Greeley Voters Calling: Can You Hear Us Now?

Greeley Demands Better Submits nearly 8,000 signatures for the second time to give Greeley residents a  vote on the $1.1B Cascadia hockey arena and entertainment district

Greeley, Colo. (October 16, 2025) 

With an extremely tight two-week timeframe to gather the necessary 4,586 valid signatures to place the Cascadia zoning on the ballot, Greeley Demands Better and its volunteer brigade have submitted 7,739 signatures to the Greeley Clerk before today’s deadline.

“During this second round of signature gathering, Greeley residents are now much more aware of the high-risk financing scheme of Cascadia project that puts our Greeley taxpayers on the hook for over a billion dollars in long-term obligations. Greeley residents have real issues that they are looking to the City to solve. The lack of hockey arenas simply isn’t one of them,” said Rhonda Solis, Co-Chair of Greeley Demands Better, former Colorado's 8th Congressional District Board of Education member, Greeley-Evans school board member, and long-time Greeley resident.

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

“Almost 8,000 signatures in two weeks is incredible – and it speaks to the deep concerns of our residents,” said Brandon Wark, Co-Chair of Greeley Demands Better, currently on the Keenesburg Government Efficiency Committee and running for a seat on the Greeley City Council. “The concerns of this financing arrangement cross all party lines and all age demographics in our city. All Greeley residents deserve transparency from local government; that’s why I’m standing here supporting this initiative. Let’s develop this event center the right way – the responsible way.”

The next milestone in this ballot saga is for the City of Greeley to certify the signatures. According to state statute, because Greeley does not have explicit language in its charter about the right to cure for a referendum, the governing statute reverts to state law, which would allow Greeley Demands Better five days to cure any signature questions from the Clerk. Once the signatures are approved, the Cascadia project must halt until there is a vote of the people.

“We have deep concerns about the transparency of the City of Greeley, which already has acknowledged it has a conflict of interest regarding this issue. The last time we submitted signatures, despite the City Clerk approving the petition, the City sued and threw out a record breaking 7,739 signatures from Greeley residents that we submitted, claiming the issue – that the City of Greeley itself called legislative – was administrative and not eligible for the ballot measure process,” said Suzanne Taheri, legal counsel for Greeley Demands Better. “This time, we requested an ‘election watcher’ from the Secretary of State’s office and were denied by the City Clerk for this signature count. We will be monitoring this issue carefully for potential disenfranchisement of Greeley voters. The City of Greeley has already played that card and voters will not stand for another round of silencing its constituents.”

Beginning in June 2025, this coalition of concerned Greeley citizens, now under the name Greeley Demands Better, filed an initiative to repeal Ordinance 2025-15, which exposed taxpayers to over $1 billion in financial risk and unlimited liability for the controversial Cascadia West Greeley Project.

Since then and in just a few short months, the 100% Greeley-driven grassroots citizen group has received a growing number of supporters and continues to press the Greeley City Council to renegotiate responsible financing options for the Cascadia project, transparency in the decisions, and voter input.

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About Greeley Demands Better

The “Greeley Demands Better” campaign is a grassroots citizen initiative seeking to repeal the financing 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, currently on the Keenesburg Government Efficiency Committee and running for a seat on the Greeley City Council, 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 www.greeleydeservesbetter.com or follow the campaign on social media.