{"id":1317520,"date":"2020-01-03T16:45:05","date_gmt":"2020-01-03T23:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=992297"},"modified":"2020-01-03T16:45:05","modified_gmt":"2020-01-03T23:45:05","slug":"should-glenwood-springs-have-runoff-elections-for-city-council-question-could-head-to-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/should-glenwood-springs-have-runoff-elections-for-city-council-question-could-head-to-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Glenwood Springs have runoff elections for city council? Question could head to voters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
In this Post Independent file photo Councilman Rick Voorhees is sworn into office. as a Glenwood Springs City Council member by deputy City Clerk Jill Peterson. The council may ask voters this April whether or not runoffs should occur if a candidate fails to receive over 50% of the vote. <\/strong>
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

A candidate does not need 50% of the vote to be elected to Glenwood Springs City Council.<\/p>\n

Instead, the city\u2019s charter states that the candidate who receives the most votes wins \u2013 no majority necessary.<\/p>\n

But Glenwood Springs voters could be asked as part of this April\u2019s special election whether or not those rules should change.<\/p>\n

Specifically, should a runoff occur if a candidate does not receive over half the vote?<\/p>\n

According to Mayor Jonathan Godes, no recent council race fueled the discussion. Instead, the topic has lingered among previous mayors and city councilors for quite some time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we, as city council, want to put this on the ballot in April now is the time to make that decision,\u201d Godes said.<\/p>\n

While city council decides whether or not to put the question on the ballot, the voters would get the final say in the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a charter amendment,\u201d Godes said. \u201cIt has to go to a vote of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to a city council staff report, a city election typically carries with it a price tag of between $12,000 to $15,000.<\/p>\n

Additionally, in nearby municipalities like Aspen, residents elect four city councilors and a mayor, which can lead to runoffs.<\/p>\n

Aspen residents vote for two city council candidates from the entire field.<\/p>\n

The top two candidates then take office \u201cprovided that the candidate receives 45% plus one vote, or more, of the votes cast for the office\u201d according to the city\u2019s charter.<\/p>\n

If not enough candidates receive over 45% of the vote, then a runoff ensues.<\/p>\n

Councilor Tony Hershey, who previously served on Aspen\u2019s City Council, said he opposed the idea of a runoff election in Glenwood Springs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the concern is if there are like 12 people running and one person wins with 20% of the vote, is that really the will of the people?\u201d Hershey said. \u201cWe are lucky to have two or three candidates in any one race. Sometimes people run unopposed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the April 2019 elections, eight candidates ran for four council seats in Glenwood Springs. Two of those races were uncontested as councilors Paula Stepp and Steve Davis ran unopposed.<\/p>\n

In 2015, seven candidates ran for four city council seats in Glenwood Springs. In that election, councilors Todd Leahy and Michael Gamba ran unopposed for the Ward 3 and Ward 4 seats respectively.<\/p>\n

Additionally, that election\u2019s closest contest was that of former councilor Kathryn Trauger defeating her two opponents with over 60% of the vote.<\/p>\n

Aspen residents, unlike Glenwood Springs voters, also directly elect their mayor.<\/p>\n

In Glenwood Springs, a city with nearly 10,000 residents, seven city councilors decide who serves as mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a direct election of the mayor by voters would increase their participation in the city\u2019s affairs,\u201d Councilor Rick Voorhees said.<\/p>\n

Voorhees also believed a runoff between the top two candidates in ward and at-large races, should a candidate not receive over 50% of the vote, would \u201cproduce more interest and more accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn additional round might force the candidates to base their platforms on hard facts and research, not simply what they believe the public wants to hear,\u201d Voorhees said.<\/p>\n

Council, likely in the coming weeks, will decide whether or not to put the runoff question before voters this April.<\/p>\n

mabennett@postindependent.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this Post Independent file photo Councilman Rick Voorhees is sworn into office. as a Glenwood Springs City Council member by deputy City Clerk Jill Peterson. The council may ask voters this April whether or not runoffs should occur if a candidate fails to receive over 50% of the vote. A candidate does not need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-06 06:30:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317520\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}