Windsor Town Board almost whole with new member appointment

WINDSOR —  The Town Board has a new mayor, mayor pro-tem, and District 2 representative.

At the Town Board’s special meeting June 17, Julie Cline was sworn in as the town’s new mayor. She accepted the nomination at a special meeting June 10.

On June 17, the board elected member Ron Steinbach as mayor pro tem, and unanimously chose restaurateur Brian Jones as their new District 2 representative.

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The changes were necessary after Weld District Court Judge Shannon Lyons ruled recently that the elected mayor, Barry Wilson, could not serve as he would be effectively serving a third term on the board, which is prohibited by Windsor’s term limits. This ruling came in the wake of a lawsuit contesting his eligibility to serve.

Wilson was elected to four-year terms on the Windsor Town Board in 2018 and 2022. Halfway through his second term, he decided to run for mayor this spring and defeated fellow town board member Jason Hallett, 4,176 votes to 3,622, in the April 2 municipal election.

The board chose not to appeal the ruling, and instead moved forward with his replacement for the District 2 seat.

Four candidates put their hat in the ring for the vacant seat, but the board unanimously chose Jones.

Jones is an owner of Fuzzy’s Taco shops throughout Northern Colorado, and recently purchased the MashLab brewery in Windsor.

Cline said she appreciated his viewpoint as a newer member of the community, having moved to town four and a half years ago.

“We’ve grown so much in the last few years, and we have an influx of new people, and it’s great we have the core people who’ve been here for a long time,” Cline said. “Brian has a unique perspective of being in Northern Colorado, and being more recent to the area, especially in his district, Rain Dance is new. Having a new perspective is great, and we’re getting to look at economic development, and we’re looking at bringing more restaurants to the area, and he will give us the insight” we need.

Likewise, other board members liked the perspective of a restaurant owner, who can advise them in any new applications for restaurants in town.

“I really liked his business acumen,” said board member Jason Hallett. “He really wanted to focus on creating peace within the town and third, his experience in restaurants is important to the town in general.”

With Cline’s appointment, the town board still has a vacancy in District 4, and they have 60 days to fill it. The board opted to conduct interviews in July for the open seat.