The ballots have arrived in the mail for the November 4, 2025 general election.
Voters have until 7 p.m. on November 4 to get their ballot returned to the Yuma County Clerk & Recorder. If you are an active registered voter and have not received your ballot, contact the Clerk’s Office at 970-332-5809.
Colorado is a same-day registration state, which means voters can register or update their voter registration all the way through Election Day at 7 p.m.
Besides mailing back your ballot, one can drop it off at the Clerk’s Office during regular business hours. There are 24-hour drop-off ballot boxes in Yuma at the NJC Satellite Campus at 910 S. Main St., and in Wray at the Election Center located at 139 E. Third St. In Yuma, one also can drop off their ballot at the Motor Vehicle Branch Office inside the NJC building, on Tuesdays and Thursdays only from October 20 through October 30, between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
All ballots include the state measures Proposition LL and Proposition MM. Both are related to continuing to fund free breakfast and lunch to all students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Proposition MM asks to increase state taxable income for individuals with a federal taxable income of $300,000 or more, increasing state taxes by $95 million annually
Both ballot questions can be found in their entirety inside this edition.
As reported previously, Yuma voters have a full ballot. It includes five candidates vying for three Yuma City Council seats, each carrying a four-year term. The candidates are (alphabetically) Mike Aagesen, Jeff Denney, Michael Fitzsimmons, Nathan O’Neal and Jerry Thompson. One can find interviews with each of the candidates in this week’s edition.
Incumbent Tim McClung is being challenged for mayor by Ryan Saffer. They both were featured in last week’s edition.
Yuma voters also have Ballot Issue 2A, which seeks a bond issue and temporary 0.75 percent sales tax increase to build and operate a new swimming pool.
Ballot Question 2B asks voters to approve a change to the Yuma Charter, putting the police of chief position under the authority of the city manager rather than the city council, as it currently is.
Yuma School District-1 has gone ahead with a board of education election though it has three candidates for three seats. The candidates are John Deering, the board’s current president, Ronella Noble and Jeff Ovalle. The latter two will replace current board members Lindsey Galles and Terri Cooper in November.
Wray School District RD2 also is having a board of education election.
Michael Fitzsimmons
Michael Fitzsimmons said he is looking forward to the chance of serving the Yuma community.
He is one of five candidates running in the Yuma City Council election. There are three seats up for grabs.
“I love the community,” he said. “I enjoy the people here.”
Fitzsimmons and his wife of 43 years, Peggy, moved to Yuma in 2021 to provide service at the First Presbyterian Church. He has been a pastor for more than 30 years, and serves in a regional role for the church.
He is an avid biker, often pedaling to Wray and back, as well as other locations, and competes in Half Iron Man events.
He grew up in Pueblo and Wheatland, Wyoming, earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wyoming, then his Master’s from the University Denver Law School. He served in the U.S. Air Force, and has lived in several states and overseas.
Fitzsimmons worked for Senator Hank Brown for six years in Washington, D.C. He said he has remained close to Brown, who was on the Daniels Fund Board of Directors when Fitzsimmons moved to Yuma. He said Brown and the board were interested in helping get a project done in Yuma, so the effort to build a Yuma Recreation Complex began. However, that effort has stalled out.
Fitzsimmons said he served on the Greeley City Council from 2017 to 2021, when he moved here.
He said public safety always is number one on his list of priorities, and second is recreation.
“I am open to healthy practices for all ages,” he said. “Anything that will help people age in place is good for me.”
He noted that infrastructure is critical. He shared that while on the Greeley council, one of his main focus’ was improving the intersections along Highway 34.
Fitzsimmons said he had community coffees once a month when on the Greeley council, and would like to do that here as well.
“I’m willing to listen to the people,” he said. “It’s about the community and the people I serve.”
Mike Aagesen
Mike Aagesen once worked for the City of Yuma, now he wants to serve on the other side.
Aagesen is one of five candidates vying for three seats in the Yuma City Council election.
“I’m just another voice that can help make a difference,” he said. “That’s all I can do.”
Aagesen was born and raised in Yuma, graduating from Yuma High School in 1979. He has lived here his whole life except for brief stints in Arizona. He said he is semi-retired, helping out on a limited basis at Rocky Mountain Cleaning Systems.
One of his jobs as an adult was working for the city from 1997 to 2007. He was working for the Sanitation Department when the city transitioned to the automated trash trucks. He was the Shop supervisor foreman when he left city employment.
His wife Hope passed away last year. As the call for candidates came out in August this year, he started considering running for the council.
“I thought ‘why not give (the council) a different voice?’” Aagesen said.
Besides the council election, another question on the ballot seeking a bond issue and sales tax increase to build a new swimming pool. Aagesen said a new pool is at the bottom of his list.
“I’m more concerned right now about getting the streets and sidewalks in better shape,” Aagesen said. “I’m hoping they can get the street work done. That’s going to help the community a whole lot.”
He noted, though, that street work requires a lot of funding, and the city currently does not have the finances to do it all.
“It’s not a simple thing to get done,” he said.
Aagesen added the city has some really good employees doing what they can, and if elected he would try to do all he can to support their efforts.
Nathan O’Neal
Nathan O’Neal said he wants to serve the community he has come to know and love.
“I love this community,” he said. “Great people, great community.”
O’Neal and his wife Dana have lived in Yuma for two years, coming here to serve as the pastor at Yuma Methodist Church. He and Dana have four grown children and two grandchildren.
The pastor was born and raised in Longview, Texas, located in the eastern part of the state not far from Louisiana.
O’Neal moved to Colorado to attend the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
“Then I just stayed,” he said. “I met my wife in church here.”
He has been in the ministry since the late 1980s. He and his wife first started coming out to Yuma as the Methodist church was in transition, helping pastor every once in a while. Then it became more frequent, they both realized they loved the community, and the decision was made to make it a permanent appointment.
“The only change of address I will ever have again is from Yuma to Heaven,” O’Neal said.
“The impetus for doing this, in my mind, is it is another way to serve the community,” he said. “…Me being in Yuma proves to me I am God’s favorite child.”
O’Neal said he has not specific agenda if elected to the council. He said he has been attending meetings for quite some time now.
“The primary goal in my mind is to make sure the community is heard,” O’Neal said, adding he would like to have a quarterly meeting of some sort with the community to get the citizens’ feedback. “We’re not going to agree 100 percent of the time, but I will listen to you 100 percent of the time.”
He said he would like to help get business excited about locating to Yuma. He said creating more housing and recreational opportunities would be key, along with Yuma’s other current strengths, such as good schools and health care.
“Then businesses will be interested in coming here because it is a great community,” O’Neal said. “I am just about doing what we can to keep the community moving forward.”
Jerry Thompson
Jerry Thompson said he wants to keep serving the Yuma community.
Thompson is one of five candidates vying for three seats up for election in the November 4 mail-in general election.
He resigned as the chief of police in May to take a position as a sales rep for a law enforcement software development company. He continues to live in Yuma.
“I really care about the community, love the community,” Thompson said. “I just want to serve in a different role now.”
Thompson grew up in Quemado, Texas, a border town in southwest Texas. He moved to Colorado in 2000 and was in law enforcement for 18-1/2 years. His first tenure with the Yuma Police Department was from 2007 to 2010. He returned to the YPD in 2017, and was appointed as chief in November 2019, serving in that role for more than five years.
Thompson said the city has a long list of projects that need to be done, but there needs to be a focus on prioritizing them.
“I just want to step in and help get the essential projects done,” Thompson said. “It’s great to have all these goals, but we need to pick like four that can get done in a relatively-short amount of time, then move on to the next one. We need to prioritize, get them done so people can see something is getting done.”
He said the city has enough staff to work on more than one goal at a time, but it cannot be overwhelmed with too many at once. He said his experience working for the city would be beneficial.
“With my previous experience, I kind of know how the city operates,” Thompson said. “My main goal, even when serving on the police department, was to better the community and that hasn’t changed.”
Jeff Denney
Jeff Denney said he wants to help make positive changes within the Yuma community.
Denney is one of five Yuma citizens vying for three seats on the council in the current mail-in municipal election.
He grew up in Holyoke and worked for the city for more than 12 years. He has lived in Yuma for more than 30 years working as a general contractor. He said he still does some contract work such as doors and windows.
“I want to be involved,” he said. “I see some things that can be done differently.”
Denney said integrity, accountability and transparency are extremely important.
“I just want to see this town prosper and grow, and be sustainable,” he said, adding he thinks the city hires out too many projects instead of city crews doing them. “When I worked for Holyoke, we did everything ourselves.
“Money can be spent better than how I’ve seen it spent in the past,” Denney said.
He said he has been attending every meeting for quite some time, including department meetings and workshop tours.
“My dedication to this (as a councilman) would be the same as being dedicated as an employee,” Denney said.
“I would love to see the city grow.”