Voters pick commissioners for three districts in Arapahoe County
Arapahoe County on Tuesday night picked commissioners to represent three districts up for election.
The county, which has more than 650,000 residents in 13 towns and cities, is holding elections for three of five Board of County Commissioner seats.
Commissioners serve as the legislative and administrative body for the county. They oversee departments, hire the management team, administer county services, adopt ordinances and approve land use decisions within unincorporated Arapahoe County.
District 1: Carrie Warren-Gully
The district includes the cities of Sheridan, Bow Mar, Columbine Valley, Englewood, Littleton, Cherry Hills Village, western Centennial and parts of unincorporated northern Arapahoe County.
Voters appear to prefer Democratic incumbent Carrie Warren-Gully over Libertarian Josh Lallement and Republican Tyler Linnebur, according to the unofficial and early results.
Warren-Gully, who is running for reelection to represent the district for a second term, was leading Linnebur, an accountant from Littleton, by over 17 points, 57% to 40%. Third-party candidate Lallement, a Colorado native and delivery service driver, trailed at 3%.
Warren-Gully told The Denver Gazette that affordability is the biggest issue facing the county right now, saying one of her top priorities is addressing the housing crisis.
District 3: Jeff Baker
The district includes portions of Centennial, Aurora and Bennett, Deer Trail and unincorporated eastern Arapahoe County.
The two candidates for District 3, Republican incumbent Jeff Baker and Democrat Scott Brown, were closely tied on election night and into Wednesday morning, but Baker maintained the lead over Brown.
Baker, a retired military police officer running for a third term representing District 3, lead over Brown, a Colorado native in the aviation industry, by less than one point as of Wednesday morning, 50.4% to 49.6%.
Baker told The Denver Gazette that the biggest issue facing the county is sustainable funding challenges, referring to the county’s budget shortfall and a ballot initiative to retain revenue.
District 5: Rhonda Fields
The district includes northern portions of the city of Aurora and unincorporated Arapahoe County.
Democratic candidate Rhonda Fields is leading Libertarian candidate Eliseo Gonzalez, according to the early and unofficial count.
Fields, a Colorado state senator, is ahead of Gonzalez, a small business owner and longtime Arapahoe County resident, by commanding 30 points, 70% to 30%.
Fields told The Denver Gazette that the biggest issues facing the county are cost of living and housing affordability, public safety and managing growth.