Lakewood 2020 Election: Esser Projected Winner, King Leads

LAKEWOOD, CO — Democrat Alexis King leads against Republican Matthew Durkin in the 1st Judicial District Attorney race.

While most eyes were on the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Colorado's general election, there are many important local races as well. Lakewood voters decided the outcomes of state representative, senate and board of education seats. The local ballots also included the board of commissioners and district attorney races in Jefferson County.

Democrat Karla Esser is the projected winner of the State Board of Education - District 7 seat.

Our state has a 6-year history of successful mail-in voting, and Coloradans returned their ballots in record-breaking numbers in the general election. Many Jefferson County voters returned their ballots early and tracked them with the state's new online tracing tool.

Lakewood general election results

• Trump vs. Biden — view race results here
• Hickenlooper vs. Gardner — view race results here

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District Attorney - 1st Judicial District

• Matthew Durkin (R): 152,409
• Alexis King (D): 188,409

State Board of Education Member - District 7

• Karla Esser (D): 242,803
• Nancy Pallozzi (R): 145,673

U.S. House Colorado District 7

• Casper Stockham (R): 146,747
• Ed Perlmutter (D) - i: 237,655

State Representative - District 23

• Chris Kennedy (D): 28,224
• Fred Clifford (R): 15,970
• Doug Anderson (L): 2,102

State Representative - District 28

• Kerry Tipper (D): 25,307
• Pedro "Pete" Roybal: 15,800
• Amara Hildebrand (L): 2,206

County Commissioner - District 2

• Joni Inman (R): 149,739
• Andy Kerr (D): 190,465

District Attorney - 1st Judicial District Race

Democrat Alexis King leads in the race against Republican Matthew Durkin for the 1st Judicial District Attorney seat, which serves Gilpin and Jefferson counties.

For more than a decade, King served as deputy district attorney for Jefferson and Gilpin counties. She led the district attorneys' juvenile and human trafficking units and was appointed to the Colorado Human Trafficking Council in 2016.

King was endorsed by more than a dozen Colorado leaders, including Sen. Jessie Danielson (D-District 20), Sen. Brittany Pettersen (D-District 22), Rep. Kerry Tipper (D-District 28) and former governor and Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter.

In her Patch candidate profile, King said that some of her top priorities are transparency, safety and providing alternatives to incarceration.

"My office will be transparent," she said. "A Conviction Integrity Unit, focusing on both innocence and equity, will collect, analyze, and utilize data regarding prosecutions and plea bargains to advance evidence-based practices and increase accountability."

But King said she believes that "dangerous people who prey on our most vulnerable" must be prosecuted.

"Smart reform means freeing up resources to focus on crimes against children, the elderly, and other at-risk populations, including those crimes motivated by hate or bias," she said.

"For those for whom incarceration is unnecessary and wasteful, we must have an appropriate diversionary track, similar to those I have already helped develop for this community, and focused on restorative justice, education, and stabilization," King said.

Some of her proposed reforms include expanding the use of body cameras, modernizing training standards to include more conflict resolution and stopping the "revolving door where bad cops who are fired can still join another agency in Colorado," King said.

King's opponent, Durkin, was endorsed by The Denver Post. After spending more than two decades serving as a prosecutor in Jefferson and Gilpin counties, The Post's editorial board said they believe Durkin is "extremely qualified" to become the new district attorney.

Durkin, a chief district attorney in Jefferson County, previously served as a deputy district attorney in county court, juvenile court and district court. Between 2011 and 2015, he worked as a prosecutor in the Colorado Attorney General's Office.

In his Patch candidate profile, Durkin said he believes that one of the most pressing issues facing Colorado is "a crime wave fueled by a drug addiction crisis."

"In Colorado, we have one of the worst recidivism rates in the country at nearly 50 percent," Durkin said.

"That means that those who are released from prison, return to prison on new charges within 3 years. At the same time, we have a drug addiction crisis that is fueling a crime wave. In 2019, Colorado set a record for overdose deaths at 1,062," he said.

Durkin is calling for "meaningful drug addiction treatment, based upon accountability and responsibility, to help offenders heal, so that they do not return to crime and further victimize the community," he said.

Durkin said he believes that despite the budget issues facing Jefferson and Gilpin counties, public safety needs to be prioritized.

State Board of Education Member - District 7 Race

Democrat Karla Esser and Republican Nancy Pallozzi were vying for the State Board of Education - District 7 seat, and Esser is the projected winner.

State board members serve six-year terms. The state board is in charge of appointing the commissioner of education, handling charter school appeals and setting state standards. The board also oversees teacher licensure, the administration of grants approved by the legislature and requests for waivers from state regulations.

Esser, a retired professor, has also worked as a teacher, school administrator and assistant superintendent. In her Patch candidate profile, she said that teachers need help amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"Our teachers are overwhelmed with how to teach both remote and in person, while staying healthy and taking care of their own children, who may be learning at home virtually," Esser said.

"Teachers and schools are struggling to keep students safe and learning and they need our support," she said.

Esser said that mental health is another of her top priorities.

"Colorado has the highest growth rate in teen suicide and this will need to be addressed in our schools and our communities," she said.

"I also believe Colorado cannot continue to be last in competitive teacher salaries in the country, when looking at pay and cost of living. We have many teachers leaving the profession to find better paying jobs where they feel safer."

In her Patch candidate profile, Pallozzi also said that one of her top priorities is protecting the mental and physical health of children; however the two candidates differed on their approach to teachers and their unions.

"Covid-19 has affected everyone's lives, especially our youth," she said.

"It is time to open up our schools, 100%, using safety precautions, and stop letting the teachers union control our children's lives."

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder George Stern said that one of their top concerns for the general election was cybersecurity.

"We, like election officials across the country, have seen an increase in the circulation of misinformation surrounding the election online," Stern said.

"We continue to monitor these reports and work with our local and state partners to counter any attempts to disrupt the election through disinformation. If you see anything you are unsure or concerned about, please reach out to the Jeffco Elections team."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agency issued warnings in September about foreign actors that spread misinformation on fake websites, alter existing legitimate websites, send fraudulent emails and release articles in fake online journals.

"Foreign adversaries are conducting influence operations to try to undermine Americans' confidence in the electoral process, and states must act," Griswold said.

Griswold's office launched social media campaigns and a new website to combat misinformation. Her office also created the Rapid Response Election Security Cyber Unit to help combat emerging cyber threats.

"Colorado is considered the safest state in which to cast a ballot, and we continually innovate to maintain our leading cyber preparedness," Griswold said.