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Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt Affiliates with Forward Party

June 29, 2023

With nearly half of all Coloradans unaffiliated, the Forward Party is charting a new way in the state

Denver, Colorado – Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt became the first sitting mayor in Colorado to affiliate with the Forward Party on Tuesday, marking an important milestone for the party as it builds in Colorado. Arndt, a Democrat, will join other elected officials around the country publicly affiliating as “Forward Democrats and Republicans” alongside others, such as Newberry, Florida Mayor Jordan Marlowe who switched his party registration to Forward last month.

The Forward Party was out in full force in and around Denver over the past week collecting petition signatures to become Colorado’s newest minor Party. State leaders had a booth at Denver Pride Fest this weekend and listened as Colorado voters expressed frustration with the two party system not representing their interests. The party gathered over 1,500 signatures at Pride Fest toward their goal of 10,000 to become a minor party in Colorado in 2024.

“Coloradans are looking for something new, with nearly half of the state registered as unaffiliated and the Forward party is offering something different and appealing. The excitement is really palpable here,” said Andrew Yang, co-chair of the party alongside former Republican New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman. 

Local volunteers also hosted Yang and Lindsey Williams Drath, Forward CEO, at a meet and greet on June 26th at Mountain Toad Brewery in Golden.  More than 80 Coloradans packed the local brewery, asking questions throughout the evening and enthusiastically cheering the fast-growing party – and the announcement of Mayor Arndt’s affiliation.

Forward CEO Lindsey Williams Drath added, “Coloradans are hungry for more and better choices! We can see proof of that in communities like Basalt, Boulder, Broomfield, Telluride and most recently Fort Collins where voters have adopted ranked-choice voting. It is so exciting to be here and be a part of this moment in the state.”

Rich Herrmann, one of the newly elected Executive Committee members of the Colorado Forward Party summed it up, “Colorado Forward had a triple crown winner this week! Our participation at Denver Pride and our message of community, inclusion and no hate first, policy second, was well received by the LGBTQ+ community and Pride attendees to the tune of over 1500 signatures in 2 days in support of our drive to minor party status in Colorado! This was followed by a sell-out packed house meet & greet visit by Forward CEO Lindsey Williams Drath and Forward Co-founder Andrew Yang in Golden.  And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, the hat trick was completed by the public announcement by Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt that she is affiliating with the Forward Party as a Forward Democrat and pledging her support to help us grow our movement in Northern Colorado.”

The Forward Party is bringing Democrats, Republicans, and Independents together to build a new kind of political party that brings people and communities together to heal our political divisions, find our shared ground, and create a brighter future for America. https://www.forwardparty.com.

For more information about the Forward Party, please read through our Prospectus and Q2 Fact Sheet.

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