Voters on Tuesday elected new mayors for two of Colorado’s largest cities, bringing to an end long-term runs at the top of Lakewood’s and Arvada’s municipal power structures.
Councilwoman Wendi Strom defeated challengers Cathy Kentner and Don Burkhart in Lakewood, the state’s fifth-largest city, with about 47% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Burkhart was in second with 28%.
In Arvada, the state’s seventh-largest city, the result was much closer. John Marriott’s slender lead over Lauren Simpson Tuesday evening flipped by morning. As of 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, Simpson had pulled ahead by 405 votes, according to results on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website — out of 44,219 ballots tallied.
Simpson declared victory late Wednesday morning. Both Marriott and Simpson serve on the City Council.
Suburban voters had a host of candidates and ballot issues to decide on in this election, including a myriad of local tax measures and three separate ballot questions in Commerce City about whether residents can keep backyard ducks, chickens and bees. In early results, chickens and bees were in the winning column while ducks were not so welcome.
The winner in Lakewood will replace Mayor Adam Paul, who has served 16 years in total on the City Council, while Mayor Marc Williams, who has been on Arvada’s council for nearly 25 years, will make way for Tuesday’s top mayoral vote-getter.
“It’s been good to turn this page and move on,” Paul told The Denver Post last month.
In a mayor’s race in Thornton, which lands between Lakewood and Arvada in size with nearly 145,000 residents, incumbent Jan Kulmann defeated opponent Julia Marvin 54% to 46%.The contest in the north suburb has had its share of drama.
Kulmann, who has been Thornton’s mayor since 2019 and has sat on the council for a decade, spurred a resident lawsuit two years ago that accused her of violating the city’s term-limits statutes by trying to get re-elected mayor. But the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Kulmann was OK to seek her seat again this year.
Meanwhile, in Boulder, voters used a new method — known as ranked-choice voting — to choose its next mayor. In a five-way tussle for Golden mayor, incumbent Laura Weinberg was leading the crowded field with nearly 48% of the vote.
Tax measures on the ballot in metro Denver included funding requests for police and fire services, sidewalks, open space acquisition and affordable housing. In Brighton, a measure seeking $2 million annually to buttress the city’s police department operations through an increase in the sales tax was trailing badly in results posted Wednesday morning, by a margin of 63.6% against and 36.4% for.
“This is the first ask ever for dedicated law enforcement funding,” Brighton Police Chief Matt Domenico told The Post last month. “The reason for this ask to voters is the fast pace of growth in the community. The police department has not been able to keep pace with that growth.”
Brighton’s measure asked voters to add 0.15 percentage points to the city’s sales tax, which would amount to 15 cents on a $100 purchase.
The city has grown from about 33,000 residents to nearly 43,000 today over the past decade, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. With that population spike has come an increase in crime, Domenico said. Calls for service have jumped from about 40,000 in 2013 to more than 70,000 in 2021.
Golden had a measure on its ballot asking voters to pass a mill levy override to boost funding for the city’s fire department — to the tune of $4.6 million a year. The measure was leading 54.4% to 45.6%, according to election results posted Tuesday evening.
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