Lakewood Mayor Adam Paul will keep his position for another four years as election results show a clear victory.
With all the ballots counted, the end tally showed Paul with 54.7% of the votes for Lakewood’s mayor position. His opponent, City Councilmember Ramey Johnson, tallied 45.3%.
“I feel incredible. I’m overwhelmed with joy and very humbled by the community support and the community for saying it believes in Lakewood’s future,” said Paul.
In 2015, Paul beat Johnson for mayor by barely 1% point. He is a graduate from the University of Colorado Denver and served eight years on Lakewood City Council and six years on the Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District Board before becoming mayor.
“Four years ago, I was a city councilmember. I had that track record, but I think what has happened now is that I’ve been in the community,” said Paul. “Look at our track record. We’ve increased parks and open space exponentially. We’ve added to public safety. Lakewood is a great community. It’s not without its flaws or issues, and we’re going to continue to address those.”
As of the paper’s print deadline, a total of 44,337 votes were cast in the mayoral race.
Johnson served in the state legislature as a representative of House District 23 from 2003 to 2004. She has been on Lakewood City Council since 2011.
“I am so appreciative of the people that (came out) to support me, the many, many signs people have put out and all the support we have. I am grateful beyond measure,” said Johnson. “Lakewood is a wonderful city, and it’s just worth working for. The people here (make it) so good.”
Lakewood City Councilmember Charley Able defeated his opponent Kyra deGruy 50.4% to 49.6% for the Ward 1 race. For the Ward 3 city council seat, Anita Springsteen defeated Henry Hollender 56.6% to 43.4% while Lakewood City Councilmember Barb Franks took the Ward 4 seat in a 67.9% to 32.1% victory over Christopher Arlen. Lakewood City Councilmember Dana Gutwein beat out Chad Gardner 64.4% to 35.6% for the Ward 5 City Council position. Lakewood City Councilmember Sharon Vincent was the only candidate to run for the Ward 2 race.
Ballot Question 2F, which asks voters if the city should transition to a contracted system for residential waste collection services, failed 57.1% to 42.9%.
