Grassroots Coloradans made their voices heard in 2024.

The year was marked by voters across the political spectrum demanding commonsense reforms to address real-world problems — including sky-high property taxes and soaring crime rates — that the far-left Legislature wanted to duck.

It was a reminder to elected officials that the people are ultimately in charge.

The citizen initiative process acts as a safety valve when the men and women we elect are disconnected from the everyday concerns and challenges facing their constituents. Too often legislators are ideologically resistant to reforms that are urgently needed.

The statewide property tax crisis that was needlessly allowed to fester for years is Exhibit A.

Due to a change in the balance of residential and commercial property taxes that had insulated homeowners from excessive tax increases — combined with sharply rising home values — tax bills were expected to rise sharply.

As the details began to appear, taxpayers were looking at increases of 30% or higher (on average) across the state.

For several legislative sessions, we at Advance Colorado argued for bold but reasonable reforms. The necessary solution was to roll back the huge tax increase and then cap future increases so that such double-digit unexpected tax hikes could be prevented in the future.

The legislative majority and the governor repeatedly declined to do what needed to be done. Instead, they enacted timid and tepid measures that fell far short of the tax relief homeowners needed.

Too many lawmakers were focused on the myth that even modest belt tightening amid a revenue windfall would cause essential services to crater. However, they lacked the same concern for Coloradans who would be forced to cut the family budget to pay for a bloated property tax bill.

How to give taxpayers the cut and cap that would solve the tax crisis?

Put it on the ballot.

Our two proposals were immensely popular. Voters waited in line to have their chance to sign the petitions, and both easily earned a spot on the ballot.

Just the prospect of these pro-taxpayer measures being enacted by voters, and the hundreds of thousands of Coloradans who signed the petitions, focused the minds of liberal lawmakers. In a special session, the Legislature enacted a bipartisan cut and cap plan that saves taxpayers $1.6 billion annually — and solved the property tax crisis.

Meaningfully addressing Colorado’s widespread public safety problems also required a dose of citizen action. Crime in Colorado has soared to the point that U.S. News & World Report ranked Colorado as the third most dangerous state in the nation.

The rate at which Colorado criminals reoffend is among the highest in America. The states public safety budget was being diverted from putting cops on the street who can make arrests.

The solutions were straightforward.

First, we asked voters to require the state to invest the $350 million in existing dollars — without raising taxes — on hiring, retaining, training and equipping law enforcement officers.

The measure also created a $1 million death benefit for the families of first responders killed in the line of duty.

We also proposed “ In Sentencing” which addressed the serious problem of violent criminals serving just 46% of their sentences before being released.

Many of these criminals who were put back on the streets early went on to commit new crimes — and create more victims. Our initiative requires that these felons serve at least 85% of their sentences.

The key is to focus on the specific causes of some of the crime problems facing our communities and propose real-world, common-sense solutions that are easy to understand.

Both public measures earned voter approval — with Truth In Sentencing becoming the most popular citizen initiative on the ballot this year.

The lesson from 2024 is that solid, commonsense ideas can be enacted even in a “state to address some of Colorado’s most lingering challenges. Harnessing the power of voters and taxpayers gets the attention of even the most out-of-touch legislators.

If politicians won’t do it, the people still can.

Michael Fields is the President of Advance Colorado.