Two controversial races turned out to be the closest contests during the 2017 Greeley City Council election, as battles for the council’s at-large and Ward 2 seats weren’t settled until late Tuesday night.
An October surprise threw the Greeley City Council race into upheaval, as at-large candidate Eddie Mirick was found to have pleaded guilty to forgery nearly 40 years ago.
As of about 11:50 p.m., Mirick earned 43.33 percent of the vote, topping opponents Stacy Suniga (41.37) and Thomas Marlo (15.92). Suniga’s campaign officials Tuesday night promised to take legal action to challenge Mirick’s qualifications to serve on city council.
Legal questions cloud the exact implications of Mirick’s criminal history, and Mirick said his felony conviction was later changed to a misdemeanor.
Brett Payton, who was appointed after former Councilman randy Sleight resigned last summer, led Lavonna Longwell by 6 votes. It’s unclear whether the results are close enough to trigger an automatic recount.
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