PUEBLO — Pueblo County's Clerk and Recorder, Gilbert "Bo" Ortiz, said election judges will have a lot of work left to do in the days following Tuesday's election, as a wave of in-person voters and ballots came in on election day.
Pueblo County Commissioner Race
Pueblo County is expected to have its first republican County Commissioner in roughly two decades, despite the race garnering controversy earlier in the year. Two of the current Board of County Commissioners democratic members, including the current County Commission, Garrison Ortiz, endorsed the republican candidate, Zach Swearinger.
The democratic candidate, Roxanne Pignanelli, told News5 on election day "It was such a strange thing for any race," referring to the endorsements.
"We've not seen the likes of that in such a demonstrative way from two sitting democrats," said Pignanelli, who is trailing Swearingen in the unofficial results.
Swearinger did not want to comment on the race until the results are officially announced.
However, voters told News5 they do not believe the controversy impacted who community members voted for.
"It seems to me like people aren't really going democrat or republican. They're just going on with whoever they feel is going to do a good job," said one voter after he cast his ballot.
Public Safety Tax Extension
City ballot measure 2B proposed a five year extension of a citywide sales tax which helps boost funding for the Pueblo Police Department. The original sales tax was passed in 2017 and this year's proposal is another five year extension of the same tax.
The proposal is expected to pass by a wide margin, according to the unofficial results.
One voter said she wished the ballot measure had been more transparent.
However, when asked if saving money on the tax or bringing down the rate of crime in Pueblo is more important, she said crime because the community feels like the rate of crime in the city has increased.
"I think people want to know that they are safe. That they are secure and that their belongings are safe and secure," said the voter.
Keep up with the latest election results here.
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