Republican Brad Blake watches election results with his wife, Janelle Blake, on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Club. Results were showing he had a narrow lead over Cynthia Roebuck, a Democrat.<br><br>Republican Brad Blake watches election results with his wife, Janelle Blake, on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Club. Results were showing he had a narrow lead over Cynthia Roebuck, a Democrat.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br><br>JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald
Roebuck
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Republicans had patriotic decorations on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Republican Brad Blake, talks with Jo Fusco, left, and Donna Cook on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Terri Oliger kept election results updated on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Bob Lieb, left, looks on with his son Bobby Lieb, candidate for La Plata County Treasurer, and Bobby’s wife Meredith, and their daughter, Laura, 18, as they watch election results come in on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Republicans filled the basement of the Durango Elks Lodge on Tuesday night.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - 11/04/14 - County commissioner Julie Westendorff and others celebrate as they learn both Sean Smith and Allison Morrissey were ahead on Tuesday evening at Brew Pub & Kitchen.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - 11/04/14 - Sean Smith accepts congratulations from friends and supporters after arriving with son, Christopher Smith, 10, mom Holly Smith, and son Brandon Smith, 16, on Tuesday evening at Brew Pub & Kitchen.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Election results from other the U.S. were updated throughout the evening on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - 11/04/14 - Margaret Martin reacts to news that Allison Morrissey was pulling ahead of Bobby Lieb in the race for county treasurer on Tuesday evening at Brew Pub & Kitchen.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Election results are updated thoughout the evening on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - 11/04/14 - Mayor Sweetie Marbury reacts to news that Sean Smith was leading in the race for La Plata County Sheriff on Tuesday evening at Brew Pub & Kitchen.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Republican supporters dressed up in patriotic clothes on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>La Plata County coroner, Jann Smith, and deputy coroner Larry Phelps wait for election results on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - 11/04/14 - From left: Laura Godfrey with the La Plata County Democratic Party Executive Committee, Bruce Whitehead, Gary Fairchild, and Isabel Whitehead, 15, react to the news that Cory Gardener was pulling ahead of Mark Udall in the contest for U.S. Senate on Tuesday evening at Brew Pub & Kitchen.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Terri Oliger kept election results updated on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Plenty of electronic devises were on hand to keep up on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - DURANGO - 11/04/14 - Allison Morrissey arrives after hearing news of her lead over Bobby Lieb in the race for county treasurer on Tuesday evening at Brew Pub & Kitchen.
JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald<br>Repuclicans had patriotic decorations on Tuesday night at the Durango Elks Lodge.
Republican Brad Blake is on track to prevail in an extremely close election for La Plata County commissioner over Cynthia Roebuck, a Democrat.
Blake earned 50.3 percent of the vote to Roebuck’s 49.7 percent. They were separated by only 144 votes out of 21,572 cast.
The margin isn’t close enough to trigger an automatic recount, said Tiffany Lee Parker, county clerk and recorder.
The county has 224 rejected ballots that can be “cured” during the next eight days. These are ballots rejected for reasons such as missing a signature, or the voter hasn’t submitted identification.
An overwhelming majority of the rejected ballots would have to be cured in Roebuck’s favor to reverse the result.
“If the numbers hold, if that is the case, I’m obviously excited about that,” Blake said. “I knew it was going to be a tight race from the beginning just because of the makeup of the county. I’m very encouraged and appreciative of the support.”
Roebuck said at 9:25 p.m. that she was not ready to concede.
“It’s still close enough that I’m going to hang on,” she said.
Blake campaigned on turning county government toward a more business-friendly attitude. He criticized the county planning process for taking too long to approve projects. He also advocated for protecting county residents from unwanted state and federal interference.
Blake said he would contribute a conservative voice to the board. The other two members, Julia Westendorff and Gwen Lachelt, are Democrats. Blake said he hopes he can work with Westendorff and Lachelt.
“That’s my goal,” he said.
Blake, 53, owns Blake Mechanical, a local industrial plumbing business, and Konisto, an installer of large-scale solar power systems.
Roebuck, 55, emphasized her experience as a land-use consultant and her knowledge of the county’s planning process. She pushed for the county to put in place a land-use code, saying it would give developers a predictable set of standards to meet.
The Board of County Commissioners is the decision-making body for La Plata County, wielding broad authority over the county’s budget, as well as natural gas and oil regulations and development outside city limits.
Commissioners earn an annual salary of $72,500, an amount set by state law.
Blake was outspending Roebuck, $19,173 to $12,289, according to reports filed Friday with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.
The seat came open when Republican Bobby Lieb opted to run for county treasurer – unsuccessfully, as it turns out – instead of a second term as commissioner.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to our policies
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
