History was made in Arvada when the constituents of House District 27 elected Democrat Brianna Titone, the first transgender representative elected to the Colorado House of Representative.

On election night, Titone was down by 355 votes. After almost 24 hours of Republican Vicki Pyne leading the race, Titone took the lead by nine votes. That lead continued to grow and as of Saturday morning, Nov. 10, Titone was leading by 368 votes — a vote total above the margin that triggers an automatic recount.

“Never let anyone tell you that your vote doesn't matter,” Titone said. “While it may not alter everything by itself each time, it is always part of a community of voters, and that community speaking is what voting is all about. Everyone who voted for me can remember this election as a time when their vote made a clear difference.”

The HD27 seat was held by Lang Sias, who was tapped as governor hopeful Walker Stapleton’s running mate. (Stapleton conceded to Democrat Jared Polis.) Sias, a Republican, has served in HD 27 for four years. The seat has been held by a Republican since Libby Szabo beat Sara Gagliardi in 2010.

"It's been a strong Republican seat," Pyne said. "But we have lot of new houses up near Leyden Rock and Candelas and some untested waters for the election. A lot of unaffiliated voters also makes a difference."
Pyne said she heard from several constituents that they were going to "vote Blue" to give a message to President Donald Trump.

Pyne said her involvement in Arvada will not change as a result of this election.

“Arvada is my home,” she said. “I have loved being actively involved as a community member."

This year, all House seats representing Jefferson County constituents were won by Democrats. In the state House, Democrats expanded their majority, declaring victory in three other seats previously held by Republicans. Lisa Cutter in Jefferson County, Kyle Mullica in Adams County and Tom Sullivan in Arapahoe County took those spots.

Nineteen Democrats will serve in the Senate when the 2019 legislative session begins in January, including Tammy Story, who ousted Republican Tim Neville.

"We’ve made a lot of progression in the district to opening up people's minds to something different," Titone said. "And I think people are ready for change."