AURORA | Two Aurora City Council candidates for one of the two open at-large seats are patiently waiting to see which one will come out on top in a recount, which is expected to be finished by Dec. 7.
Just 47 votes separate retired Air Force Col. Dave Gruber and Tom Tobiassen, the former chairman of the Regional Transportation District. The slim margin was enough to force Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties to recount the ballots. State law dictates that a recount is to take place if the “margin is equal to or less than one-half of one percent of the votes cast for the candidate with more votes,” according to Haley McKean, a spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County clerk’s office.
County officials released unofficial final numbers last week, but are required to wait for votes to be certified before recounting votes.
A margin of 67.76 votes were required for a recount to take place between Tobiassen and Gruber.
McKean said the three affected clerks would meet after all votes are canvassed this week. She speculated that it’s possible if not likely that the recount will be completed in time for the Aurora City Council’s slated swearing in ceremony Dec. 4.
Both candidates have been cordial about the process and have wished each other luck since the day after the election when votes were drawing close.
“I sat with Councilman Bob LeGare a few years ago when he was ahead and wound up losing by 57 votes. So we’ll have to see. But Dave Gruber is a good guy, and if it goes his way he will serve our city well,” Tobiassen said Election night, after polling locations closed.
Both also said they owed it to the people who volunteered for their campaigns to see the recount process through. Had an automatic recount not been triggered, however, Tobiassen said he would be hesitant to pay for the process.
When it came to questions of policy during the election cycle, each candidate said keeping the R Line running through Aurora is a top transportation priority.
“The other pressing transportation need is fixing the traffic jam that forms every morning at the junction of I-225 and I-25. It is a serious CDOT issue that impacts travelers across the metro area every day,” Tobiassen said in an Aurora Sentinel candidate questionnaire.
Both also cited growth as a top issue for the city and that incentives to lure in big businesses should continue to be used.
“Projects like Gaylord and Amazon are catalysts – they indicate to other companies that Aurora is a great place to do business. Just these two projects alone are adding thousands of jobs for our residents,” Tobiassen said. “So by incentivizing a few, select projects, we in turn drive much farther reaching economic development, benefiting our entire city. That said, I believe in continuing to review projects on a case-by-case basis. After studying the pros and cons of each proposal, Aurora should use incentives when the benefit outweighs the cost of the incentive. We are competing with cities and towns across the nation as we work to attract high quality companies to come to Aurora. Let’s not let good opportunities pass us by.”
Gruber agreed, saying, “we should not pay every incoming business an incentive. Once an area is made desirable, businesses will come with or without incentives.”
While Tobiassen was often a leader in fundraising, Gruber had some help from Vital for Colorado, which donated $100,000 to a PAC called Aurora for a Stronger Economy.
The cash was used to primarily buy TV campaign commercials, robocalls and live calls to potential voters for Gruber and Tim Huffman in the at-large race, Ward II candidate Bob Hagedorn, Ward III candidate Marsha Berzins and Ward I candidate Sally Mounier.
The other at-large seat will go to Allison Hiltz, the self-proclaimed progressive candidate who received 17,671 votes.