Greeley, Evans voters reject extremist candidates

2023 election results are boon for sanity in elected offices

Great job, Greeley and Evans.

Voters in Tuesday’s election sent a resounding message to extremists in our midst: We don’t want you in power here.

In the Greeley-Evans District 6 School Board race, the three candidates backed by the teachers’ union — incumbent Natalie Mash, appointed incumbent Dr. Brenda Campos-Spitze, and Doran Azari — soared across the finish line to secure the three open seats.

They handily defeated transphobic book-ban advocates Ashlee Tilley and Stacey Casteel. And it wasn’t even very close.

Here’s how the votes were allocated, according to unofficial results from the Weld County clerk and recorder:

• Natalie Mash - 9,964 votes - 22.3%

• Dr. Brenda Campos-Spitze - 9,749 votes - 21.8%

• Doran Azari - 9,528 votes - 21.3%

• Ashlee Tilley - 6,488 votes - 14.5%

• Stacey Casteel - 6,047 votes - 13.5%

• Elda Ibet Palacios - 2,864 votes - 6.4%

The results were similar statewide, according to the Colorado Sun, with insurgent conservative candidates in other school districts suffering resounding defeats.

The Gadfly is happy to report that Greeley and Evans — as well as Colorado as a whole — were ready Tuesday to reject extremism in our schools. That’s exactly how it should be. You should be proud of yourselves.

But there’s always more that can be done. Consider attending school board meetings and praising the board for its reasonable stances and positive work. Goodness knows they need to hear it. But also challenge the board to improve the outcomes for Greeley-Evans students. Test scores and enrollment have stabilized post-COVID, but our communities’ children deserve positive growth on those metrics. The school board can indeed do real things to improve outcomes for students, and they should work tirelessly to do so.

Greeley City Council at-large

At-large Councilman and former Greeley Mayor Ed Clark, 57, died Saturday after a battle with cancer. The Gadfly has sincere condolences for his friends and family. Although a polarizing figure, Clark’s service to the city began the year the Gadfly was born, and that length of time dedicated to a single city must be acknowledged.

Clark worked personally to bring about the change in his city that he and his supporters wished to see, and there’s nothing more important than such an effort in our brave American experiment. Clark will be missed, and his model of service will be recognized for years to come.

As for his seat on council, Clark was not running for re-election. After Tuesday’s vote, his seat will be filled by local insurance agent Melissa McDonald, a registered Republican. McDonald defeated fellow Republican Frank Freeman and Libertarian Sean Short.

Here’s how that vote broke down, according to unofficial results:

• Melissa McDonald - 8,378 votes - 55.1%

• Frank Freeman - 4,982 votes - 32.8%

• Sean Short - 1,832 votes - 12.1%

The Gadfly is pleased with this result. Freeman — who was endorsed in his bid for the at-large seat by Clark — publicly voiced support for Casteel and Tilley, the extremist school board candidates. The Gadfly has even heard that establishment-type Republicans here worked — and spent — in support of McDonald to keep Freeman from winning.

Now the work begins to pressure McDonald to follow through with her promises to work on expanding affordable housing within Greeley, among other reasonable stances. The Gadfly wishes her well.

Greeley mayor

In a result that apparently surprised only Mayor John Gates himself, Gates was easily re-elected to a fourth and final term. Here’s how that vote came down, according to unofficial results:

• John Gates - 12,376 votes - 74.8%

• Jim Ethridge - 2,109 votes - 12.7%

• W.D. “Bill” Gillard - 2,058 votes - 12.4%

Gates, a registered Republican, has repeatedly won re-election by large margins. He has been a member of the city council for many years, and he works for the school district as the director of safety. His policy stances are reasonable, and his good intentions for this city aren’t in doubt.

The Gadfly congratulates Mayor Gates. But with such a resounding showing of support, the Gadfly must now urge Gates to take bold stances and lead Greeley on controversial and difficult topics. This city is in dire straits when it comes to affordable housing, and Gates must come off the sidelines on this issue. His support for bold action is paramount.

Wards I and IV

Councilmen Tommy Butler and Dale Hall were also re-elected Tuesday. Both ran unopposed.

Butler, a registered Democrat, represents Ward I, which covers the northern portion of Greeley east of 35th Avenue. Butler is a vital voice on council. He is a staunch advocate for his ward, which contains the downtown area and a significant chunk of our city’s Latino population. The Gadfly is glad for his continued presence on council.

Hall, a registered Republican, represents Ward IV, which covers the northern portion of Greeley west of 35th Avenue. His stances are rather predictable, but he nonetheless casts largely reasonable votes. The Gadfly urges him, as well, to be a bold voice on housing affordability and other difficult topics. His district is set to explode in population over the next decade, and all those new residents will need affordable places to live. Hall has the chance to help make that happen, and he should take it.

Other election tidbits

• Kudos to Evans voters for choosing to move their municipal elections from April to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, when most other elections take place. That measure passed with 1,494 votes, representing 64% of the total. There’s been a movement nationwide to more closely align the timing of smaller elections with when voters typically assume elections will take place, in order to increase voter participation. Evans has now jumped on that bandwagon, and that’s a great step in the right direction.

• Eaton has voted to increase sales and use taxes to fund street and sidewalk maintenance and improvements. The vote was 61% in favor to 39% opposed. The measure is expected to pull in about $1.6 million per year for the town.

• Whether Dacono residents will raise their property tax collections in order to join the High Plains Library District is too close to call. The ballot measure would raise Dacono homeowners’ levies by 3.177 mills. The measure is narrowly failing as of Wednesday morning by just 19 votes.

• It appears Greeley Police sergeants won’t be allowed to join the local police union. The measure to alter definitions in the city charter to bring about the change — which the Gadfly must note was very oddly phrased — is failing in unofficial results at 56.2% opposed to 43.8% in favor, or by nearly 2,000 votes.

• However, titles for Greeley Fire leadership will change. The captain now becomes battalion chief, the division chief now becomes deputy chief, the chief now becomes fire chief, and the department adds the title of assistant chief. Scandalous! (Not really.)

• Proposition HH goes down in flames. The statewide measure would have slowed property tax increases over the next decade, among lots of other things built into the complicated language. So what’s next for property taxes in Colorado? Scott Wasserman of the left-leaning Bell Policy Center in Denver has a good column in the Post about the path forward and the “tough” options for policymakers.