This story first appeared in a Colorado Community Media newspaper. Support CCM’s neighborhood news.
Jon Voelz will keep his seat on Westminster City Council after unofficial results in Tuesday’s contentious, expensive recall election showed him with 62% of total votes.
“I’m glad the common sense of our residents prevailed,” Voelz said in a phone call Tuesday night. “This misleading, and wasteful and shameful recall is coming to an end. I look forward to continuing my work on city council.”
Voelz’s seat is only safe until November when he must run for reelection. The recall election cost the city up to $250,000 to run because it was not part of a coordinated county election.
Voelz’s victory also marks the end of a 10-month-long battle fought between community members over water rates, housing and commercial growth that saw the injection of partisanship in local politics.
Kathleen Dodaro, the candidate running to replace Voelz if he were recalled, declined to comment in a phone call Tuesday night. A representative of the pro-recall group, the Westminster Water Warriors, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
The recall campaign officially began last September when the Water Warriors began circulating recall petitions for four members of the city council, Voelz, Councilwoman Kathryn Skulley, Mayor Anita Seitz and former Mayor Herb Atchison, over claims that the four supported raising water rates or did not support lowering rates.