By Will Cornelius
The Surveyor

On April 2, Berthoud voters re-elected Mayor Will Karspeck and chose Chris Kurtz, May Albrecht and Brett Wing for positions on the town’s Board of Trustees.

Karspeck won his third term as Berthoud’s mayor with 1,538 votes, defeating challenger Justin Delap who received 473 votes. “It feels good. I’m very thankful and humbled and ready to get going,” Karspeck said about his election victory.

In 2020, Karspeck ran unopposed for mayor. But this year, Delap, a newcomer to the local political scene, threw his hat into the ring to give Karspeck a challenge. Karspeck said he felt confident heading into election day, but admitted it is always nerve-wracking. “I still got pretty nervous toward the end.”

Joining Karspeck on the town board will be trustees Kurtz, Albrecht and Wing. It is Albrecht’s second term after being elected in 2020. For Kurtz and Wing, it will be their first term, although Kurtz was appointed to fill a vacancy last September when former Trustee Jeff Butler resigned to move to Texas.

Kurtz led the vote among the five candidates vying for the three trustee positions with 1,332 votes. Albrecht was second with 1,120 while Wing finished with 996 votes. Former trustee Peder Thorstensen collected 919 votes and Aaron Perry received 754 votes.

The only change in the composition of the town board will be Wing replacing Mayor Pro Tem Mike Grace, who did not run for re-election.

“This one won’t be as drastic as some of the other ones,” Karspeck said about the newly elected town board. “But these guys are all coming from some kind of committee background too.”

With Wing’s election to the town board, Karspeck was also enthusiastic to have someone representing Berthoud from the other side of U.S. 287. “Especially with the short-term rentals that are kind of driven by that section. I think he’ll have some good perspective on that,” Karpseck said about Wing.

While new to the town board, Kurtz and Wing both have experience serving on the town’s planning commission. Albrecht and Karspeck already serve on the town board. The seats of existing trustees Karl Ayers, Tim Hardy and Sean Murphy were not up for election.

Before election day, unsigned negative campaign mailers were sent out discrediting Albrecht’s work as a trustee. Albrecht defended herself in a social media post on Facebook, saying despite the negativity, “I’m not discouraged, because I know that through the love and support of the community many mountains have been moved these last several years of my service.”

The negative mailer claimed that Albrecht had missed a third of town board meetings in 2023. “The majority of my term was spent as a single mother of three working sometimes three jobs to provide while still filling my leadership role as Trustee,” Albrecht said in her post on Facebook.

The unsigned mailers did not endorse any other candidates but urged people to “support other candidates who take their job seriously.” The mailers were sent from Minuteman Press in Boulder, but it is unclear who sent them.

“Ironically, or, sadly, I should say it’s not new,” Karspeck said about the negative mailers this election cycle. “It’s really unfortunate. Certainly, you can talk about attendance in a much more cordial, much more civil manner than an unsigned mailer going out.”

In 2022, there were 8,678 registered voters in Berthoud. This year there were 10,538—an increase of 21%. However, of those 10,538 registered voters, only 2,011 voters returned a ballot to vote for mayor—a turnout of 19%. Karspeck believed the low turnout was a combination of holding the election in April, lack of registration and awareness. “We could move it to November and get on the Larimer County cycle,” he mentioned but said there were no immediate plans to change it. A benefit of staying with the April election cycle though is the added opportunity to put ballot measures to voters in the spring and not having to wait until the county elections in fall.

Asked about his plans and goals for the next four years, Karspeck said he plans to lay it all out. “I want to make sure that in four years—I’m done. That I feel ready to go, that I’ve done all that I could,” he explained.

“I’d love to preserve one more big piece of open space,” Karspeck said. He believes the town will do so regardless, but emphasized his support for open spaces in Berthoud. “Getting in a Boys and Girls Club would be really nice too,” he stated. Karspeck wants to also continue to support more public services in town like the planned Berthoud Life Center the House of Neighborly Services is fundraising for.

The Colorado Front Range Trail project is another priority for Karspeck. “In four years, we should be close by then,” he said. Karspeck explained that the town is waiting for Loveland to complete their section of the trail.

One pet project, Karspeck wants to pursue is a possible carousel for the town. Located in New Jersey, the idea is still in the preliminary stages he admits. “I would like to make some progress or just learn more about that carousel.”

More strategizing and policy planning will be done at a retreat the board plans to hold in late May or early June.

Campaign spending during the municipal elections was minimal. Four candidates spent over $1,400 during the short municipal campaign season, led by Perry who spent $512. Karspeck was next with $339, then Delap with $304 and Kurtz spent the least at $259.

Karspeck and Perry were the only two candidates to raise money for their campaign, bringing in $2,375 and $693 respectively.
Albrecht, Thorstensen and Wing did not declare any campaign contributions or expenditures.