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Rodeman rakes ’em in

Oak Creek incumbent mayor elected to third term

Alexis DeLaCruz

— Oak Creek Mayor Kathy “Cargo” Rodeman was re-elected to a third term Tuesday.

Elected to trustee seats were incumbent J. Elliott, incumbent John Crawford, Angie Kralj KenCairn and Dave Fisher. Elliott won the most votes with 143. KenCairn came in second with 117. Crawford and Fisher both won 104 votes, which means the men will have to decide at a later date who will serve the town’s remaining four-year term and who will serve the two-year term. Elliott and Kralj KenCairn will serve four-year terms.

Elliott, Crawford, Kralj KenCairn and Fisher were the top four vote getters in a nine-person field. Candidates Kelly Lipsie, Chuck Wisecup, Stacy Hayes, Tom Bleuer and Ann Kirton also ran but did not get enough votes to be elected.



Bill Babcock was the only candidate running against Rode-man.

Town Clerk Karen Halter-man said the tie between Fisher and Crawford was unexpected. Halterman woke Routt County Clerk and Recorder Kay Weinland to determine how to handle the situation.



“(The tie) was surprising. I’m not sure how often that happens. We’ll deal with it according to state statute at a later date. I don’t know exactly when that will happen,” Halterman said.

Halterman said voter turnout was “moderate.” Of the 550 registered voters in Oak Creek, a little less than half — 244 — voted Tuesday.

When Halterman posted the election results, word spread quickly to the Colorado Bar & Grill, where several of the candidates were awaiting results.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” Rodeman screamed, leaping into the arms of police Chief Linda Koile after hearing the results. “I feel ecstatic. I feel great.”

Rodeman said she was nervous Tuesday about the election results because she did not know how the town would vote.

“I’m not surprised (about the results). I was obviously scared because I knew it would be fairly close.”

Rodeman received 146 votes to Babcock’s 93.

Babcock could not be reached for comment late Tuesday night.

“I am so surprised, honored and proud of this town,” Kralj KenCairn said after learning she had been elected. “There is so much energy. I am ready. It’s going to be big.”

Fisher, also categorized as “new Oak Creek,” said he was surprised to hear his name called as a trustee.

“A tie vote between John Crawford and me and the closeness of the subsequent votes just shows you how important it is to take part in the process. The closeness of the votes tells me the voters are paying attention to the depth of the candidates. We had a lot to choose from,” he said.

Elliott said he was surprised that he and Crawford were re-elected to the Town Board. Elliott said he “absolutely did not” expect to be the top trustee vote-getter with 143 votes.

“I’m loving it,” Elliott said. “We had a lot of good, new people running. I guess people felt like they needed some continuity to get done what we have started.”

Rodeman said she was excited to see two board members coming back, and she welcomed Fisher and Kralj KenCairn.

“I’ve got a hell of a lot more than warm bodies,” Rodeman said. “I’ve got people who are going to help us.”

The new Oak Creek Town Board will hold its first meeting at 7 p.m. April 13.


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