It’s election day, and Durango voters have until 7 p.m. to cast ballots for two new city councilors and a proposed sales tax increase.
Of the approximately 12,000 registered voters in Durango, about 3,200 had returned ballots by end-of-day Monday, said City Clerk Amy Phillips. Ballots can be dropped off at three locations: City Hall, 949 East Second Ave.; the La Plata County Administrative Building, 1101 East Second Ave.; and the County Clerk and Recorders Office, 98 Everett St., Suite C.
The flow of ballots is a bit slower this year than it was two years ago, when the city held its last municipal election, Phillips said. In April 2017, the city collected about 4,900 ballots, Phillips said. She predicts this year’s total could range from 3,800 to 4,200 ballots.
“It’s lower this time than it was in 2017,” Phillips said. “I don’t know why. I’m interested to find out.”
Voters can pick from four candidates to fill two open seats and vote yes or no on whether to approve a sales tax increase to pay for “construction, operation and maintenance of streets, alleys, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and related street improvement with proposed expenditures being first submitted to a citizen advisory board.”
Four Durango residents have been campaigning for two open seats on Durango’s City Council: Kim Baxter, a 62-year-old retired consultant and small-business owner; Jaime McMillan, a 51-year-old financial adviser; Barbara Noseworthy, a 60-year-old strategic planning consultant; and Marcos Wisner, a 31-year-old small-business owner.
Baxter said she plans to spend election night where she spends all her Tuesday evenings: in City Hall chambers. While she’s spent countless hours in the past few months going door-to-door advocating for her campaign, Baxter said she’s taking Tuesday off.
“I’m actually kind of being relaxed today,” she said. “I’m feeling nervous – that may not be the right word. I’m looking forward to this evening to figure out the results and what the rest of my life will look like.”
Baxter said she plans to host an appreciation party for all her supporters Wednesday evening: “I think it would be a lot more fun to have the answer when we have the party.”
Noseworthy said she and her volunteers distributed close to 4,700 pamphlets to residents around Durango. She plans to spend the evening at Mutu’s Italian Kitchen, where she’ll host a thank you reception for people who supported her. As for the rest of the day, Noseworthy said she’ll be wrapping up the campaign with thank you notes and work to show appreciation for her supporters.
“Now I’m at home for a while,” Noseworthy said Tuesday afternoon. “When you’ve knocked on that many doors, it’s hard to find people you haven’t met.”
As for the campaign, Noseworthy said she’s enjoyed every minute of it. And regardless of what the ballots show, she considers the past few months a win: “I’ve gotten to meet so many interesting people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”
Wisner said he plans to host a thank you reception at his business, 11th Street Station. He said he’s mourning the loss of a friend and that the reception may be small.
McMillan said he will spend the evening at home, probably watching “Pineapple Express,” before results are announced. Beyond that, he said he plans to take his campaign staff out on the town.
“We put in the work, now we just kind of need to see where the voters are and hopefully we win on the issues,” McMillan said.
Durango voters are poised to decide whether to approve or reject a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for the city’s ailing street infrastructure. Proponents of the tax say it’s necessary to curb the high cost of repairing streets if they fail. Opponents of the tax say the city has the money to fix the streets, it’s just not budgeting for it.
David McHenry, a registered agent with United for Durango’s Future, a small issue committee formed to oppose ballot measure 1A, said he’ll spend election night at home. The Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche are playing tonight, and the election results will be broadcast on Durango Government Television.
“We’re feeling pretty good; you got to convince people to vote to increase their taxes,” McHenry said. “In my mind, the City Council election is more important that the half-cent sales tax.”
Christina Rinderle, an advocate for the tax measure and champion of small issue committee Citizen’s for Making Durango A#1, which supports the tax increase, said she’ll be at 11th Street Station waiting for election results. She’s spent some time today calling people and reminding them to turn in their ballots, Ronderle said.
bhauff@durangoherald.com
