Albus Brooks, Susan Shepherd and Mary Beth Susman were elected to Denver City Council Tuesday.
In District 5, Susman beat Steve Saunders 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent in the final, unofficial totals.
Those totals, released at 11:30 p.m., had Susman winning by 169 votes.
“I’m excited to think that I’ll be representing our district in City Council,” said Susman from her home, where she was hosting a watch party with a mixture of campaign staff, family and friends.
“We worked hard and we’re excited.”
Earlier, Saunders said the race is not over by any means.
“There’s still votes out there to be counted and we know there’s a process to go through for ballots that might have been rejected, so it’s going to be a while,” he said.
He added that Susman ran a great campaign, and if she does come out on top, he’ll support her.
District 5 includes much of central and east Denver and has been represented since 2003 by Councilwoman Marcia Johnson.
District 8
Albus Brooks emerged Tuesday as the replacement for former councilwoman Carla Madison, who died earlier this year.
Brooks and Wil Alston advanced to the runoff from a field of 38 write-in candidates.
Returns showed Brooks with a decisive win over Wil Alston at 59 percent to 40 percent.
“I have been honored by the way the people of District 8 responded to our message,” Brooks said in a statement. “I am proud to serve the people of northeast Denver.”
Brooks, who is the program director at the Issacher Center for Urban Leadership, an organization that provides scholarship money and leadership training to youth, went on to thank Alston and the wide scope of candidates who had previously run a hard fought campaign that focused on the issues.
“We think we ran a smart race, and we’re disappointed,” said Alston by phone. “He’s (Brooks) now my city councilman and when and if he calls, I’ll be right there for him.”
District 8 is one of the most demographically and economically diverse districts in Denver, as it consists of Five Points, Park Hill, Lower Downtown and City Park neighborhoods. It’s also home to 21 historic districts and more than 70 landmarks.
District 1
In northwest Denver, Susan Shepherd came out ahead of Ken Padilla 52 percent to 47 percent.
“We’re elated,” said Shepherd at a watch party at Taste Wine Bar in northwest Denver. “This is a wonderful culmination of all the hard work we’ve done.”
Shepherd came back to beat Padilla in the runoff after finishing second to him in the May 3 municipal election.
Padilla, who was en route to a watch party earlier in the evening said he wished he had the lead, but said it’s early and is going to be a close race.
Once it became clear Shepherd would win, Padilla was unable to be reached for comment.
When Shepherd assumes office next month, she will become the third individual to claim the position in less than 18 months.
Kurtis Lee: 303-954-1655 or klee@denverpost.com
