Federal Heights voters Tuesday night decided that Mayor Dale Sparks could keep his job, despite facing criminal charges for his involvement with the Bare Essence strip club in Denver.
A recall drive was well short of forcing Sparks out, and an attempt to recall Mayor pro tem Joyce Thomas – who supported Sparks – also failed.
“I know he had strong support out there and people did what they could to help him,” Thomas said.
Sparks worked as a doorman at the club when it was raided by police in April on allegations of prostitution. Sparks said he didn’t know what was going on inside the club, but his critics say that having a mayor work at a strip club denigrates the town.
Sparks faces misdemeanor charges, including complicity in a criminal enterprise. He had quit his job after the raid but refused to resign as mayor, saying he wanted voters to decide if he should stay in office.
Recall supporter Beth Solano was disappointed. “I guess a certain portion of the population decided what the mayor did just wasn’t important to them.”
In the Jefferson County commissioner’s race, Democrat Kathy Hartman had a solid lead over Republican Dave Auburn late Tuesday, with more than two-thirds of precincts counted. She would become the first Democrat on the three-member board of commissioners since 1992, and its only woman.
“We believe we have won this election,” Hartman said. “What it says is that the voters of Jefferson County share our values of open, ethical and accountable government.”
Voters in Weld County, meanwhile, appeared to be turning away from changes in growth policies.
Independent District 2 candidate Sharon Socher and at-large Democratic hopeful Duane Leise both campaigned against more 5,000-home-or-better housing developments being approved in the county, calling such projects a burden on nearby municipalities.
But late Tuesday evening, longtime Weld farmer Doug Rademacher, a Republican, was handily beating both Socher and Greeley print-shop owner Rich Lopez, a Democrat.
Rademacher said commissioners should respect the rights of property owners in Weld to sell off their land for development. “It looks very good; it makes me feel good that people are responding to my message,” he said.
Greeley attorney and Republican Bill Garcia was defeating Leise for the at-large seat by a large margin late Tuesday.
Meanwhile, officials in the Rangeview Library District in Adams County were hoping Tuesday to keep a small lead that would allow more funds to be pumped into the struggling district. “If this holds up, this will be a miracle,” said Kay Riddle, chairwoman of the library district board of directors.
Voters were being asked to approve a $31 million mill-levy increase that would add two branches, relocate two others and expand four existing buildings. The district operates on an annual budget of $4.5 million and serves a population of nearly 300,000.
In Douglas County, a GOP stronghold, Republican incumbent Sheriff Dave Weaver held a large lead on Democrat Laura O’Donnell, a former prosecutor in Arizona in early returns.
In Elbert County, incumbent Republican Sheriff William Frangis held a lead over unaffiliated candidate Brian Weiss, a Doug las County sheriff’s deputy who lives in Elbert County.
Also, Boulder voters Tuesday night were backing a “climate tax,” which would charge businesses and homes based on the energy they use. The money collected would support the city’s Climate Action Plan, which, among other things, seeks to lower the city’s emissions of greenhouse gases by about one-fourth.
Staff writers Joey Bunch and Carlos Illescas contributed to this report.
