City Blocks Greeley Resident Petition, “Democracy Failed Us Again”

The hard-fought battle for Greeley Demands Better blocked by the City of Greeley by unduly rejecting thousands of petition signatures.

Greeley, Colo. (October 30, 2025)

On Wednesday evening, October 29, 2025, the Greeley City Clerk determined that the number of petition signatures submitted by the grassroots citizen initiative, Greeley Demands Better (GDB) was “insufficient” by 32 signatures. GDB now has five days to cure the signatures either by collecting additional signatures or correcting the signatures in question – and GDB will cure the petition by the Monday deadline.

Greeley Demands Better submitted 7,739 signatures to give residents a vote on the zoning of the $1.1 billion Cascadia hockey arena and entertainment district. The city’s required number of valid signatures was 4,586, and the timeframe to obtain those signatures was limited to just two weeks. Greeley citizens responded to the call and delivered a count far above the requirement – nearly 70% more – but, still, the Greeley City Clerk disqualified just enough signatures to deny Greeley residents the right to vote on the project.

“The city rejected 41% of the signatures submitted for the petition,” said Greeley Demands Better attorney, Suzanne Taheri. “This is an irrationally high rejection rate. This continued conduct is unprecedented and a violation of our first amendment right to petition the government. The standard rejection rate in municipal and statewide petition efforts is 20%. Notably, Greeley chooses not to follow the standards and best practices of the Secretary of State in verifying signatures. We plan to cure the signatures by Monday and are confident we can do so.”

At the time they submitted their 7,739 signatures, Greeley Demands Better requested an independent review or at the very least an election watcher during the petition signature validation process. The clerk rejected both requests.

“This is unacceptable. The city and democracy failed us again. It has been a long, tough road to inform our neighbors about what was at stake in this deal – and they want a new plan. Still, city staff and these city leaders continue to fail us; but it’s not over yet,” said Rhonda Solis, Co-chair of Greeley Demands Better. “We just want a better solution to the zoning and financing of this project. It’s absurd that Greeley voters have been purposefully omitted from this process. This coming election is more important than ever. Greeley must elect city councilmembers who are not afraid to hold city staff accountable to the residents of Greeley.”

The Cascadia project is estimated to cost $1.1 billion to build, and part of the financing terms include mortgaging many of Greeley’s high value properties, including City Hall, bus facilities, recreation center, police buildings, and fire facilities.

“Today, another roadblock has been placed in our path – the city rejected thousands of signatures but did not identify which signatures were of concern and why they were rejected. We will win the battle in our efforts to correct the wrongs and re-establish the veracity of the workings of our local government,” said Brandon Wark, Co-chair of Greeley Demands Better. “This is a shame and embarrassment for our City Council, City Manager and the developer.”

The process has been unduly challenging for Greeley Deserves/Demands Better and their supporters. GDB has faced a series of obstructive roadblocks along the way, especially from the City Manager, City Council, and the developer.

“Clearly, the city has done everything in its power to ensure the fix was in for the developer from day one,” said Greeley Demands Better attorney, Suzanne Taheri. “We have experienced actions that are at odds with due process and many dealings that are highly questionable.”

Throughout the ordeal, the list of shadowy methods from the adversaries of Greeley Deserves/Demands Better is long:

· The City of Greeley has acknowledged their conflict-of-interest issue but refused to appoint a neutral clerk to review the petitions.

· On the first petition, the city rejected thousands of signatures and entire sections of the petition for trivial omissions violating case law and failed to provide petitioners the necessary five-day “cure” period.

· The first petition submission from Greeley citizens was stalled by the city which claimed the issue was an “administrative” action (rather than legislative) to interfere with it being placed on the November ballot.

· The City of Greeley hired a blatantly biased Hearing Officer to rule in favor of the city and affirm the city’s claim that the initial petition was “administrative”.

· On the second petition submission, GDB requested an election watcher to observe the petition verification process. The city clerk denied the request. The city then claimed the petition was not sufficient and refuses to provide the list of rejected signatures to allow for cure.

· The City of Greeley used the wrong election cycle to determine the number of signatures required for both petitions. Rather than using “10% of the ballots cast in the last municipal election” as required by the city charter, the city clerk required GDB to gather nearly three times the amount of signatures by using the votes cast in the presidential election.

· Police issued trespass notices solely to GDB petitioners during the referendum petition gathering. Petition circulators for other causes were not given trespass notices at the same locations.

· The opponents of GDB petition gathering efforts parked a large truck with a digital display that read, “Decline to Sign” and “Don’t be Tricked” next to petition signing locations to block access and interfere with GDB’s right to petition.

· After expressing their evidence-based disappointment in an op-ed in the Greeley Tribune that the first petition wouldn’t be on the November ballot, the developer is now suing Greeley Deserves Better and its two volunteer proponents claiming false and defamatory statements are hurting his reputation.

The coalition of concerned Greeley citizens, now called Greeley Demands Better, formed in June 2025 and initially filed an initiative to repeal Ordinance 2025-15. The ordinance exposes taxpayers to over $1 billion in financial risk and unlimited liability for the controversial Cascadia West Greeley Project, which includes an ice hockey arena, a waterpark, an event center, and an entertainment district.

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About Greeley Demands Better

The “Greeley Demands Better” campaign is a grassroots citizen initiative seeking to repeal the zoning for the “Bad Cascadia Deal” and ensure responsible fiscal management of taxpayer dollars. The initiative process is 100% Greeley-driven, co-chaired by Greeley resident Brandon Wark, and Rhonda Solis, former Colorado's 8th Congressional District Board of Education member, Greeley-Evans school board member, and long-time Greeley resident.

For more information, visit GreeleyDemandsBetter.com or follow the campaign on social media.