Record turnout in Woodland Park election
The race for mayor and a tax increase to help the school district drew a high number of voters to the polls in Woodland Park.
In the mayor’s race, interim mayor Neil Levy hung on to win, getting 46% of the vote, defeating Noel Sawyer and Michael Maddux.
Levy took over in 2014 after former mayor David Turley pleaded guilty to Criminal Intent to Commit Sex Assault on a Child by Someone in a Position of Trust.
Council members eventually had to draw a name out of a bowl, unable to break a 3-3 tie on who should take on the interim position.
This week, Levy earned his first full term as mayor, earning 978 votes, only about 150 more than the second place finisher.
Woodland Park voters also approved a sales tax increase to help the school district, passing it 60 to 40 percent.
The 1.09% sales tax increase will generate about $1.8 million dollars for the district.
The majority of voters, including Cindy Weiss, felt the increase was worth the investment.
“Woodland Park has the lowest paid teachers, I think, in the whole state of Colorado. So we need to support our kids and their education,” she said after casting her ballot.
Part of that $1.8 million will pay off debt from an old school district bond, and the rest will go into the general fund to address maintenance project and other needs, according to School Board President Carol Greenstreet.
Greenstreet said Tuesday night that the sales tax increase would take effect in July, but she wasn’t sure how soon money would be available to be spent.
