Initial election results show Bob Braudes, Ben Hemphill and Amy Becker\u00a0in the lead for three seats on the Erie Town Council.<\/p>\n
As of about 8 p.m., Braudes has 2,529 votes and Andrew Sawusch has 1,876 in Erie\u2019s District 1 race, where 4,405 votes have been cast.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In District 3, Becker has 1,887 votes and incumbent Councilmember Brian O\u2019Connor has 1,039 votes, with 2,926 votes cast.<\/p>\n
Polls closed at 7 p.m. today. The Daily Camera and Colorado Hometown Weekly will have continued coverage on election results<\/a> tonight. This story will be updated as votes are counted.<\/p>\n Erie straddles the border between Weld and Boulder counties. A map of the town\u2019s voting districts is available via its Home Rule Charter webpage at tinyurl.com\/ErieHomeRule<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Moore, O\u2019Connor, 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.<\/p>\n In a Facebook post leading up to the election, Moore endorsed Sawusch, Dreckman and O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they don\u2019t all win the board majority flips back to a progressive agenda \u2026 which focused on Erie\u2019s urbanization (high-density development) and progressive measures such as Erie tax-payer-funded affordable housing,\u201d Moore\u2019s post said, in part.<\/p>\n In a comment on Moore\u2019s post, Hoback responded, in part: \u201cThe alternative to what you call urbanization (a dog whistle because it\u2019s nothing of the sort) is suburban sprawl.\u201d<\/p>\n In a separate Facebook post on Sunday, Bell also endorsed Sawusch, Dreckman and O\u2019Connor. Bell, whose District 2 term expires with this election cycle, plans to take the mayor\u2019s seat this month following Moore\u2019s expected resignation<\/a>.<\/p>\n Baer, Hoback and Pesaramelli gave their endorsements to Braudes and Hemphill, according to the candidates\u2019 campaign websites. Baer is also listed on Becker\u2019s campaign endorsement webpage.<\/p>\n