Two educators, Dick White and Anita “Sweetie” Marbury, will be the next two members of the Durango City Council.

Of the more than 6,000 votes recorded, White and Marbury pulled in 2,185 and 1,705 votes, respectively.

White, a former astronomy professor, and Marbury, a New Mexico drama teacher, beat out hopefuls Emil Wanatka and Connie Imig, who received 1,473 and 1,042 votes on the first ballots counted. Wanatka and Imig are both business owners.

About 50 percent of Durango’s electorate turned out, up from the last municipal election, which had a 37 percent turnout.

White, who is expected to take over as mayor two years from now, said he was not surprised by the results.

“This was my reading of where things were going to go,” White said after the preliminary results were announced. “Of course, it all depended on who turned out.”

Although White’s signature issue is sustainability, his supporters included members of the business and development community, including Twin Buttes developer Eric Flora. More than 60 of those supporters poured into the Eno wine bar on East Second Avenue to celebrate his victory.

Marbury did not host a victory party – she said she just wanted to attend the council meeting as she always does – but White’s supporters asked Marbury to join them at Eno.

“I’ll have a cup of coffee – this is a school night for me,” Marbury said.

Holding back a tear or two, Marbury said she was “overwhelmed” by the support she received.

“I want to thank everyone who voted and participated in the process. I’ll keep standing up for Durango,” she said.

Earlier in the day, voters – and even some of the candidates themselves – seemed unable to gauge the probable outcome.

Voters outside City Hall, where ballots were due by 7 p.m., for the most part declined to disclose their picks and seemed impressed with all four candidates.

Voters polled informally almost uniformly singled out growth and development as their driving issue.

Glenn Murray, a 50-year-old local architect, said he wanted to see a council that is less restrictive than the current panel.

“The city makes it too difficult for people to do anything, so that pushes (homebuilders) out and contributes to urban sprawl, traffic jams and bottlenecks,” Murray said Tuesday outside City Hall. “The planning needs to be more regionwide – if the city acts unilaterally, it really makes the whole growth thing a real problem.”

Randy Parker, 45, echoed that concern calling growth “inevitable” and calling for the city to “embrace” it.

“The genie is out of the bottle,” Parker said. “We can’t go backwards – let’s build the infrastructure to support it.”

Others, such as Darel Crawford, 61, were more skeptical of growth and its proponents.

“My only issue is never elect a developer,” Crawford said, presumably referring to Wanatka, a former president of the Colorado Association of Homebuilders. “It’s kind of like taking the henhouse and telling the fox, ‘Here, you guard it.’”

It was that sentiment that had Wanatka late last week already doubting his chances of victory. Spotted waving at motorists at the crossroads of Main Avenue, Camino del Rio and 14th Street, Wanatka told a reporter he considered himself at the “back of the pack” among the candidates.

“I think a lot of it has to with perceptions,” he said.

Imig wore herself out with electioneering the chilly Monday before the polls closed.

“I thought I had frostbitten my fingertips,” Imig said early Tuesday afternoon. “I literally had tears in my eyes.”

Imig decided to run for council, she said, to give herself “a little control over my own destiny as a business owner.” But on Election Day, she opted to let go and give herself – and her fingertips – a break.

Imig, who owns The Spaaah Shop on Main Avenue, treated herself to a facial, pedicure and French manicure while the last voters cast their ballots.

“Whatever happens, a good percentage of people voted, and that’s just perfect,” Imig said.

White and Marbury replace outgoing Mayor Michael Rendon and Councilor Joe Colgan. The two will be sworn in at the April 18 City Council meeting.

mcastro@durango herald.com