Laurett Barrentine withstood a recall attempt last year, but she could not overcome the latest effort to unseat her on Englewood City Council.
Voters overwhelmingly chose Joe Anderson to take Barrentine’s spot as the District 3 councilmember. A week after the the Nov. 5 election, the tally shows Anderson leading Barrentine 69.9% to 30.1%. District 3 includes the southeastern and west-central areas of the city.
“We put a lot of work into this campaign, and it’s just good to see that effort rewarded with a positive result,” Anderson said. “I was just thankful for all the people in the district who supported my campaign, volunteered and served alongside for the future of Englewood.”
Anderson is the director of United Englewood, a coalition of churches and nonprofits that work to serve the city. He also owns Oikos Coffee, a coffee roaster in Englewood. Anderson lost a citywide at-large council race to Cheryl Wink in 2017 by more than 10 percentage points.
Barrentine was elected to city council in 2015. Last summer, a petition around District 3 gained 424 verified signatures for a recall vote against her.
The petition, which was signed by former Englewood mayors Randy Penn, who served from 2011-15, and Jim Woodward, who served from 2007-11, accused Barrentine of “bullying and unwarranted threats to fire city employees” and of “regular distortion of facts and outright lies,” the Englewood Herald reported. She was charged with harassment and disorderly conduct in connection with an incident that took place after a council study session in August 2018. Those chargers were dropped, and Barrentine survived the recall vote by a margin of 46 votes last year.
“Council can provide a fair share of challenges, however, the best part has always been meeting and working with a wide range of people in our community. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to serve, and (I am) so impressed with everyone’s passion and willingness to work for the best interest of our community,” Barrentine wrote in a Facebook post.
Anderson said he is looking forward to working with council and having “good dialogue” with other councilmembers. He believes Englewood is going to see a lot of change over the next four years.
“Englewood is ready for a new approach on city council — a more collaborative focus. I’ve talked to other councilmembers, and I know there’s a lot of excitement to have that collaborative dialogue,” Anderson said. “Even in disagreements, we’re going to have a good dialogue and work toward the future of our city. There is a collaborative spirit with this new council and throughout the city.”
In the race for council’s District 1 seat, incumbent Othoniel Sierra gained 56.7% of the votes. Monica Johnson garnered 24.0% of the votes for the position, while Bobby Jennings tallied 19.3%. District 1 includes the north-central and northwestern parts of Englewood.
Incumbent Rita Russell will continue to hold an at-large seat. She picked up 41.0% of the vote. John Stone garnered 35.3% of the vote and will replace Amy Martinez, who did not seek reelection, in another at-large seat. Steven Ward received 23.6% of the vote, falling short in his quest for an at-large seat.