With Fort Collins’ mayoral race rapidly approaching its Nov. 4 contest, several candidates have entered the fray, seeking to inherit the seat from current Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt.

The 2025 municipal election cycle will be the city’s first introduction to ranked choice voting, with voters permitted to rank their preference of candidates in races featuring three or more candidates as opposed to only selecting one option.

The Collegian spoke with Fort Collins mayoral candidates to discuss their experience, campaign platforms and goals for office as part of a comprehensive voter guide ahead of the Nov. 4 municipal election.

Emily Francis

Emily Francis currently serves as Fort Collins’ Mayor Pro Tem and has represented the city’s 6th District since 2019. A lifelong Fort Collins resident and Colorado State University alumna, Francis said her experiences as a resident and elected official in Fort Collins set her apart from her fellow candidates. The first millennial elected to the Fort Collins City Council, Francis also emphasized her youth as a core element of her approach to governance. 

Francis said she regards housing access and affordability as the most pressing issue facing Fort Collins, pledging to use her position as mayor to encourage the development of diverse housing options and receive input from stakeholders. Francis also noted the job opportunity barrier faced by young residents. 

“We don’t want to become a retirement community with a college; we want people to stay here,” Francis said. “We haven’t focused for a long time on attracting businesses that are good fits for Fort Collins, and I think we’re going to have to start moving in that direction.”

Tricia Canonico

Tricia Canonico moved to Fort Collins in 2010 and opened a small business before being elected to represent Fort Collins’ 3rd District in 2021. Hailing from a military family, Canonico said she believes her ability to engage with and learn from people in her role as an elected official is a defining motivation for her candidacy.

Passionately involved with the League of Women Voters and statewide governing coalitions, Canonico said she’s poised to work with stakeholders at the city, county and state levels if elected mayor.

Also passionate about housing affordability and development, Canonico said she will use the mayor’s office to remedy the city’s development processes and encourage future growth. 

“I’ve lived in 24 different places,” Canonico said. “I’ve seen really thriving communities, and I’ve seen several dying mill towns. If you’re not growing, you’re dying, and that’s not what we want for Fort Collins.”

Shirley Peel

Former City Council District 4 Representative Shirley Peel has lived in Fort Collins for 25 years and currently serves on the Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Commission. As the wife of a former faculty adviser for the department of animal science at CSU, Peel had the unique experience of housing the live CAM the Ram mascot for around 15 years. 

A self-described moderate, Peel said she believes community collaboration and business-forward policy would ultimately address top issues like housing affordability, budget shortfalls and the cost of living. By supporting a healthy economy and encouraging growth through flexible land use code and strategic development, Peel said she believes she can best serve Fort Collins’ entire diverse population. 

“I probably am the strongest advocate for our local businesses out of all the council members,” Peel said. “I just want to make sure that we are making our community as healthy as it can be across all the areas.”

Adam Eggleston

Adam Eggleston has been a Fort Collins resident for over 30 years, having graduated from CSU before working as a realtor, a victim rights advocate and a community board member ahead of his entrance into the race for mayor. Eggleston holds his position as a passionate and involved member of the community as central to his goals for his candidacy.

Pledging edits to city development processes, Eggleston said he believes addressing housing affordability and intersectional issues is paramount for encouraging population growth and a balanced budget. He also said he is ready to make tough decisions on housing and development for the good of the community.

“When you’re talking about budgets and cuts and growth, those can all be four-letter words,” Eggleston said. “You can’t be afraid of the potential negative pushback. … You have to be willing to take that and listen, absorb, compromise and modify what you can.”

Adam Hirschhorn

Adam Hirschhorn is a CSU alumnus and identifies as “Ashkenazi Jew and a son of the American Revolution.” Hirschhorn’s candidacy centers on his belief that solutions to complex problems are best achieved when individuals consider the well-being of their neighbors and the broader community, rather than just individual interests. Hirschhorn said he wants to fight against “business as usual” — or individualistic thinking without regard for long-term consequences.

As mayor, Hirschhorn wants to platform Palestinian liberation, explore new solutions to climate change like circular economics, and address affordable housing shortages by strategically utilizing vacant spaces, among other things. Hirschhorn said he hopes to reach young people and plans to meet their demands for a brighter future.

“People have to be able to motivate (young people) somehow, to think of me as someone who trusts them, to think of me as someone who consents to their demands for the future,” Hirschhorn said. “Seriously, it needs to stop being ‘Would you please, kindly, Mr. Mayor,’ it needs to be exactly how it’s presented. It needs to be, ‘We need this. Give it to us. You’re our government.’”

“I’m running to save our bacon,” Hirschhorn said.

Jeffrey Shumway

U.S. Air Force Veteran and former police officer Jeffrey Shumway moved to Fort Collins from Florida just three years ago. As an outspoken conservative, Shumway said he considers himself to be a political outlier with fresh ideas to bring to this year’s mayoral race. 

Shumway’s top priority is trimming the city budget, beginning with cuts to programs such as city climate initiatives, the Immigrant Legal Fund, water fluoridation, tax-funded public transportation, homelessness relief programs, routine West Nile Virus prevention and anything else that may present unnecessary costs to taxpayers.

“We’re basically going to start making some radical changes about what programs we do or do not need anymore and what we can do to improve the lives of the citizens in the city,” Shumway said.

Scott ‘Scotty V’ VanTatenhove

Scott “Scotty V” VanTatenhove, who has lived in Fort Collins since 1983, is running for mayor for a third time. VanTatenhove ran for city mayor in 2005 and again in 2007 prior to this year.

As a Poudre School District social studies teacher for over 25 years, VanTatenhove emphasized his background as a father, educator and historian as the foundation of his campaign. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Fort Collins Music Association and has helped produce the FoCoMX music festival.

VanTatenhove’s platform is centered on collaboration, listening and community engagement. Rather than focusing on issues he personally sees, VanTatenhove wants to turn to the community to hear what they want to see in terms of affordable housing, homelessness and LGBTQIA+ rights.

“If any candidate is telling you that they’re an expert or they have answers, they are lying; they don’t,” VanTatenhove said. “What I’m bringing is the skillset to get the right people in the room with their voices authentically heard.”