Greeley-Evans school board 2023 election: Very early fundraising numbers

Casteel leads the pack with $1,600 raised, $1K cash on hand

There are three seats on the seven-member Greeley-Evans School District 6 board up for grabs Nov. 7, and declared candidates on Monday had to submit their first fundraising figures to the Colorado Secretary of State.

Just three of the seven declared candidates had fundraising figures to report, and the majority of the money came from outside Greeley and Evans.

So far, the race has drawn the following candidates:

• Incumbent Dr. Brenda Campos-Spitze, a family doctor at Sunrise Community Health who was appointed to her seat this past year;

• Incumbent Natalie Joy Mash, a neonatal and post-partum nurse with UCHealth and parent of kids in the district who was appointed to her seat in 2018 and was then elected in 2019;

• Doran Reza Azari, a retired orchestra teacher and U.S. Army veteran who spent most of his 25-year teaching career at Greeley Central;

• Rasheed William Garza Archuleta, a recent graduate of Greeley West;

• Stacey Casteel, a Greeley parent with kids in the district who has drawn controversy for attempting to ban books in D6 libraries, filing a dismissed campaign finance complaint against D6 after an MLO override, and for comparing LGBTQ+ people to wolves in sheep’s clothing;

• Ashlee Tilley, a Greeley CNA with kids in the district whose registered agent is the same as Casteel’s and whose website frequently copies Casteel’s;

• And Elda “Ibet” Palacios, a Greeley woman with little information available but whose registered agent is also the same as Casteel’s.

According to Secretary of State records, Casteel leads the pack in fundraising, expenditures and cash on hand, although it’s still quite early in the race and several of the candidates only recently announced their runs.