About The Project

The Colorado Citizen Observers Project is a civic-minded community creating a new path for awareness of our local governments, led by the League of Women Voters in support of the Citizen’s Right to Know. We will train people to attend, observe, and record government meetings so we can share original, accurate, non-partisan documentation of the proceedings with the public and news media. The project is being implemented by a coalition of partners led by the League of Women Voters of Larimer County. Our work is funded by the Gates Family Foundation, and supported by the Colorado Media Project, Open Media Foundation, the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, the Colorado Press Association, Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation, and Documenters.org. 

This project is an extension of the Observer Corps, a longstanding program of the League of Women Voters. The Larimer County Citizen Observers are managed by league members Sonia Koetting and Jane Hamburger. Some participants are paid and some are volunteer. Observers are not necessarily members of LWV, though they all adhere to principals of participation set forth by LWV. LWV offers deep appreciation to many individuals for their help, including Samantha Driggers, January Jones, Alfonso Gonzales, Melissa Davis, Jeff Roberts, Max Resnik, Jupe Herrick, and more. The participation of our nonprofit partner groups has been so valuable in establishing this civic project. We look forward to its expansion in Colorado.  

Our goals are to build lasting community partnerships, increase government transparency, and boost civic engagement. We seek to include diverse citizens as we share actionable information for the rural communities and small cities of Larimer County, and eventually, other Colorado communities served by the League of Women Voters.