Northglenn Thornton Sentinel 1231

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December 31, 2020

ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com

VOLUME 57 | ISSUE 21

Political tint: Judging how deep blue runs in Adams County Democrats admit there are plenty of ways to judge county’s political fabric BY LIAM ADAMS LADAMS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Judging just by the demographics and statistics, Adams County looks plenty blue. There are more registered Democrats than Republicans. Democrats occupy most state legislative seats, the entire board of county commissioners and all the elected positions in county government. And yet, a Republican won two consecutive elections in a state Senate district previously held by Democrats. Most mayors in the county are members of the GOP and not long ago, in 2014, Republicans won most elected seats in the county, including the board of commissioners and sheriff. “I believe that politics in Adams County is ever-evolving. You can see that in the pockets of partisan areas throughout the county,” said County Commissioner Charles “Chaz” Tedesco, “You have some areas that are red and blue, some areas that are majority red, and some areas that are majority blue.” So, the narrative about politics in Adams County isn’t as monolithic as it appears. There is a west versus east divide and a suburban versus rural split. Politicians and strategists say the type of neighborhood matters, as does the process to select a candidate. A candidate’s work ethic can make all the difference. Those factors aside, the county’s political future could shift when the state redraws legislative districts in 2021. Such anomalies mean that no seat in Adams County is safe, according to longtime political observers. Margins

This year, President-elect Joe

Metro-area school districts hope for January return Looser quarantine rules to allow for less interruption to in-person learning BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

while Biden received 61 percent this year. Meanwhile, Trump went from 68 percent to 72 percent in eastern Adams County. The 2020 and 2016 at-large county commissioner races followed similar patterns. This year, incumbent commissioners Tedesco and Eva Henry won their reelections by wider margins than their 2016 victories. It was closer in the third county commissioner race between Democrat Lynn Baca and Republican Phil Covarrubias. About 10 percentage points separated the candidates in Thornton, Brighton and Henderson, and Baca ultimately won.

Testing for quarantined students, some preemptive testing in schools and modified quarantine requirements are expected to be the ticket to more consistent in-person classes for several school districts across the Denver metro area, the districts’ leaders said in a Dec. 15 news conference. But even with the expanded leeway to hold traditional classes, superintendents emphasized that if levels of COVID-19 spread remain at their currently high levels, schools may find it impossible to keep enough teachers out of quarantine to consistently keep classes in schools. Chris Gdowski, head of Adams 12 Five Star Schools, expressed hope about the expanded testing capabilities that Gov. Jared Polis discussed at an earlier news conference the same day, along with nodding to new, less stringent quarantine guidance. But “the most important part is to bring down this community transmission,” Gdowski said on the Dec. 15 online news conference. He added: “Without that, if we remain at 1,100 cases per 100,000 (per two weeks) in Adams County,” plans for in-person learning fall apart.

SEE ELECTION, P5

SEE SCHOOLS, P4

Republican Phil Covarrubias narrowly lost a County Commission seat in Adams County, COURTESY OF PHIL COVARRUBIAS despite doing well in the county’s eastern portion.

Biden defeated President Donald Trump in Adams County by 16 percentage points. He received the highest vote percentages in Aurora, Commerce City and southwestern Adams County near the Denver border, according to a by-city analysis of election results. Trump’s top three areas were Brighton, Todd Creek and eastern Adams County, which includes Bennet and Strasburg. The margins between the presidential candidates were more pronounced this year than in 2016 between Trump and Hillary Clinton. Clinton won the entire county by almost 9 percentage points. Broken down, Clinton earned 53 percent of Westminster’s vote,

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 6 | LIFE: PAGE 8 | CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | SPORTS: PAGE 12

ICE DAY ON THE LAKE

Dress in layers to hook a trout in 12 degree weather

P8


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