Pueblo D60 board race results: Pannunzio, Maes, Thiebaut and Cisneros take early leads

Sue Pannunzio, Dennis Maes, Bill Thiebaut and Brian Cisneros are maintaining their leads in the Pueblo School District 60 board race.

Cisneros, who is competing with incumbent Anthony Perko for a two-year term, had received 52.74% of votes counted in his race, as of Wednesday morning. The Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder's Office has counted 13,628 votes for Cisneros and 12,213 votes for Perko so far.

"All my family and friends, everyone has donated to me, put a yard sign up in their yard, everyone that's voted or helped out in any way — I owe them so much gratitude... I just want to thank them again," Cisneros said shortly before the first batch of election results came in.

Pannunzio, Maes, and Thiebaut are among the seven candidates competing for three seats with four-year terms. Pannunzio has 10,801 votes, Maes has 10,446 votes and Thiebaut has 10,150 votes. None of the leading candidates are incumbents.

"I'm pleasantly surprised... just hoping I can hang in there and stay in the hunt," Pannunzio said immediately after finding out about her early lead on Tuesday night.

Sol Sandoval, an incumbent, trailed closely behind the leading slate of candidates with 9,997 votes. Other candidates competing for a four-year term on the board included fellow incumbent Tommy Farrell with 6,944 votes, Dan Comden with 6,716 votes and Roger Wright with 5,545 votes.

Farrell, Perko, Sandoval and Thiebaut received endorsements from the Pueblo Democratic Party and the Pueblo Education Association. They also have received tens of thousands of dollars worth of in-kind donations from the Colorado Education Association.

"We are looking for candidates that are going to support high-quality education... who are going to be partners with educators, parents and students to ensure that every child, no matter their zip code or where they live, has access to high-quality education," CEA President Amie Baca-Oehlert previously told the Chieftain.

Maes, a retired chief district judge for Colorado's 10th Judicial District who previously served on the Pueblo D60 board from 2017 to 2021, said he felt confident in his early lead on Tuesday night and that results showed that many voters were “not appreciative” of the "big Denver money" from CEA that helped fund the campaigns of opposing candidates.

“I'm pleased that the voters understand the importance of being an independent voice and making independent judgments, particularly when it comes to school kids,” Maes said.

Cisneros, Comden, Pannunzio and Wright are featured on the Pueblo County Republican Party website with an encouragement to "Vote for all Four." They also have been endorsed by Forging the Future, a conservative Christian political committee.

"I believe most parents just want to know the what and the why — what teachers are teaching and why they are teaching it," Pannunzio said during an Oct. 5 candidate forum. "They also want to know that what their children are learning does not undermine their moral, ethical, religious, or ideological views or values."

More about board elections: What does a school board do? Why are Pueblo board elections important?

Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo D60 school board race: Live results and updates