Englewood releases guidelines for Oct. 3 special recall election

Ballots for the Englewood City Council recall elections will be mailed on Sept. 11 to registered voters in Districts 1, 2 and 3.

Ballots must be turned in by Oct. 3.  

Citizens submitted affidavits to the Englewood City Clerk’s Office to recall Mayor and District 1 Councilmember Othoniel Sierra, District 2 Councilmember Chelsea Nunnenkamp, District 3 Councilmember Joe Anderson and former At-Large Councilmember Cheryl Wink on April 19.  

Following the affidavits submission, petitions for all four councilmembers were submitted and verified throughout the summer.  

 Now three of those councilmembers' names will be on a special ballot which residents will receive on Sept. 11. Wink resigned abruptly on July 17 with the recall on the horizon.

“The ballot for the recall election will read as follows: ‘Shall, name of official, be recalled from the office of, name of office?’, followed by the words ‘Yes’ and ‘No,”’ the city’s website says.  

The recall election will cost about $138,000 and will be managed by third-party company Community Resource Services of Colorado, which the council approved in a July 24 meeting.    

“Due to the timing of the general municipal election on Nov. 7, Arapahoe County was unable to assist,” the city said on its website.  

Chris Harguth, the city’s communication director, said there are five city council seats open in the election on Nov. 7. They are District 1, District 2, two four-year at-large seats and a two-year at-large seat to fill the position Wink abandoned.

On Aug. 14, Wink was replaced through the election by resident PJ Kolnik, who has not filed to run for office in November. 

Harguth said if Nunnenkamp is recalled on Oct. 3 then another special election will be held to fill her seat. He said that election would take place in December or January.  

Harguth said there is the possibility of multiple vacancies lasting several weeks after the Oct. 3 election if the recall attempts are successful. 

This could impact the council’s quorum, Harguth said, and without a quorum then “council will not be able to meet and conduct the business of the city.”    

The efforts to recall the three councilmembers began over their consideration of a proposal to allow multifamily residences in single-family zoning areas, which has been shelved indefinitely.  

In a letter to the public, the Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce announced its opposition to the Oct. 3 recall election. 

“Whereas it is the responsibility of the Board of Directors of The Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce to speak in unison on matters pertaining to healthy commerce and commercial practices in our city, we hereby oppose the efforts to recall three City Council Members in Englewood,” the letter said.   

However, Kurt Suppes, a Recall and Restore Englewood member, said there is more to the purpose of the recall efforts, including concerns with the CodeNext zoning overhaul proposal and the city’s management of infrastructure issues.  

For more information on the recall election visit englewoodco.gov and click on the Recall Special Election tab.