Contreras grabs seat on council by one vote

Colorado City voters put to rest the age-old notion that an individual’s vote doesn’t count last week. Thanks to a record low turnout for a combined city/school election, the race for a spot on the Colorado City City Council came down to one ballot.

Overall, the low voter turnout numbers played a huge role in the outcome for the city and school as incumbents in both races suffered narrow losses.

Only 17 ballots were cast in the race for the District 1 seat on the city council. That total reflected less than one-half of a percent of the number of eligible voters in the district participating in the municipal election. In the race for the District 1 seat on the city council, Sammy Contreras, Jr. ran against incumbent Raymond Whitener. Of the 17 votes cast, Contreras, came away with nine votes, while Whitener garnered eight.

Contreras will be sworn in during the May meeting of the city council, along with new mayor Robert Oliver. Oliver ran unopposed in last Saturday’s election.

“Voters had their say and the process worked. I would have liked to continue, but I have faith Mr. Contreras will pick up the ball and do a good job,” Whitener said.

The race for the District 6 seat on the Colorado Independent School District’s Board of Trustees generated more interest from the voters. In all, a total of 76 voters turned out to cast ballots. Liliana Ornelas came out on top in the race by garnering 48 votes. Incumbent Sheila Plagens received 28 votes.

“I want to congratulate Liliana and wish her the best of luck on the board,” said Plagens, who had served on the CISD board for six years.