Breckenridge voters pick Kelly Owens for mayor; Dick Carleton, Marika Page and Steve Gerard secure council seats

Andrew Maciejewski/Summit Daily News
Voters chose to fill the open seats on Breckenridge Town Council with incumbent Dick Carleton, Marika Page, Steve Gerard while Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Owens won election for mayor.
According to preliminary results, Breckenridge saw a 32% voter turnout this municipal election, and 1,148 people cast votes. Unofficial election results as of 8:02 p.m. Tuesday showed nearly 71% of voters cast their ballots for Owens in the mayor’s race while candidate Tom Day earned around 22% of the vote and candidate James Manella earned around 7% of the vote.
Owens previously said her priorities are based off of the Destination Management Plan created by the Breckenridge Tourism Office, which involved gathering sentiments from the community on their priorities. She said her goals included encouraging more people to walk places instead of driving in order to help ease congestion, and she wants to continue working with Breckenridge town staff on sustainability initiatives.
In the Town Council race, according to unofficial election results, Carleton received 31% of the vote for four-year term, Page received 25% of the votes for a four-year term and Gerard received just under 25% of the votes for a four-year term. Hessel received around 18% of the votes.
Jeffrey Bergeron, Dick Carleton and mayor pro tem Kelly Owens town council seats were up for grabs this year after Owens temporarily filled the position of mayor, which was left by Eric Mamula after he became a Summit County Commissioner in December. Bergeron is term-limited, so he couldn’t seek reelection.
“I’m still processing, but it’s an honor to be elected. I can’t wait to get started,” Page said Tuesday night after the election results were announced.
Page is a career social worker who said she plans to make an effort to ensure the community understands the actions of the council and that the council is clear on what it is doing for the town. Ultimately, Page said her top priorities were accountability, community collaboration, traffic and livability.

Gerard, formerly a member of the Breckenridge Planning Commission, works for the state of Colorado as a contract attorney representing children and indigent parents in juvenile court. He campaigned on promoting year-round tourism and affordable workforce housing.
“I want to see through the next phase of large construction, through the BGV projects,” Gerard said. “I want to see us pursue our five-year blueprint for affordable and workforce housing.”
Carleton said he plans to work to support the local workforce and looks to use the priorities of the community as his guide as a council member. During an election forum, he also highlighted the importance of maintaining the presence of the arts in the community as well as continuing to expand and support open space and trails.
Additionally there were two ballot questions in this election, both of which were related to the terms and appointment of election commissioners.
The first question asked voters whether the term of election commissioners be increased from from two years to four years. Unofficial election results show that around 53% percent of voters rejected the measure.
Secondly, voters were asked whether a requirement that appointees to permanent boards and commissions be electors and residents be removed. This would allow the Town Council to create criteria for appointment by ordinance. According to unofficial election result, 74% of voters rejected the measure.

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