Eight candidates will be on the ballot for positions on the Greeley City Council this November, including the mayor and an at-large seat.
Mayoral candidates include incumbent John Gates, Jim Ethridge and W.D. "Bill" Gillard. The at-large candidates are Frank Freeman, Melissa McDonald and Sean Short.
Ward 1 councilmember Tommy Butler is running for reelection unopposed, and Ward 4 councilmember Dale Hall is also running for reelection unopposed.
Candidates had until Monday to submit nomination petitions to be on the ballot to the city clerk's office. Tuesday is the last day for candidates to submit an affidavit to withdraw their candidacy.
Gates is running for a fourth term as mayor, which would be his last under the city's term limits. Gates was elected to the city council in 2009 and continued to serve on the council through 2017 when he was first elected as mayor. He won his last election with more than 70% of the vote.
Ethridge, a local business owner, ran against Gates in 2021, earning about 14% of the vote. Gillard in recent years made bids for the Greeley-Evans School District 6 school board as well as the board of county commissioners. He ran for mayor in 2005, earning about 23% of the vote, while then-Mayor Tom Selders was reelected with about 67% of the vote.
Short ran for the Ward 2 seat on the council in 2021, earning nearly 16% of the vote. Councilmember Deborah DeBoutez won that race with more than 51% of the vote. Her term runs through 2025.
Freeman, an IT manager for the city of Loveland, and McDonald, a local State Farm insurance agent, are political newcomers as candidates.
At-large councilmember Ed Clark, a former mayor of the city, won his seat in 2019 with about 25% of the vote. He will not seek reelection due to health concerns. The seat is one of two at-large seats on the council, which are elected by registered voters across the city.
Councilmembers who represent one of the four wards in the city are elected by residents of those areas. They're generally split into four quadrants, with Ward 1 covering the northeast area of the city, Ward 2 covering southeast Greeley, Ward 3 covering southwest Greeley and Ward 4 the northwest part of the city. A map is available at greeleygov.com/elections.
Councilmembers serve four-year terms, with a limit of two consecutive terms, and the mayor serves two-year terms.
On Wednesday, the city will draw names from a hat to determine the order in which candidates will appear on the ballot. City Clerk Heidi Leatherwood said the names are drawn to ensure a random order, as candidates who appear first have been shown to have an advantage.
Mail ballots are scheduled to start going out Oct. 16, when 24-hour ballot boxes will also open. Ballot boxes will remain open through Election Day on Nov. 7.
