Runoff elections were certain in four Denver City Council district races as Denver neared the end of ballot counting Thursday, including in several that could reshape the lawmaking body.
According to preliminary results, two incumbents will face runoffs on June 6: north District 9 Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca and central District 10 Councilman Chris Hinds, both first-term members who ran in hotly contested races. Open races in districts 7 and 8 also are headed to runoffs.
The Denver Elections Division released updated results at 2 p.m. Thursday after completing the main ballot count from Tuesday’s election. A spokesman said about 2,400 ballots that have been set aside, for curing or other issues, could still be counted potentially. Those outstanding ballots could affect tight competition for the second runoff slots in districts 7 and 10.
To avoid a runoff between the top two vote-getters, the winning candidate in any district race must receive an outright majority of votes.
Other incumbents were on track to win outright or were unopposed. And in the open District 4 race in far-southeast Denver, Diana Romero Campbell has defeated Tony Pigford outright.
RELATED: Full Denver election results
Pigford was among five district candidates backed by both the Denver Democratic Socialists of America and the Colorado Working Families Party, which sought to elect progressive candidates to the council. Another, Tiffany Caudill, lost in District 2. But two others — Shontel Lewis in District 8 and Shannon Hoffman in District 10 — are on track to make runoffs, as is CdeBaca, an incumbent backed by both groups.
All seats were up on the 13-seat council, including 11 positions elected from geographic districts throughout the city. At least three of those so far will be represented by new faces. The council’s two at-large two seats also will have new occupants, with the leading candidates each backed by at least one of the progressive groups.
This election is the first under a redistricting plan approved last year for council districts.
Three incumbents ran unopposed: Jamie Torres, the current council president, in west Denver’s District 3; Paul Kashmann in near-southeast District 6; and Stacie Gilmore in far-northeast District 11. Kashmann and Gilmore each will serve the third and final term allowed under Denver’s term limits.
District 1:
First-term Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval has won reelection to represent northwest neighborhoods, from Sloan’s Lake to Highland to Chaffee Park. She was challenged by Ava Truckey, a business owner and community organizer.
As of Thursday, Sandoval had 13,501 votes (82%) to Truckey’s 2,962 votes (18%).
RELATED: Tracking results in the Denver City Council at-large race
District 2:
Second-term Councilman Kevin Flynn has won reelection to represent far-southwest neighborhoods, from Harvey Park and a portion of Mar Lee south to Marsten. He was challenged by Tiffany Caudill, a community advocate and consultant, and Chris Herr, a sustainability director.
As of Thursday, Flynn had 8,741 votes (72%), Caudill had 2,193 votes (18%) and Herr had 1,223 votes (10%).
District 4:
Diana Romero Campbell has been elected to represent District 4. The seat was open after two-term Councilwoman Kendra Black opted not to seek another term. The district spans far-southeast neighborhoods from Wellshire and University Hills to Hampden South. Running were Tony Pigford, an educator and advocate, and Romero Campbell, the president and CEO of an education nonprofit.
As of Thursday, Romero Campbell had 7,989 votes (57%) to Pigford’s 6,149 votes (43%).
District 5:
First-term Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer has won reelection to represent east neighborhoods from Country Club and Cherry Creek to Lowry and Windsor. She was challenged by Michael Hughes, a professional mediator.
As of Thursday, Sawyer had 12,510 votes (65%) to Hughes’ 6,649 votes (35%).
District 7:
This race will go to a runoff between Flor Alvidrez and one of two contenders for the No. 2 spot, with Nick Campion currently leading Adam Estroff. The seat was open after second-term Councilman Jolon Clark decided not to seek another term. The mostly south-Denver district spans neighborhoods from Speer and a portion of Capitol Hill south to Ruby Hill, Overland and Rosedale. Running in the crowded race were Alvidrez, a small business owner; Campion, a software CEO; Estroff, a sales consultant; Arthur May, a software product manager; and Guy Padgett, an operations director for a news website.
As of Thursday, Alvidrez had 5,820 votes (38%), Campion had 2,909 votes (19.2%), Estroff had 2,814 votes (18.6%), Padgett had 2,493 votes (16% percent) and May had 1,108 votes (7.3%).
District 8:
This race will go to a runoff between Shontel Lewis and Brad Revare. The seat is open because Councilman Chris Herndon was term-limited. The northeast district includes Northeast Park Hill, East Colfax, Central Park and a portion of Montbello. Running in the crowded race were Tyler Drum, a nonprofit fundraiser; Lewis, a small business owner and former Regional Transportation District board director; Revare, a nonprofit leader; Christian Steward, a community advocate; and Leslie Twarogowski, the director of a business improvement district.
As of Thursday, Lewis had 5,038 votes (36%), Revare had 4,743 votes (34%), Twarogowski had 1,904 votes (13%), Drum had 1,286 votes (9.1%) and Steward had 1,057 votes (7.5%).
District 9:
This race will go to a runoff between first-term Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca and Darrell Watson. The district includes Five Points, Globeville, Elyria-Swansea, Clayton and a portion of Park Hill. She was challenged by Watson, a small business owner, and Kwon Atlas, a nonprofit director. After trailing Watson since Tuesday night, CdeBaca pulled ahead Wednesday afternoon.
As of Thursday, CdeBaca had 7,330 votes (44.2%), Watson had 7,122 votes (43%), and Atlas had 2,118 votes (13%).
District 10:
This race will go to a runoff between first-term Councilman Chris Hinds and one of two contenders for the second spot, with Shannon Hoffman currently leading Noah Kaplan. Hinds is seeking reelection to represent central neighborhoods from downtown and Golden Triangle to City Park West and Congress Park. He is challenged by Hoffman, a nonprofit administrator; Kaplan, an educator; and Margie Morris, a social impact consultant.
As of Thursday, Hinds had 6,016 votes (36%), Hoffman had 4,563 votes (27%), Kaplan had 4,333 votes (25.7%), and Morris had 1,979 votes (12%).
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