Incumbent Bob Murphy won a second term as Lakewood’s mayor, defeating Linda Lou Delay in her fourth bid for the position.
Murphy won with 24,286 votes to Delay’s 5,194 at press time, a nearly 5-to-1 ratio.
His campaign cornerstone was building on past successes and that’s his goal with this victory.
“We’ve had some unprecedented success in Lakewood, a lot of it as a result of my predecessors and our great leadership,” he said at his victory party at 240 Union restaurant. “I think it’s really important that we’ve had an air of civility, including between the elected officials and residents, and people really respond to that.”
Murphy spoke about the unique chance the city has to create sustainability around light rail, the opportunities brought by the Federal Center, and keeping Colorado Christian University in Lakewood.
He also mentioned the Metro Mayors Caucus and working with mayors from neighboring cities.
“I was the chair of the MMC last year, and we work closely together,” he said. “I’m not sure people understand how good the relationship between mayors is.”
Also in attendance at the party was Cindy Baroway, Adam Paul and Tom Quinn, all council incumbents and running unopposed, as well as incumbent Karen Kellen, who won a second term in Ward 1.
“I’ve talked so much about Lakewood’s accomplishments, and this is the team that brought us here,” he said, mentioning the many awards the city has recently won, including Lakewood’s Department of Community Resources winning the 2011 National Gold Medal Award — won hours earlier.
Delay congratulated Murphy on his win and said she hasn’t done a lot of thinking yet on what she’ll do now that the election is over.
Joe Margotte, a longtime Lakewood resident and owner of Chicago Style Beef and Dogs, spoke of the work done by Murphy’s predecessors and how he must continue the work that has been started.
“The next four years will show us more of him because a lot of the things that are in place are finally starting to develop” he said at the party. “He’s on his own now, but I think he’s going to do a great job.”