The vacant council seat in Commerce City was created when former at-large councilman Tony Johnson resigned for personal reasons. The city asked the public for candidates to replace Johnson and 21 citizens applied. Out of the 21 who applied, 16 citizens went through the interview process which involved a set of council agreed questions. The council was then asked by secret ballot to to make their first, second and third selections. The results of that council vote count were as follows:
Paolo Diaz: First Choice was 5... Second Choice was 2... Third Choice was 1
Dr. Kristine Sumner: First Choice was 2... Second Choice was 1... Third Choice was 3
Joseph Sandoval, Jr: First Choice was 0... Second Choice was 2... Third Choice was 3
Lanny Cook: First Choice was 1... Second Choice was 0... Third Choice was 1
Tonia Johnson: First Choice was 0... Second Choice was 1... Third Choice was 0
Gene Leffel: First Choice was 0... Second Choice was 1... Third Choice was 0
Kristie Douglas: First Choice was 0... Second Choice was 1... Third Choice was 0
As such, the final vote was narrowed down to the top three vote-getters: Dr. Kristine Sumner, Joseph Sandoval, Jr. and Paolo Diaz. Then council was asked to pick their first choice from the 3 finalist. The results of that council vote count were as follows:
Paolo Diaz: Received 7 votes
Dr. Kristine Sumner: Received 2 votes
Joseph Sandoval, Jr: Received 0 votes
At the conclusion of the process, Paolo Diaz was appointed to the vacant at-large council seat. Congratulations to Paolo Diaz.
