Weiser picks Arndt for rural-targeted Cabinet post

DENVER — Former Fort Collins mayor Jeni Arndt will join Gov.-elect Phil Weiser’s Cabinet as director of rural enhancement, Weiser announced Tuesday.

Arndt served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021, where she held leadership roles including assistant majority caucus chair, and led the House committee focused on agriculture, natural resources and water policy. She resigned from the House to run successfully for mayor in 2021, serving two terms in Fort Collins before declining in 2025 to seek a third term.

When Weiser officially launched his 2026 Democratic gubernatorial campaign in January 2025, Arndt was named as one of his four official campaign co-chairs.

“Building trust in government and helping build trustworthy government has been the theme of my service in the Legislature and as mayor of Fort Collins,” Arndt said in a statement texted to BizWest Tuesday. “I’m honored to be able to continue that work in Gov.-elect Weiser’s Cabinet as the director of Rural Enhancement.”

The position is a Cabinet-level advisory role designed to act as a liaison and advocate for rural communities at the highest levels of state government. Originally established during the administration of now Sen. John Hickenlooper to address feelings of abandonment among rural residents over specific regional issues (such as sage grouse conservation), the position was revitalized by Weiser as a core campaign promise to appoint a focused point-person for rural Colorado.

“The Legislature taught me how to craft responsible laws and the mayorship taught me how things work in real time for real people,” Arndt wrote. “Both experiences will add tremendously to my role in the state of Colorado.”

Selected as one of BizWest’s 2024 Women of Distinction, Arndt has master’s degrees in geography from the University of Colorado Boulder and special education from Purdue University. She also earned a Ph.D in curriculum and instruction from Purdue.

“Communities across Colorado face a range of challenges, and I’m committed to working with diverse leaders to solve our biggest problems,” Weiser said in a prepared statement. “My administration will represent all of Colorado – and I’m proud to announce my latest appointees, which demonstrates my commitment to building a collaborative administration that’s inclusive of voices from across Colorado and the political spectrum. As governor, I will ensure that Coloradans from all walks of life have a seat at the table – because that’s the only way we will be ready on day one to make state government work better and build a brighter future for all Coloradans.”

Weiser announced that he was nominating Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, to serve as agriculture commissioner. He also said Scott Steinbrecher, currently deputy general for natural resources and environment, will serve as senior director of water policy, and that Dominick Moreno will direct the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting. Moreno previously served on the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee.

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