Incumbent Democrat Lesley Dahlkemper has defeated Republican challenger Donald Rosier in the District 3 Jefferson County commissioner race.
In the final count on Nov. 9, Dahlkemper had 58% of the votes with 166,973.
Rosier, a South Jeffco resident who served as Jeffco commissioner from 2011 to 2017, had 42% with 120,145 votes.
The Jeffco Clerk & Recorder's Office Tweeted at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 9 that it had finished counting all the ballots in its possession. It expected a final update with any remaining military and overseas ballots on Nov. 17. Election results will be certified in the coming weeks.
Dahlkemper thanked all the voters who put their trust in her since she first ran in 2018, saying, “I'm happy to have so much support in this community."
Dahlkemper, a resident of unincorporated South Jeffco, was elected in 2018. In her first term, Dahlkemper described how she's collaborated with other stakeholders to address economic development, early childhood education, resources for mental health and opioid prevention, and other issues.
“In Jeffco, we’re about collaboration and partnership,” she continued.
Wildfire risk reduction was a major issue for Dahlkemper during her first term. She created and chaired the Jeffco Wildfire Risk Reduction Task Force — now the Wildfire Commission — to increase mitigation, community education and funding.
Dahlkemper stressed how Jeffco is first in the state for wildfire risk, and she'll continue focusing on it during her second term.
Other priorities include addressing affordable housing as well as “our aging infrastructure and (finding) sustainable funding for that effort," she explained.
Overall, she was pleased with Jeffco’s historic Election Day turnout, saying it reinforces how important midterm elections are in the community and “how hard we worked to reach the voters.”
She described the effortless work by her campaign volunteers — writing thousands of postcards and driving around Jeffco to put up signs — saying her 59% win is a testament to their enthusiasm.
Dahlkemper, who’s been balancing a yearlong campaign with her day-to-day work as commissioner, also thanked her family for their support.
She described how her daughter, who’s in college, surprised her on election night. So, Dahlkemper was immensely grateful to share the victory with her, her husband, and other family members and friends.
“Campaigns can be hard on families. They sacrifice a lot too,” she continued. “ … It means so much to have the support of family when you work on a campaign of this size. That support means everything.”
While Jeffco has plenty of issues to tackle, Dahlkemper believed collaborating with stakeholders throughout the county and state will yield the best possible results. She said those partnerships have been and will continue to be the cornerstone of her work as an elected official.
“We really do go farther together,” she said.
