Windsor town board chooses new mayor - Coloradoan
Thomas Clayton
Windsor Town Board chooses new mayor, will choose 2 new board members
Rebecca Powell
The Windsor Town Board chose a new mayor Monday night, selecting Julie Cline, the mayor pro-tem, who has been acting mayor since the results of April mayor's race were nullified.
Cline was first appointed to the District 4 seat in 2020 when Paul Rennemeyer was elected mayor. She won reelection in 2022 and was chosen as mayor pro-tem in May. She became acting mayor after former mayor Barry Wilson was forced to leave the board after a judge's ruling last month.
She will be mayor until the next regular election in 2026.
On Monday night, board member and former mayor candidate Jason Hallett nominated Cline for the seat.
"It was important to pull my name out of the ring just because we wanted as a board to move from get past what happened during the election period and kind of bring some calm to the town, and I think Julie is really able to do do that," he said.
Board member Ron Steinbach said Cline has already demonstrated she has the capability to do the job.
Board member Rick Klimek said she has the skills needed and is the best person for the job at this time.
"I do have the leadership skills," she said in accepting the nomination. "It is going to take me just a little bit to just get into the groove of having that seat, but I do feel that I can handle it at this time."
Cline said she has been a Windsor resident for 13 years and worked for Hewlett Packard for 22 years. Before being on the town board, she was on the town's water and sewer board.
Cline has taken a circuitous route to the seat of mayor, and that path was created by several unique circumstances since the April election.
The mayor's seat was only open because of a judge's ruling last month that ruled Wilson was ineligible to run because he had already been elected to serve two terms and the town charter doesn't allow for more than that.
When Cline was chosen as mayor pro-tem in May, she did not put her own name forward but was nominated in the second round of voting because there was a tie between Hallett and Steinbach, who both wanted the role.
At that time, she said she would be willing to bow out of the role if the board wanted to vote again once it was whole — the District 2 board seat was open due to Wilson's election as mayor.
She had cited concerns that she might not be able to devote enough time to a longer term, but on Monday she said after "consideration of all the events that have happened," she talked with her family and employer, who were in support of her taking the role.
Cline is expected to be sworn in as mayor on June 17. A new mayor pro-tem will need to be chosen by the board.
Previous coverage:Windsor won't appeal ruling ousting its mayor
3 of 7 seats on Town Board will be appointed
With Cline appointed mayor, it creates a vacancy in District 4.
For the open District 2 seat, the board has four applicants and will eventually appoint one of them to serve the remainder of the term.
A similar process will happen for the District 4 vacancy.
The board had seemed interested in understanding whether Wilson could be appointed to the seat because he only resigned after the election in order to become mayor. But at a special meeting last week, they opted not to seek guidance from the judge on whether that could happen.
The board has indicated it wants to consider bringing town charter changes to voters in order to provide clarity on term limits and vacancies, especially as it pertains to appointments and partial terms.
But one Windsor resident told the town board they need to consider amending the charter to allow for a special election for a new mayor.
In an unorthodox exchange during public comment, a commenter and town board members engaged in a discussion about it.
"After having the five of you decide who the mayor is after such a contentious election and such a contentious appeals process seems to make it more contentious to me," Cameron Banninga said.
He said having three of the board's seven seats be appointed by five members of a town of 40,000 is concerning.
"Without having voices from the community, then there's going to be more contention moving forward," he said.
Board members and town staff responded, citing the limitations in the current charter that prevent a special election for mayor from happening now:
The charter says a mayor must be chosen within 60 days of a vacancy, and it does not mention a special election as an option. In order to change the charter to allow for that, there would have to be a special election so voters could approve the change. But there wouldn't be enough time to hold that special election within the 60 days because there are also rules about how close elections can be to each other.
Cline and board member Lainie Peltz said they understand his concerns, and Cline reiterated that the board would be looking at potential charter changes like that in the coming months.
Banninga also said the town should have special elections for the district seat vacancies.
The charter does allow for a special election for the board seats. The board also has the option to appoint a person to fill the remainder of the term.
 | Tom Clayton Communication and Media Specialist, Public Affairs |
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