GOLDEN — Republicans remain in control of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, with an incumbent fending off a hard-charging challenger and a longtime county official stepping into her third office.
Kevin McCasky of Golden held on to his District 2 seat with 121,410 votes to Democrat Jason Bane’s 114,784 votes. Green Party candidate Scott Zulauf trailed with 19,705 votes.
Current Treasurer Faye Griffin, who also served two terms as county clerk, outpolled Democratic state Sen. Sue Windels 134,908 to 124,805 for a board seat.
The county board’s lone Democrat — chairwoman Kathy Hartman — said she has worked with McCasky for two years and knows Griffin through county work.
“In the two years that I’ve been here, I’ve found that party affiliations have mattered little related to most of the things that we have done as a county, and I expect that to continue,” Hartman said.
Griffin could not be reached for comment. Hartman said Griffin has been invited to participate in the upcoming 2009 budget process.
“I had a sense it was going to be close this time,” McCasky said. “It’s an outstanding victory for me to still maintain the office with what went on at the top of the ticket.”
McCasky said he plans to focus on the Jefferson County economy and stabilizing housing values since “that’s our biggest investment.”
His priorities include creating jobs, attracting companies to locate in Jefferson County, working with the county’s cities on redevelopment and ensuring good transportation.
A constrained budget, with possibly flat revenues, remains a major concern.
“As with every other organization and governmental entity, we have challenges in front of us,” McCasky said.
Ann Schrader, The Denver Post
