We’ve had a busy week working as a champion for business.  We hope that you will take advantage of the great opportunities that we have that can help you grow, prosper and be successful!

• Join us as we #MarchOn2021! Our Annual Celebration looks very different this year as a 30-minute online event, but we will continue to celebrate the success of the Fort Collins Chamber and the business community.  We invite you to join us as we recognize individuals that have impacted our organization and the community, recap 2020 and look to 2021.  If you haven’t registered yet, there is still time!  Click here to access free registration for the March 3 event.
• Along with the Loveland Greeley Chambers, we hosted an Unemployment Insurance Fraud webinar with the Department of Labor and Employment. As many as 400,000 Coloradoans have been impacted by fraudulent claims during the pandemic.  If you missed the webinar and want to learn how to protect your business and your employee, click here to see the video.
• As noted in the eweekly last week, the Chamber took positions on local ballot issues and candidates for the Fort Collins City Council. We have made it a priority to be a Bold Voice for Business, influencing public policy.For the April 6, 2021 City of Fort Collins Election, the Chamber is endorsing the following candidates for the City Council:
  Mayor, No Endorsement as we believe any one of the three candidates can serve our community well.
  District 1, Nick Armstrong (https://www.nickforfoco.com/)
  District 3, Gavin Kaszynski (http://www.electgavink.com/)
  District 4, No Endorsement
  District 5, Jeff Hansen (https://jeffhansen4foco.com/)You can learn more about all 14 candidates running for office and the election on the Chamber’s Election Page.  As well, the Chamber is actively opposing the Citizen-Initiated Ordinance (relating to the former Hughes Stadium property).As a Chamber of Commerce, we have long stated that private property rights should be honored and protected.  Our Where We Stand document, which outlines the Chamber’s positions on issues important to our members and the economic vitality of the Fort Collins region, clearly states that “the Chamber supports the rights of the individual property owner and no government body should be allowed to use its regulatory powers to take private property or regulatory actions like down-zoning.”

  We believe that this ballot issue directly violates this most basic right in a free society by forcing an unwilling seller to have their property acquired by an unwilling buyer.  The precedence that this kind of action sets is extremely concerning and certainly inspires the question – is your property next?

  Additionally, we are concerned that the ballot language encourages the placement of two important community partners (the City and CSU) in a position of the unintended consequence of never-ending, expensive legal challenges by any registered elector in the City.

  The Chamber believes that this ballot issue is bad public policy and that voters should vote “NO.”  To learn more about our position, visit the Chamber’s Election Page.

• Transportation remains a key issue for the Fort Collins Area Chamber – especially the widening of North I-25 and other regional roadways. The Northern Colorado Legislative Alliance, the joint public policy advocacy arm of the Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland Chambers of Commerce, Upstate Colorado Economic Development Corporation and One NoCo, hosted a conversation with US Congressman Joe Neguse, US Senator Michael Bennet and the Office of US Senator John Hickenlooper on February 26, 2021.  The online event allowed Chamber members to gain insights on the future of a Federal Infrastructure Stimulus Package.  Click here to watch the event replay.

We will continue to be your champion and advocate and look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning!