Initial election results show Bob Braudes, Ben Hemphill and Amy Becker in the lead for three seats on the Erie Town Council.
As of about 8 p.m., Braudes has 2,529 votes and Andrew Sawusch has 1,876 in Erie’s District 1 race, where 4,405 votes have been cast.
Hemphill has 2,461 votes, Dipak Basnet has 330 votes, and Delaney Dreckman has 1,640 votes in the race for District 2, where 4,431 votes have been cast.
In District 3, Becker has 1,887 votes and incumbent Councilmember Brian O’Connor has 1,039 votes, with 2,926 votes cast.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. today. The Daily Camera and Colorado Hometown Weekly will have continued coverage on election results tonight. This story will be updated as votes are counted.
Erie straddles the border between Weld and Boulder counties. A map of the town’s voting districts is available via its Home Rule Charter webpage at tinyurl.com/ErieHomeRule.
The election could be a shakeup for the Erie Town Council, which, last sworn in January 2025 alongside current Mayor Andrew Moore, has in several high-profile instances been split by 4-3 votes.
Among those occasions, councilmembers were divided 4-3 in a June 2025 vote to prohibit Pride flags from being flown on town-owned flagpoles, a lawsuit settlement over land known as Redtail Ranch, and, more recently, in a decision to approve a controversial sale of town-owned mineral rights to oil and gas operator SM Energy. That deal has since been abandoned by the company.
Moore, O’Connor, Mayor Pro Tem Brandon Bell and Councilmember John Mortellaro have voted or sided together on those issues, opposite Councilmembers Anil Pesaramelli, Emily Baer and Dan Hoback.
In a Facebook post leading up to the election, Moore endorsed Sawusch, Dreckman and O’Connor.
“If they don’t all win the board majority flips back to a progressive agenda … which focused on Erie’s urbanization (high-density development) and progressive measures such as Erie tax-payer-funded affordable housing,” Moore’s post said, in part.
In a comment on Moore’s post, Hoback responded, in part: “The alternative to what you call urbanization (a dog whistle because it’s nothing of the sort) is suburban sprawl.”
In a separate Facebook post on Sunday, Bell also endorsed Sawusch, Dreckman and O’Connor. Bell, whose District 2 term expires with this election cycle, plans to take the mayor’s seat this month following Moore’s expected resignation.
Baer, Hoback and Pesaramelli gave their endorsements to Braudes and Hemphill, according to the candidates’ campaign websites. Baer is also listed on Becker’s campaign endorsement webpage.
Erie residents in today’s election also voted on two local tax measures: a sales tax to fund the expansion and renovation of the Erie Community Center, and a lodging tax for short-term rentals and hotel stays in the town.