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Denver residents weren’t tasked with too many big decisions this election season, at least not compared to the past few times the city turned out to vote. Three school board seats (district 1, district 5, and one at-large) were up for grabs, and beyond that the city-wide ballot featured just four local measures. It was the two state-wide ballot issues that garnered most attention leading up to election day. Here’s a breakdown of how things unfolded after the polls closed Tuesday evening.
We will update this story as votes are counted and results are verified. Last updated: 11/6/19 at 3:45 p.m.
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Denver School Board
In the at-large school board election, Tay Anderson (49.61 percent) defeated Alexis Menocal Harrigan (37.69 percent) and Natela Manuntseva (12.7 percent) for the open seat. With the victory, Anderson becomes the youngest-ever member of Denver’s school board. In the District 1 race, Scott Baldermann (49 percent) defeated Diana Romero Campbell (31 percent) and Radhika Nath (20 percent). The closest race is in District 5, where Brad Laurvick (36 percent) leads Tony Curcio (32 percent) and Julie Bañuelos (32 percent).
Local ballot measures
All of Denver’s local ballot measures look as though they will pass. Denver will now have a new transportation and infrastructure department (74 percent) as well as a new agency to oversee arts and music venues (79 percent). Additionally, the Denver Fire Department will create two new ranks, including EMT (84 percent), and elected officials will now be required to live in Denver for the duration of their term (90 percent). For more on each measure, read our ballot guide.
Propositions CC and DD
As of the latest tally, Proposition CC has failed and Proposition DD is expected to pass. Proposition CC would have revised the law so the state is allowed to keep tax revenue that exceeds the annual cap set by TABOR (read our explainer here). Its proponents conceded around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, as only 45 percent of voters statewide had approved the measure, while nearly 55 percent voted against it.
Proposition DD, which will legalize sports betting in Colorado, had broad support as it creates a dedicated funding source for Colorado’s water plan (learn more here). But so far, the vote is extremely close; 50.73 percent of voters approved the measure while 49.27 percent voted against it.
Other notable news
In Aurora’s race for mayor, former District 6 U.S. Representative Mike Coffman leads the five-candidate field with more than 38 percent of the vote. The closest challenger, Omar Montgomery, has about 33 percent of the vote.
