Littleton Independent 1112

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November 12, 2020

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

LittletonIndependent.net

VOLUME 76 | ISSUE 3

‘Blue wave’ continues in Arapahoe County Democrats gained ground over the decade, flipped local seats this election BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In the 2012 general election, large swaths of south Arapahoe County — mostly south of Quincy Avenue — voted for Republican Mitt Romney over then-President Barack Obama. Long stretches of uninterrupted red showed on the county’s map of results. Englewood, Sheridan and most of Aurora encompassed almost all of the non-rural Democratic wins. The result was even redder in the 2014 U.S. Senate race, when Republican Cory Gardner bested Democrat Mark Udall, with Republican-won neighborhoods running farther north into Aurora. Then, the county saw a dramatic reversal in the 2016 presidential race, with Hillary Clinton flipping much of west Centennial and parts of Littleton — and areas near where south Aurora meets east Centennial — in her unsuccessful race against President Donald Trump. In 2018, Democrat Jared Polis made further gains, holding virtually the same neighborhoods as Clinton and picking more up in the east Centennial and farther-east Aurora areas. The years of changes seemed to culminate this Election Day, when Democrats flipped three local seats: a county commissioner district that includes reliably red parts of the Littleton and Cherry Hills Village areas; a state House district in Littleton and west Centennial; and the state Senate district whose borders encompass Centennial and nearby areas. Democrats even came within a thin margin of flipping another county commissioner seat, keeping it so close it could end up in a recount. “The brutal fact for Republicans is that we’ve got a problem with suburban voters,” said Dick Wadhams, political strategist and former chair

Voters approve tax hike for LPS Ballot Issue 4C passes solidly; will stave off ‘draconian’ cuts BY DAVID GILBERT DGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

12 percentage points. This year, he and his new Democratic opponent, Idris Keith, were neck-and-neck in a race that sat in automatic recount territory as of the evening of Nov. 6, three days after Election Day.

Littleton Public Schools will stave off what district officials called catastrophic cuts after voters solidly approved Ballot Issue 4C, which raises property taxes to make up for eroding state support exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure passed with 57.6% support in unofficial results as of Nov. 6, making it the latest in a long series of tax measures supporting the district passed by voters. Issue 4C approves a mill levy override that aims to raise $12 million in its first year, in efforts Ewert to offset slashed state funding and increased expenses related to the pandemic. Had the measure failed, the cuts likely would have been wide-ranging, from layoffs to deep cuts to bus transportation, athletics and programs like Options High School. Superintendent Brian Ewert said the measure passing means stability in an uncertain time. “Without this, we would have been changing the face of the district,” Ewert said. “The community stepped

SEE BLUE WAVE, P13

SEE LPS, P10

Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Joan Lopez stops by a polling place on Election Day. Lopez, a Democrat, was elected in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Matt Crane. PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT

DEMOCRATS SWEEP LEGISLATURE RACES The following are unofficial results of area state Legislature races released by Arapahoe County the afternoon of Nov. 5. Senate District 26 Jeff Bridges (incumbent), Democrat — 60.6% Robert Roth, Republican — 36.8% Marc Solomon, Libertarian — 2.6% Senate District 27 Chris Kolker, Democrat — 55.3% Suzanne Staiert, Republican — 44.7% of the Colorado Republican Party. He added that the challenge applies “not only in Colorado but in the nation.” The shifts become even starker the closer observers look: Four years ago, Republican Jeff Baker ran for the county commissioner seat in the east Centennial and Aurora area and bested his Democratic opponent by

House District 3 Meg Froelich (incumbent), Democrat — 59.1% Dean Titterington, Republican — 37.9% David Jurist, Libertarian — 3.0% House District 37 Tom Sullivan (incumbent), Democrat — 55.6% Caroline Cornell, Republican — 44.4% House District 38 David Ortiz, Democrat — 55.6% Richard Champion, Republican — 44.4%

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 19

KEEPING THE FAITH

COVID-19 forces churches in the metro area to adapt in a variety of ways P14


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