation is not unique to Niwot. It is the structure Colorado uses in every home rule incorporation election, and it is the basis on which voters can rely on the result regardless of how either campaign is conducted.