FoCo Council election results - Fort Collins voters pick 1 new council member, support others who voted for land use code - Coloradoan
Thomas Clayton
Fort Collins voters pick 1 new council member, support others who voted for land use code
Rebecca Powell
Fort Collins voters on Tuesday put another progressive candidate on City Council and affirmed three current council members who supported land use changes that allow for more density in the city.
School psychologist Melanie Potyondy is poised to replace retired educator Shirley Peel in District 4, putting Potyondy back on council after Peel surpassed her in a five-way race in 2021.
Incumbents who have been vocal supporters of changes to Fort Collins' land use code also appeared headed for victory: Mayor Jeni Arndt, District 2 council member Julie Pignataro and District 6 council member and Mayor pro tem Emily Francis.
Their opponents all ran, at least partly, on opposing the land use code changes passed in late 2021 and then again last month after the first code was repealed.
As of 11:06 p.m. Tuesday, just more than 100,000 ballots hade been counted in Larimer County. With nearly 50,000 ballots coming in on Election Day, Clerk Tina Harris paused ballot counting at 11:30 and planned to resume Wednesday morning.
There are about 25,000 more ballots to count from across the county, Harris told the Coloradoan.
Here's here's how the Fort Collins races are shaping up after a third wave of results Tuesday night.
Fort Collins mayor: Arndt wins second term
Arndt has 92% of the vote in her race against write-in candidate Patricia Babbitt, an English as a second language educator.
Voters who wanted to choose Babbitt had to write her name on their ballots in order for it to be counted because she filed as a write-in candidate rather than using the petition process that puts candidates' names on the ballot.
Asked about the margin of her win, Arndt said she didn't expect one thing or another but does consider herself a student of human behavior and tries to understand where the electorate is.
"I am rooted in what people have to say," she said.
Babbitt did not return Coloradoan phone calls Tuesday night. During her campaign, she said she believed she could bring a unique perspective to the role of mayor and City Council because she doesn't drive a car and has experience working with people whose voices are not often heard well.
This will be Arndt's second two-year term. She can run for one more before being term limited. She said one of her goals as mayor is to focus on good governance practices.
District 2: Pignataro poised to retain seat
Pignataro has about 54% of the votes so far.
After the second wave of results, when 92,000 ballots had been counted, Pignataro said she was waiting for the whole process to play out, even after her lead had extended a bit.
After testing positive for COVID, she was spending the evening with her family and trying to determine how long to stay up. She stayed away from the watch party she planned with Arndt and Francis at Stodgy Brewing.
With the campaign at its end, even without knowing the result, Pignataro said she’ll sleep better.
During her campaign, she heralded the land use code changes and emphasized her support for transit and climate initiatives.
Pignataro's opponent, retiree and former City Council member Eric Hamrick, earlier in the evening said he and his campaign supporters, watching results from his home, were cautiously optimistic. “We’re down; we’re not out yet,” he said when the vote was slightly closer.
Hamrick spent Election Day waving signs on street corners.
“I had a great group of volunteers who worked very hard, and I’m very proud of them,” he said.
Hamrick ran on fiscal responsibility and transparency, as well as being in opposition to the land use code.
District 4: Potyondy pulls ahead of Peel
Potyondy has about 53% of the votes counted so far. After the second wave was released, she said she was cautiously optimistic.
“I’m not going to consider it a victory until the numbers say so,” she said.
She hopes the numbers stay as strong they are and said she hopes to assume the seat. “I’m really excited about the opportunity.”
At her watch party at a friend’s residence, there were a lot of educators plus some neighbors and family, she said. It was intimate, fun and full of people who believe in her, she said, noting her pride in the volunteers who supported her campaign.
After going to work in her job as a school psychologist on Election Day, Potyondy said she was making get-out-the-vote phone calls up until leaving for her watch party. But she had voted long ago: “the day after I received my ballot.”
During her campaign, Potyondy said housing is the No. 1 issue and the city benefits when it makes it more liveable for people like teachers and other essential workers. She voiced support for making changes to U+2 residential occupancy ordinance and supporting climate action goals.
Peel did not return calls from the Coloradoan late Tuesday. But prior to the first wave of election results, she welcomed supporters at her watch party at the Taco Stop in south Fort Collins.
A thank-you note to her volunteers was posted a table at the restaurant, where televisions showed national election coverage and Champions League soccer commentary. Peel touted the business' success, starting as a food cart and later opening a brick-and-mortar location on South College Avenue during the pandemic.
Peel said her Election Day was fairly low-key. After sign-waving, she spent the day cleaning out the chicken coop at home and taking a 3-mile walk before the watch party.
“I so appreciate all the hours spent knocking on doors, writing postcards, making phone calls and waving signs,” Peel’s thank-you note said.
During her campaign, Peel touted her service to the business community and her support of the land use code, and listed specific goals to help her district.
District 6: Francis claims vast majority of votes
Even with 76% of the votes going to Francis in the initial wave of results, she wouldn't declare victory: "I feel pretty good so far," noting the results were not final.
On Election Day, she worked, took a 14-mile run and had dinner with her partner before heading to the watch party at Stodgy.
This year she had been a big driver of getting the property tax increase on the ballot. On Tuesday, it was failing with only 38% of yes votes. Francis said if it isn’t what the community wants, then the next step is to bring people together to see how to tackle affordable housing.
Francis, who grew up in Fort Collins, was vocal about her support for the land use code and advocated for initiatives to help the city meet its goals around reducing greenhouse gases and improving transit.
Francis’ opponent, Alexander Adams, didn’t have any comments on his race.
But he said he was pleased to see the property tax increase failing and was worried about the passage of the sales tax increase because of its impact on the city’s poorest residents.
Adams ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility, along with his opposition to upzoning. He said he was open to reasonable changes on U+2, but he opposed the tax increases proposed on the ballot. Then in mid-October, his past affiliation with white nationalist groups came to light, though he said he strongly disavowed it and wanted to commit to public service.
Winners' watch party
At Stodgy Brewing in northwest Fort Collins, supporters of Arndt, Francis and Pignataro crowded in.
Supporters were generally more focused on their conversations than watching their phones for the first results, which came in about 7:45 p.m. But when the results came, the outcome was favorable for all three, with Arndt and Francis both showing solid voter approval.
Pignataro did not attend the watch party after testing positive for COVID-19.
Twenty minutes after the first wave of results came in, a supporter finally quieted the room to declare Arndt would serve a second term as mayor, and the crowd responded with cheers.
Arndt said Election Day is special because it’s when everyone gets to hear what the community thinks. She said she trusts voters to make decisions to create the community they want.
Arndt also said she’s pleased that voter turnout is looking more robust this election than in past City Council elections, one of the goals of moving elections to November from April.
 | Tom Clayton Communication and Media Specialist, Public Affairs |
| Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80522 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7005 tcla...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org |