From Aspen to Rifle, this fall’s election season was mostly about education: There were two seats up for grabs on the Aspen School District Board of Education, three seats on the Roaring Fork School District board, and three seats on the Garfield Re-2 board as well. (Garfield County School District 16, in Parachute, had three seats up for grabs and exactly three candidates, so they decided to cancel their election.)
The Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees had four seats up for election, too, though only one of the districts was contested. Each of the other three had only one candidate appear on the ballot.
And while some races had clear winners, others skewed tighter in the polls. We’ve compiled the numbers here for all the local education races, as well the Rifle City Council race, based on the unofficial results posted on election night.
Not all races have been called, and these numbers are subject to change as officials certify the results; you can find the most up-to-date information on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website.
This story was last updated on Nov. 8 at 11:20 a.m.
Aspen School District
It’s still unclear who has won the two open seats on the Aspen School District Board of Education — one of the closest races in local elections this year.
According to Pitkin County’s unofficial election results, Sarah Daniels is in the lead with about 35% of the votes that have been counted so far. But Cassie Harrelson and incumbent Katy Frisch are neck and neck: each have about about 29% of the votes counted, though Harrelson has a slight lead of about 20 votes. (Voters could select as many as two candidates, with the top two vote-getters ultimately earning seats.)
On Tuesday night, Pitkin County Clerk Ingrid Grueter said they’ll be counting ballots for another eight days to account for the ones that were submitted from overseas. That’s in addition to 112 ballots that were rejected because of issues like a missing signature. Those voters have 8 days to cure their ballots.
If the difference between Frisch and Harrelson’s vote count is less than 0.5% of the total ballots processed, it will trigger an automatic recount.
Daniels is a parent of two students in the Aspen School District and serves on the accountability committees for the district as well as the middle and high school.
She also sits on the Aspen Education Foundation’s board.
Daniels was listed on the Pitkin County Democrats' blue card, and she was recommended by Pitkin County Republicans in an email newsletter.
In a phone call with Aspen Public Radio on Tuesday night, she said that while the election is non-partisan, she appreciated the recognition.
"I’m very very happy that I was able to be looked at by both parties as someone who is 100% for the kids as well as for our community in Aspen and in a non-partisan way," Daniels said.
Frisch has served on the school board since 2019 and helped lead the district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also helped hire current Superintendent David Baugh.
On Tuesday night, she was still waiting to hear about the updated tally.
“I have full confidence in Colorado elections,” Frisch said. “I’ve done this a couple of times before. We have a very robust process and I’m confident that they will have an outcome at some point.”
Harrelson is a former teacher in the Aspen School District and was endorsed by the district’s teacher’s union, the Aspen Education Association. She currently works for ExploreLearning, which aims to improve math and science outcomes in K-12 classrooms in the U.S. and Canada.
Sally Goulet, the fourth candidate for Aspen’s school board, has received less than 6% of the votes counted.
Note: This was the tightest education race in the Roaring Fork Valley. These numbers reflect the current leader, but final results are subject to change. The unofficial vote counts listed below were provided by the Colorado Secretary of State’s website shortly after 11:45 p.m. on election night.
Sarah Daniels: 2,231 votes (34.88% of votes counted)
Cassie Harrelson: 1,905 votes (29.78%)
Katy Frisch: 1,885 votes (29.47%)
Sally Goulet: 375 votes (5.86%)
Roaring Fork School District
According to the unofficial results, Betsy After, Lindsay DeFrates, and Jasmin Ramirez have won their seats on the Roaring Fork School District Board. Each will represent a different “director district” with a four-year term. Voters were not limited to director districts, though, and could vote in all three director races regardless of the neighborhood in which they live.
After, who will represent Director District B, is a senior director of development at Rocky Mountain Institute. During her campaign, she spoke about how her experience in philanthropy will support her service to the school district. And she recognizes one of her first jobs as a board member will be to hire a new superintendent.
In an interview on election night, After said she’ll be looking for “someone who has a strong leadership vision for the school district, who understands this community and wants to be part of the community full time — someone who puts students and teachers first and who has experience.
Alan Kokish ran against After for the school board seat in Director District B, but only secured about 23% of the vote.
DeFrates beat Phillip Bogart in the race for Director District C with more than 74% of the vote. DeFrates previously worked as a Language Arts teacher at Carbondale Middle School and brings her perspective as a teacher to the role.
She knows how board decisions affect a teacher’s day to day life.
“It’ll be really important for us to hold that perspective because it directly ties to student achievement,” DeFrates said in an election night interview. “If we are going to challenge our students to make up for some gaps and close some gaps, we have to be very aware of where our decisions are falling in their day to day lives and what that means.”
Incumbent candidate Jasmin Ramirez ran unopposed.
Unofficial results for all three districts are included below, based on the numbers provided by the Colorado Secretary of State’s website shortly after 9:30 p.m. on election night.
Note: The unofficial vote counts listed below were provided by the Colorado Secretary of State’s website at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
RFSD Director District B
Elizabeth “Betsy” After: 6,645 votes (77.25% of votes counted)
Alan Kokish: 1,957 votes (22.75%)
RFSD Director District C
Linday DeFrates: 6,123 votes (73.82% of votes counted)
Phillip Bogart: 2,171 (26.18%)
RFSD Director District D
Jasmin Ramirez (uncontested): 6,021 votes
Garfield Re-2 School District
In the Garfield Re-2 School District, there were three seats up for election, each in a different “director district” that represents different communities. Voters were not limited to their director district and could vote in all three director races regardless of the neighborhood in which they live.
In Director District B, which covers the eastern part of Rifle north of the Colorado River, there were two candidates: Cassie Haskell and Kaylin Harju. In Director District C, which covers Rifle south of the Colorado River, there was just one candidate, Fathom Jensen, running uncontested. In Director District D, which covers the town of Silt, there were three candidates: Chance Jenkins, Daniel Adams and Nicholas Cocina. Each seat comes with a four-year term on the board.
Note: Unofficial results for all three districts are included below, based on the numbers provided by the Colorado Secretary of State’s website shortly after 9:30 p.m. on election night.
Garfield Re-2 Director District B
Cassie Haskell: 2,346 votes (64.06% of votes counted)
Kaylin Harju: 1,316 votes (35.94%)
Garfield Re-2 Director District C
Fathom Jensen (uncontested): 2,557 votes
Garfield Re-2 Director District D
Chance Jenkins: 1,819 votes (50.50% of votes counted)
Daniel Adams: 1,494 votes (41.48%)
Nicholas Cocina: 289 votes (8.02%)
Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees
Marianne Virgili has earned another four-year term on the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees. In Tuesday’s election, Virgili was the clear winner for CMC’s District 2, earning about 70% of the vote over her challenger, David Use.
It was the only contested race for the CMC board this year. In three other districts, there was only one candidate vying for each seat.
Kerry Buhler will represent District 4, and Gloria Perez will represent District 6. Incumbent Bob Kuusinen will serve another term for District 5. Though each CMC trustee fills the seat for a specific area, the election was at-large, meaning any voter within C-M-C boundaries could select a candidate in each of the smaller districts.
Note: Unofficial results for all four districts are included below, based on the numbers provided by the Colorado Secretary of State’s website shortly after 9:30 p.m. on election night.
CMC District 2
Marianne Virgili: 6,427 votes (69.94% of votes counted)
David Use: 2,762 votes (30.06% of votes counted)
CMC District 4
Kerry Buhler (uncontested): 6,572 votes
CMC District 5
Bob Kuusinen (uncontested): 6,555 votes
CMC District 6
Gloria Perez (uncontested): 6,630 votes
Rifle City Council Election
There were three city council seats up for election for four-year terms, though the mayor and mayor pro tempore will be appointed by the Council at an organizational meeting. There were four candidates running, including incumbents Chris Bornholdt and Brian Condie and challengers Tanya Perea Doose and Karen Roberts.
Bornholdt works as the emergency manager for the Garfield County Sheriff’s office, and Condie is the director of the Rifle Garfield County Airport. Roberts serves on Rifle’s planning and zoning commission, and Perea Doose formerly served as the CEO and director of the Western Garfield County Chamber of Commerce.
According to unofficial election results, Condie, who currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem, appears to have won re-election, as did Bornholdt.
For the third seat up for election vacated by Mayor Ed Green, it appears Karen Roberts is in the lead over Perea Doose by just under a percentage point.
Voters could select as many as three candidates, and the top three vote-getters would secure seats.
Note: Unofficial results are listed below, based on the numbers provided by the Colorado Secretary of State’s website shortly after 9:30 p.m. on election night.
Chris Bornholdt: 748 votes (28.05% of votes cast)
Brian Condie: 724 votes (27.15%)
Karen Roberts: 610 votes (22.87%)
Tanya Perea Doose: 585 votes (21.93%)
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story said Sarah Daniels was endorsed by the Pitkin County Democrats and the Pitkin County Republicans. Pitkin County Democrats listed Daniels on their blue card. Pitkin County Republicans recommended Daniels in an email newsletter.
