Generation Gap is Wide

D1 candidate Melat Kiros' supporters cheer as a second round of election results dropped in her favor, widening her lead over incumbent Diana DeGette. June 30, 2026.
Photo: McKenzie Lange/CPR News

Current politics is roiled by a significant generational conflict most dramatically between Gen Z (18 to 26 year olds) and Baby Boomer (59-80). They selected different candidates in primaries and the value differences shown below are stark: patriotism, belief in God and religion, having children, believing America is the best place to live, and preference for socialism.

SCFD: Permanent or Term Limited

Photo: Steve Gadomski / Adobe Stock

Should the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) tax be permanent or continue the use of voter-approved term limits?

1. The use of a term limit on the SCFD’s 0.1% sales tax was begun because many political leaders and others were concerned about giving permanent dedicated tax funding to potentially hundreds of mostly non-government entities with private boards, many with little or no track record of receiving government funding (aside from occasional grants for specific projects) without a voter check on the program. Legislation behind the term limit was to increase accountability of tax revenue spending over a specific time period. Use of a term limit provided an argument that if there was misuse of funds or if the program failed to achieve its purpose, voters could end the tax.
2. The term was seen as a major incentive to keep the recipients and programs focused on their cultural missions while also providing maximum accessibility and careful money management.
3. A term was also used to provide certainty in funding over a specific time period for planning and financial commitments to support major exhibitions, performers, and other programming.
4. Most of the SCFD statutes’ funding was not a grant program. It was considered important to place the formulas in the voter-approved statute to avoid the experience of the 1980’s National Endowment for the Arts’ grants controlled by the tastes and preferences of art connoisseurs, interest groups, and politicians. Formulas avoided authorities’ ability to skew the funding for unspecified purposes. Only the legislature and voters could change them, not at a terms renewal.
5. A renewal at the end of a term limit provides a period where the statute and formulas can be improved and updated by the legislators and voters.
6. When asked a choice question in a past-poll, voters preferred a term limit over permanence. (See table below.)

Voters’ Views on Sunset Provision	Total	Dem.	Inde.	Rep.
Sunset: The cultural district has a sunset provision that means every twelve years or so metro residents get to vote for or against extending the tax. They have extended it three times in elections starting in 1988. [ROTATED].
The district tax should be made permanent. The voters support it, it’s needed and it works. We don’t need more elections to extend the tax.	20%	24%	16%	19%
The district tax should be voted on every 12 years or so to make sure it keeps working the way we want it to and is still needed.	78	72	82	78

Ciruli Associates/CATZ 2013

Operational Guidelines Sustaining the SCFD’s Exceptional, Envied Funding Model

The Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) is the Denver metro area’s nationally recognized source of regional funding for cultural facilities and programs. It was from the beginning designed with important guidelines that have maintained it as a unique and nationally envied model. As it approaches a 2028 renewal campaign, it will be important to keep them front and center.

SCFD Operational Guidelines:

1. Ensure regionalism and incorporate all counties and cities. Seven counties are represented in its governance. Counties receive funding equal to local sales tax revenue contributions. Their appointed citizen boards direct their own grant programs.
2. Establish and maintain a modest tax level. The revenue collected has grown with the region—from $14 million to $84 million—while the sales tax rate of one-tenth of a cent has remained the same. Don’t make the tax an affordability burden or a competitor among other public needs.
3. Maintain frugal administration. Maximize funding for cultural organizations and minimize the overhead of central bureaucracy. Limit culture-related micromanagement and consultant add-ons.
4. Protect cultural organizations from politics. Avoid political and ideological regulation from cultural elites, elected officials, planning staffs, or consultants.
5. Use statutory formulas to ensure dedicated funding. Prevent vulnerability to special-interest lobbying for funds and frequent formula changes.
6. Incentivize organizations to increase access to cultural offerings. Support broad socioeconomic audiences’ experience of high-quality performances, exhibits, and popular programs. Utilize budget and attendance funding formulas for Tier II-qualified cultural organizations.
7. Maintain county-based grant programs. Ensure county-level grants are community-guided and accountable to elected officials.
8. Embrace diverse cultural offerings. Establish a broad statutory purpose test to ensure diverse arts and culture are welcomed.
9. Hold periodic renewal elections. Term limits keep the organization focused on public service, access, and fiscal accountability. They also allow for periodic updates to the statute.
10. Ensure transparency and accountability. Require regular audits and reviews of grant programs.

Mayors Election April 2027

Mike Johnston will run for reelection and two far-left candidates have announced: Lisa Calderon, a perennial candidate who ran a strong 3rd place finish in 2023 (see table), and Shontel Lewis, a “progressive” city council member.

Denver’s politics has moved left in the last decade as reflected in increased Democratic vote percentages for statewide and federal candidates and, most recently, the 2026 Democratic primary, where an outside Democratic Socialist defeated an incumbent congresswoman.

As the incumbent, Johnston, who is a left-center politician, is handicapped as a prima facia member of the establishment and not left enough for the “We Will Not Wait” wing of the Denver Democratic Party. Although the two far-left candidates will likely split the “progressive” vote, if there is a runoff, the incumbent will be challenged by a more united left.