Three people have declared their candidacy for the board of directors of the Health District of Northern Larimer County. They will compete for two open seats in an election on May 3.  

Running are Robert Calhoun, 66, a licensed psychologist; Faraz Naqvi, 55, a physician focused on elderly care, skilled and assisted living care and management of health professionals; and Deirdre Sullivan, 41, a program supervisor for CanDo and Vida Sana at UCHealth Community Health Improvement and a facilitator with the Family Leadership Training Institute at Colorado State University Extension. All are residents of Fort Collins.

The Health District is governed by a five-person board of directors whose members are publicly elected to alternating four-year terms. Board members are elected at large by eligible electors in the district, which encompasses the northern two-thirds of Larimer County and includes the cities of Fort Collins, Timnath, Laporte, Livermore and Wellington. Elections are held every two years.

To be eligible to vote in the election, a person must be a U.S. citizen aged 18 years or older who is registered to vote in Colorado and is also a resident of the district. Non-district residents may vote if they or their spouse own property within the Health District.

Voting on May 3 will take place at two polling locations in Fort Collins: the Health District main office, 120 Bristlecone Drive, and Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, 4501 S. Lemay Ave. (corner of Lemay and Harmony)

People also may vote by mail. The only way to vote by mail in this election is by using an absentee ballot, which people may request even if they will be in town during the election. Ballots will be sent automatically to people who have voted in previous Health District board elections and requested to be on a permanent absentee ballot list. All other eligible voters wishing to vote by mail in this election must request an absentee ballot. The application for absentee ballot can be downloaded at healthdistrict.org/2016-election. It also will be printed in the issue of the Compass newsletter mailed to Health District households in early April.            

Applications for an absentee ballot must be signed and returned to the Health District by Tuesday, April 26 to receive the ballot by mail. If a person wishes to pick up the ballot in person, they can return the application by 5 p.m., April 29. Applications can be returned to Gail Bridger by mail at 120 Bristlecone Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80524; by fax at (970) 221-7165; or by email (as a scanned attachment) at gbridger@healthdistrict.org. All completed ballots must be received at the Health District by 7 p.m. on the day of the election in order to be counted.

The Health District is a public agency that provides residents of northern Larimer County with dental, mental health, and preventive health services, in addition to connecting people to more affordable prescription and health insurance options.

For more information on the Health District board of directors election, call 224-5209. More election information, including personal profiles provided by the candidates, is available at healthdistrict.org/2016-election. The League of Women Voters of Larimer County will moderate a candidates forum April 6, 7 p.m., in the Fort Collins City Council chambers, 300 Laporte Ave. It is free and open to the public. It will be shown later on Fort Collins City Cable 1