Politics News

Election '09

Election Highlights from Around the Rockies

By Courtney Lowery, 11-04-09

The elections that attracted national attention Tuesday were all on the East Coast, with New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine (suddenly burdened by his previous job as head of Goldman Sachs) going down to defeat and conservative Republican activists like Sarah Palin failing in their effort to override the local party and elect a fellow-traveler to an open Congressional seat in upstate New York. Unsurprisingly, voters across the country were worried about the economy, not too keen on incumbent office-holders, and wary about measures that might cost them money.

In Colorado, open space and marijuana were the issues of the night, in Boise, the streetcar desire played a role in the elections and in Montana, the liberal bastion that is Missoula finally has a liberal city council.

Here’s a quick and dirty roundup of highlights from election night:

In Colorado, for the first time in 20 years, voters in Boulder, the king of open space, did not approve open space funding. The measure, which would have extended a .25 percent sales tax for open space management and new purchases for another 15 years, failed with 47.9 percent of the vote.

County Commissioner Ben Pearlman tells the Boulder Daily Camera, “It’s disappointing, but we knew going in that this would be a tough sell in this economic climate. We have such opportunities to fill in the gaps in our open space that to not take a shot at it would have been a mistake.”

The Daily Camera also reports that Boulder voters also rejected a measure that would have increased the debt capacity for a program that helps property owners make their homes and businesses more energy efficient. That vote just barely failed with 50.97 percent of voters rejecting it.

Elsewhere in the state, 71 percent of Breckenridge voters approved a measure that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. Town residents older than 21 would be able to legally have 1 ounce or less of pot under the measure. Story from the Denver Post here. (The vote came just as state health officials stuck language in the state rules governing medical marijuana that would make it harder for patients to buy marijuana. Story here, also from the Post.)

In Longmont, the city council shifted sharply to the right after Tuesday’s election. Voters there tossed the left-leaning member and the mayor. The Daily Camera reports that voters also retained the council’s most pro-growth member.

In New York, one of the biggest national stories from election night had a Colorado connection. Colorado Republican Marilyn Musgrave, who was ousted last fall by Betsy Markey as the 4th District’s U.S. House Representatives, was part of the push to elect Republican Douglas L. Hoffman against Democrat Bill Owens in a House race that was widely watched and became a rallying point for the most conservative wing of the Republican Party. Owens won the race with 49 percent to Hoffman’s 46 percent, but Musgrave said about the efforts in the New York Times: “This is probably the most amazing coalition-building I’ve seen in a long time — probably decades.”

In Utah it was a historic night in Saratoga Springs where voters elected the state’s first black female mayor, Mia Love. In Stockton, after a controversial race, mayor Dan Rydalch was ousted by councilman Mark Whitney and in Park City, incumbent Dana Williams won the mayoral race, against Brad Olch, who challenged the mayor on growth and planning issues. Story is here from the Salt Lake Tribune. (Interesting note: Williams is also the frontman of the rock band, Motherlode Canyon Band.)

In Montana voters in Missoula tipped the city council balance to the left Tuesday. All but one of the candidates pushed by the Democrats won. Dick Haines was the lone conservative winner and he just barely made it with 51 percent. The big win came in Ward 2, where union leader Roy Houseman unseated John Hendrickson with 56.6 percent of the vote. Story from the Missoulian here. Mayor John Engen, running unopposed, retained his seat.

Bozeman will have a new mayor in Sean Becker, a city commissioner who beat former building inspector Bob Chase. But, Becker will serve the next two years as a commissioner and take the mayor’s seat in 2012. Until then, former mayor Jeff Krauss will serve as mayor. Chris Mehl and Carson Taylor, both elected Tuesday, will serve with Becker on the council. Story here from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

In Idaho, newcomer TJ Thompson won a spot on the Boise city council, as did two incumbents, Vern Bisterfeldt and Maryanne Jordan. From the Boise Weekly‘s Nathaniel Hoffman: “With less than 20 percent voter turnout, It’s hard to say if this vote can be read as a referendum on the City Council, much less on Mayor Dave Bieter. But since the majority of candidates positioned themselves as challengers to the status quo, it is telling that the incumbents, and Thomson, who had the mayor’s backing, won comfortably.”

A big issue during the campaigns was the Boise streetcar debate. Thompson’s opponent, David Litser was adamantly opposed to the streetcar. More on that and other discussions like it going on across the country, here is a good story from the AP’s John Miller.

And, for my favorite election night photo, check out this story from the Twin Falls Times-News.

What did we miss from your neck of the woods?

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