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In local County Commissioner races, Chaffee County voters decided to keep incumbents in the 2020 election.

First District Commissioner Keith Baker, a Democrat, outdistanced two challengers for his post, including Republican candidate Hannah Hannah and Libertarian candidate Bonnie Davis. Fellow Commissioner Rusty Granzella,  also a Republican, had supported Hannah in her race against his fellow commissioner.

The preliminary results show Baker garnering 7,820 votes against 5,204 for Hannah Hannah and 472 for Bonnie Davis.

Voters returned both Keith Baker and Greg Felt to second terms as Chaffee County Commissioners. Photo by Jan Wondra.

Baker was gracious in his victory, saying he was very gratified.

“I really do appreciate everyone who voted for me ……. it’s kind of a rare thing when somebody receives more votes the second time around in a contested election than they did the first time.”

Baker said he felt it was an affirmation that the public agrees with the path the county is on right now.

“I appreciate the 60 percent of people who voted for me but I also represent the people who did not vote for me; and I will continue to work just as hard for them, represent them and listen to their concerns and address them with equanimity as well…”

After celebrating with some county Democrats, Baker said he heard compliments from some of them about the dignity and high level of his campaign.

County Commission Chairman Greg Felt was equally grateful for the support from the community and from people from both major parties who supported his unaffiliated candidacy, in his first election and this time, when he ran for reelection unopposed.

Felt received 10,295 votes in his re-election effort.

First to be recognized was his wife, Susan, for handling the difficult logistics of campaign reporting with the Secretary of State’s office and others.

“I really want to thank my wife, because for a second go-round, she served as my treasurer, and even though we weren’t out in the streets or anything, there’s still a lot of reporting that goes on…” Felt said. “I appreciate her supporting me and taking on that role again,” he added.

Felt said he also felt appreciation for all the people he works with in the county.

“They’re not able to speak out in their essential roles, regarding candidates, but it’s been an amazing experience working with all of them; they help me, they help guide me, give me confidence and you know, encouragement and I look forward to continuing to work with all of them.”

Both incumbents also talked about their vision for the future in Chaffee County, which AVV will explore further.

Due to the late hour before local results were completed, Ark Valley Voice did not reach candidates Hannah Hannah and Bonnie Davis election night. We attempted to get their comments the next day.

Hannah won a respectable 5,204 votes in a hard-fought campaign and Davis, also in her first bid for public office, garnered 472 votes.

Wednesday, Bonnie Davis did respond to email questions about her first-ever campaign. She said she congratulated Baker and Felt on their wins, and thanked her supporters:

“I am grateful to all of those who voted for me and supported the campaign. I want to let Victoria Reynolds, Jen Coop, my daughter Candice, sons Dan and David, husband Brian, Carlana Cunningham, and Zabell Media, LLC for stepping in to support the campaign.  We did not win, but we can be proud of our efforts.  A special thanks goes out to Chaffee County Times, the Mountain Mail, the League of Women Voters, and KHEN, River Rat, and Heart of the Rockies radio for getting my message out to the public. I want you to know that I will continue to focus and support issues that are important to us as a community.  Our plan is another go at it in 2024,” Davis said.

And Hannah Hannah also responded later with these observations on her first run for public office:

“I feel great about the turnout!  It’s my first election  and so I was not sure what to expect, but most of all I am happy to see that people got out to vote. It is an exciting and exhausting path to take.  But I will step up to serve my country when asked.  I was amazed at the love and support as well as the hatred towards me.  I was contacted by a group that followed many elections in Colorado.  They told me that as for women running for office, we took ourselves back decades this year due to the behavior of candidates as well as the attacks on female candidates.  They said said they would like to use me as an a example to other candidates how they need to behave during an election and not get petty in return.  They also said Chaffee County was one of the worst counties in the Colorado elections for the most brutal and petty attacks.  So I hope we will change that behavior in the future elections to come.”

Hannah was also asked about her political future.

“I will serve again I’m sure.  At what level I’m not sure, but America has not seen the last of me.  This was only a stepping stone.  I will never be the same; and whether I run for office or not, I will continue to inspire others to pay attention to their government and remember that it is government by the people for the people.”

And she was thankful for all the support she received this election.

“The GOP and all of the Hannah for Commissioner team.  They did amazing and I could not have done so much without them! They worked so hard for this election. I have so much gratitude for those who donated money and time to this election!
I would also like to thank all the Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who handled themselves with honor and dignity during this election and who can agree to disagree agreeably. There was so much hate, gossip and lies spread about me during this election that I had to ponder if I was back in high school again.  So I honor those who handled themselves honorably and as adults even if they had different party beliefs. Thank you!”