1. Vote in a local election.
Are you a U.S. Citizen? Are you 18 years old on or before the date of the election you want to vote in? Have you been at your present Colorado address for at least 30 days prior to the election? If you answered YES to all the above, just head over to the Wheat Ridge City Clerk Office located at 7500 W 29th Ave, 1st Floor to get registered today! You can also register here. During an election, after you’ve submitted your ballot, you can even track your ballot here.
2. Find out what district you live in.
Not sure what Council District you reside in? Take a look at the district map here.
3. Get to know your elected officials.
Curious about who represents you? Go here for a detailed account of your current Mayor, Council, Clerk, and Attorney. Considering running for election yourself? Check out this link for more information on qualifications and this link for the candidate calendar.
4. Join a local business group.
You can help strengthen the Wheat Ridge business community by participating in a local business group. There are several options in the area, including the Wheat Ridge Business Association, the Wheat Ridge Chamber of Commerce, the Applewood Business Association and the West Metro Chamber of Commerce. Find the one that works best for you! You can also access additional business resources and information through Wheat Ridge Economic Development, the Jefferson County Business Resource Center and Jefferson County Economic Development.
5. Attend or watch a City Council meeting.
Keep up with Wheat Ridge City Council by watching or attending meetings. Regular City Council meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 7:00pm, and Council study sessions are held on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month at 6:30pm. All meetings take place at City Hall (7500 W 29th Avenue). You can watch meetings live on Channel 8 or on YouTube. You can also watch past meetings on YouTube here.
6. Join a Board or Commission.
Joining a board or commission is a great way to volunteer your time and make an impact in your community. Open positions are posted here. A list of all of the boards and commissions can be found here. Click on the board or commission you are interested in for more information about its purpose, its meetings and its current members.
7. Write to your council members.
When you have concerns or want to learn more about our city, a great resource for you is to write or email your elected city council member. After you confirm your council district (see #2 above), you can find contact info for your city council members here. While listed as “staff”, our city council members are volunteers.
8. Stay up-to-date with city news.
There are many different ways that you can stay up-to-date with city news. You can read the latest issue of Connections (the City’s quarterly publication) here. You can view public information and communications here. You can read the Mayor’s Matters newsletter here. Finally, you can sign up to receive text or email notifications on many different topics here.
9. Get to know your neighbors.
Start at home! We have a lot of amazing Wheat Ridge residents. Start getting involved by getting to know the ones right next door. Knowing your neighbors makes your neighborhood safer and maybe even cleaner. Localworks provides neighborhood Block Party Grants and Dumpster Days Grants. Whether you want to invite your neighbors over for a bbq or work with them to clean up your block, Localworks can help out.
10. Get coffee!
There are several opportunities to connect with local officials over coffee, including Coffee With A Cop and Coffee With The Mayor. Check out the City’s calendar of events here and keep an eye out for these opportunities.
