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Cernanec, Cole, Stahlman winners
  
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By Holly Cook
hcook@ccnewspapers.com
Gathered inside Merle’s in downtown Littleton, City Council candidates Phil Cernanec and Bruce Stahlman anxiously awaited the results of their respective races that would start pouring in around 7 p.m.
One hour later, all signs pointed to yes for both Cernanec, Stahlman and incumbent Peggy Cole.
“Well, I feel less anxious than I did a few hours ago,” Cernanec said about capturing 62 percent of the votes for the District 3 seat by 9 p.m.
He received a total of 1, 493 votes compared to Nicks’ 929, according to the latest results from Arapahoe County, posted just after midnight.
But the newcomer knows that feeling of relief is fleeting.
“I’m going to be the person on council with the least amount of experience,” he said from a celebration party at Jose’s in downtown Littleton.
For the next 90 days, Cernanec says he’s going to “be in a position of listening” in order to fully understand every side of the issues, including any he may have missed during the campaign.
The city’s Comprehensive Plan is one of those issues. The former South Suburban Parks and Recreation Board member used the plan while campaigning to demonstrate how he could bring two sides together to achieve a common vision for the city.
“My hope is that through thoughtful, inclusive processes, we can resolve to preserve our character and depth, while appropriately nurturing and affirming change that builds upon our community’s goodness,” he said during his campaign.
Just before pausing to snap a victory photo with Bruce Stahlman he added, “Instead of asking how do you see land use going, we should be asking what’s the Littleton of your imagination?”
For Stahlman, it’s a Littleton with more leadership and vision. And with vision, comes money, which is his first line of business.
Stahlman was the top vote-getter in the at-large council race, with 43.3 percent of the vote. He gets a four-year term, providing the unofficial results hold up.
With an extensive finance background, and acting as the current chief finance officer for Arc Thrift Stores, Stahlman is ready to tackle the city’s financial challenges. Like most municipalities, the city faces falling sales tax revenues, economic pressures on local businesses, an aging population, deteriorating property values and school closures.
Only 286 votes separated Cole from Stahlman in the race for a four-year term. The unofficial results have Cole winning a two-year term.
The third candidate, newcomer Yoon Joo Mager, got 2,017 votes, or about 15 percent of the vote.
For Cole, the biggest issue facing Littleton involves continuing to ensure the safety, health and welfare of the citizens while dealing with the economic downturn.
“I am focusing on cost containment and am paying very close attention to revenue and expenditures,” she said.
While on council, Cole helped ensure that the monthly financial reports and the annual financial report were published by the required deadlines and made available to the public in print at City Center and the library, as well as published online. She also worked to make the budget planning and accounting more readily comprehensible for the council and citizens.
“I continue to advocate for the council to establish short- and long-term strategic goals and to establish priorities that help focus on ‘needs’ as opposed to ‘wants,’” she said.
District 1 incumbent Jim Taylor ran unopposed, gathering 1,621 votes.
Voters also approved the ballot question amending the charter relating to municipal judges.
For official results visit, www.littletongov.org or www.arapahoevotes.com.
One hour later, all signs pointed to yes for both Cernanec, Stahlman and incumbent Peggy Cole.
“Well, I feel less anxious than I did a few hours ago,” Cernanec said about capturing 62 percent of the votes for the District 3 seat by 9 p.m.
He received a total of 1, 493 votes compared to Nicks’ 929, according to the latest results from Arapahoe County, posted just after midnight.
But the newcomer knows that feeling of relief is fleeting.
“I’m going to be the person on council with the least amount of experience,” he said from a celebration party at Jose’s in downtown Littleton.
For the next 90 days, Cernanec says he’s going to “be in a position of listening” in order to fully understand every side of the issues, including any he may have missed during the campaign.
The city’s Comprehensive Plan is one of those issues. The former South Suburban Parks and Recreation Board member used the plan while campaigning to demonstrate how he could bring two sides together to achieve a common vision for the city.
“My hope is that through thoughtful, inclusive processes, we can resolve to preserve our character and depth, while appropriately nurturing and affirming change that builds upon our community’s goodness,” he said during his campaign.
Just before pausing to snap a victory photo with Bruce Stahlman he added, “Instead of asking how do you see land use going, we should be asking what’s the Littleton of your imagination?”
For Stahlman, it’s a Littleton with more leadership and vision. And with vision, comes money, which is his first line of business.
Stahlman was the top vote-getter in the at-large council race, with 43.3 percent of the vote. He gets a four-year term, providing the unofficial results hold up.
With an extensive finance background, and acting as the current chief finance officer for Arc Thrift Stores, Stahlman is ready to tackle the city’s financial challenges. Like most municipalities, the city faces falling sales tax revenues, economic pressures on local businesses, an aging population, deteriorating property values and school closures.
Only 286 votes separated Cole from Stahlman in the race for a four-year term. The unofficial results have Cole winning a two-year term.
The third candidate, newcomer Yoon Joo Mager, got 2,017 votes, or about 15 percent of the vote.
For Cole, the biggest issue facing Littleton involves continuing to ensure the safety, health and welfare of the citizens while dealing with the economic downturn.
“I am focusing on cost containment and am paying very close attention to revenue and expenditures,” she said.
While on council, Cole helped ensure that the monthly financial reports and the annual financial report were published by the required deadlines and made available to the public in print at City Center and the library, as well as published online. She also worked to make the budget planning and accounting more readily comprehensible for the council and citizens.
“I continue to advocate for the council to establish short- and long-term strategic goals and to establish priorities that help focus on ‘needs’ as opposed to ‘wants,’” she said.
District 1 incumbent Jim Taylor ran unopposed, gathering 1,621 votes.
Voters also approved the ballot question amending the charter relating to municipal judges.
For official results visit, www.littletongov.org or www.arapahoevotes.com.
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