Stephens, Shadduck-McNally win Larimer County commissioner seats

FORT COLLINS — Two Larimer County Democrats will replace the outgoing Tom Donnelly and Steve Johnson at the county’s board of commissioners, shifting the balance of power from a Republican majority to a fully blue board.

Fort Collins Mayor Pro Tem Kristen Stephens and small-business owner Jody Shadduck-McNally both have leads of about 53% over former state representative Bob McCluskey and business owner Ben Aste respectively, according to unofficial Larimer County Clerk’s Office counts as of 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Stephens has 109,759 votes to McCluskey’s 95,067 and Shadduck-McNally has 107,600 to Aste’s 95,087. With approximately 13,000 ballots left to count, it’s extremely unlikely that either McCluskey or Aste can pull out a win.

Donnelly and Johnson are leaving their posts as commissioners as they are term-limited.

The potential Democratic sweep would shift the power on the three-seat board from majority Republican to fully blue. Donnelly and Johnson, both Republicans, voted to grant a construction permit for the Northern Integrated Supply Project, a water reservoir and pipeline project that environmental groups are deeply opposed to. 

John Kefalas, the lone Democratic commissioner on the board, was the opposing vote against NISP, saying he still had questions about its ecological impact.

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