While the Nov. 4 municipal election is still months away, four of the five filed candidates for Arvada City Council stumped at the first forum event of the campaign trail, held by Arvadans for Progressive Action at the First United Church of Arvada on July 12.

In District 1, incumbent Councilmember Randy Moorman is seeking reelection and is thus far unopposed for the seat.

Also running unopposed is Michael Griffith, who is running his third campaign in as many election cycles and is seeking to hold the at-large seat currently occupied by Brad Rupert, who was appointed to the seat in December 2024 and has not filed to remain on the dais. Griffith and Rupert both vied for the seat vacated by Lisa Feret’s election to the state house last year.

In District 3 — where longtime Councilmember John Marriott is term-limited after 12 years on the dais — the field is significantly more crowded. Rebecka Lovisone, Nathan Mudd and Aaron Skoff, all first-time candidates, are seeking to fill the seat soon to be vacated by Marriott. While Skoff was out of town during the APA forum, the other two candidates made their cases.

Kicking off the night, Griffith discussed his background as a city planner and his years of serving as chair of Arvada’s Planning Commission, and said that his main concern was increasing affordability in Arvada.

“The reason why I’m running is because Arvada has become painfully unaffordable,” Griffith said. “I moved here in 2014 and I thought we paid too much for our house and we were going to be underwater for the rest of our lives. And I’m here to tell you that our house was less than half the price of the cheapest house that’s now available in Arvada. It’s only been 10 years.

“The big reason that I think we see these price increases that are specifically affecting Arvada is that we’re getting very close to becoming a bedroom community,” Griffith said.

“Meaning that most of the people that work here can’t afford to live here, so they have to commute in; and most of the people that live here work somewhere else.”

Griffith posited that the issue creates a growing homeless population and wreaks havoc on the city’s infrastructure, as people have to take more frequent and longer car trips.

Next up was Moorman, who heralded his achievements in his first term on council, which he said include the creation of the Arvada Housing Advisory Committee, the passage of the Housing Strategic Plan and hiring a sustainability coordinator, which was a major tenet of his first campaign.

“I am making a re-commitment to you as I run for re-election,” Moorman said.

“I promise to do more, and my first priority is to enhance the quality of life for all residents. All means all; that includes our unhoused, that includes our immigrant community, that includes trans, that includes our youth and our seniors.

“Every Arvadan should have the same opportunity to live, work and thrive in our city, and so I’m very dedicated to that,” Moorman continued. “And what does that look like? Well, I think we need to do more to identify and address inequities and discrimination, and that starts with actually having a resident advisory committee dedicated to looking at that. So, I commit to getting that done.”

Finally, the District 3 candidates in attendance made their cases, starting with Lovisone.

Lovisone — a parent and frequent volunteer within the city — said that she came from a politically literate family and welcomes discussions on any number of topics. She added that she is led by three core tenets: bravery, growth and reliability.

“I think it’s incredibly important to hold space for conflicting views, because that is where we find the middle ground,” Lovisone said. “That is where we see the big picture, and that’s where we can be creative and innovative.

“I am a problem solver,” Lovisone continued.

“And I say, ‘Bring it on to a fourhour meeting about water treatment.’ Let me do the SparkNotes for you. I really enjoy this, and I hope you’ll see that my passion comes across.”

Nathan Mudd — an environmental lawyer who founded the Arvada Farmers Market — discussed the experience of going to the recent No Kings rally in Arvada, which he said was an “awesome” experience for himself and his family to attend. He said that as a 20-year Arvada resident, he cares about the local environment, local jobs and the local economy.

“I believe that healthy food leads to healthy families, leads to healthy communities,” Mudd said. “It also strengthens our local economy.”

The full candidate forum can be viewed on Arvadan’s for Progressive Action’s YouTube page.