What we know about RTD’s new board leaders

Updated at 11:44 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026

Five new members are set to join the Regional Transportation District’s board of directors after Tuesday’s elections, providing new perspectives for the beleaguered transit agency as it approaches a series of critical decisions.

Three of those new members will emerge from contested elections playing out across the metro.

In northeast Denver and Aurora, candidate John Glenn declared victory in District B on Tuesday night. Glenn’s campaign focused on transit reliability and affordability; he led with 57% of the vote as of 11 p.m. His opponent, Bianka Emerson , had not yet commented.

In District O, representing Boulder, candidate Jack Rosenthal led with 56% of the vote and declared victory over Audrey DeBarros . Rosenthal’s campaign focused on support for the new Colorado Connector train. (The regional train project also succeeded on Tuesday , with voters approving tax funding.)

“Folks are ready for change at RTD, and they’re ready to see actual transit riders representing them on the board. I never thought I’d be here,” Rosenthal said. “It’s still a little surreal for me at this point.”

In District K, candidate Jessica Sandgren led by a narrow 1,791 votes over Michael Farrington with just less than half of the vote counted. Sandgren’s campaign focused on increasing safety and reliability for RTD riders in the district. She opposed the Colorado Connector.

Farrington, a proponent of the Colorado Connector, said contributions should be limited to the district. His campaign also pushed safety, in addition to finishing RTD’s N Line and the return of the popular BroncosRide shuttle.

RTD has 15 elected seats in all, though the board is set to shrink to five elected members and four appointed members in 2029.

This year’s race comes at a pivotal time. RTD’s newest crop of directors will join long-running incumbents in selecting a new CEO. Together, they’ll have to make decisions about funding the Colorado Connector, which will eventually run from Pueblo to Fort Collins.

They’ll also debate solutions to RTD’s $200 million-plus budget deficit. The agency has struggled to regrow ridership after the pandemic, and its dire financial situation could force significant cuts to service.

Joe Meyer in District C and Coleman Erickson in District J also won uncontested races to join the board.

Doug Tisdale, a former director on the board, said the choice of a CEO is critical.

“It’s a huge challenge. (CEOs), to a great extent, dictate the vitality and the viability of a transit agency,” Tisdale said. The board of directors will act as a conduit and overseers for the new CEO. “They are there to pass on proposals that the CEO gives to them,” he said.

Directors can also set the agency’s direction, and Tisdale immediately pointed to one many candidates have discussed: land leases. He said the idea of developing RTD’s vacant land is “critical.” Many candidates this year agreed .

Glenn said that if RTD had developed its land earlier, its “$200 million problem wouldn’t be one.”