Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the final, unofficial, results and to clarify that challengers may join the race ahead of General Election Day in November.

Voters have chosen challenger Lisa Eurich to move onto the general election in the Summit County assessor race for the Democratic Party. There were no Republican candidates in this year’s primary, but there is a possibility that a challenger may appear before General Election Day.

Of the 3,317 votes cast in the race, Eurich received 1,934 votes, or 58.31%, while incumbent Frank Celico received 1,383 votes, or 41.69%.

“I worked very hard toward it, and it’s just kind of surreal because I had a lot I was going up against,” Eurich said following Summit Daily News’ decision to call the race. “It seems like a lot to try to shake the establishment.”

On Tuesday, approximately 5,774 voters cast ballots in the election.

“I’m just super grateful. I’m grateful that the community came out and voted in an election. It’s a small local primary election, which usually doesn’t have a lot of voter turnout,” Eurich continued. “I’m just so grateful to be part of this community and have so much support in it.”

Eurich, who has worked in the Summit County Assessor’s Office for almost a decade, has been a state certified residential assessor for five years, and she served two years as an administrative assistant in the manager’s office and clerk to the Board of County Commissioners.

Previously working in real estate, Eurich managed marketing teams, oversaw budgets and has worked with short- and long-term rentals. 

Leading up to Election Day, Eurich criticized the transition to an operating system that the office uses for property assessments. Celico was a supporter of the change to an operating system that is more widely used across the assessor’s offices in the state.

“While working in the office, the current proprietary system was undergoing an in-house rewrite that the office had contributed several years and countless hours to implement for the 2023 reappraisal,” Eurich wrote in a column for the Summit Daily News. “Having seen how much time and consideration, from multiple county departments, was put into the proprietary system that was discarded, I understand there will be much more work required for a successful transition to the new boxed software that was purchased as a replacement. Additionally, the values coming out in 2023 will reflect the unprecedented gains we’ve seen in home prices over the last two years. Getting through this reappraisal will require all hands on deck.”

In a column for the Summit Daily News, Celico wrote that leading the office during the 2023 property revaluation will be a critical moment as assessor. During campaign season, Celico ran on “honest, transparent, courteous and effective county government.”

Celico, who had served in the role since 2018, also worked in county government as county attorney for 19 years. As assessor, he was on the Colorado Assessor Association Legislative Subcommittee for short-term rental legislation. He also led a case argued in front of the Colorado Supreme Court in 2019 regarding contiguous parcels, including participation in drafting legislation on the issue in 2021.