'The people of Pueblo have spoken': Heather Graham claims victory in mayoral runoff

Heather Graham appears to be the next mayor of the city of Pueblo.

She took a decisive lead in the first round of unofficial results posted by the Pueblo City Clerk's Office Tuesday evening and incumbent Mayor Nick Gradisar called Graham to concede.

Graham was up by nearly 6,000 votes with over 22,500 counted when the first batch of unofficial results were reported just before 7:30 p.m.

She said those initial results showed that the "people of Pueblo have spoken."

“I feel relieved to know that the city of Pueblo will now move in a different direction,” Graham told the Chieftain.

Gradisar joked that he was looking forward to being a "has been" but congratulated Graham on her victory.

The race between Gradisar and Graham, who came out on top in the first round of voting in November, was the second-ever mayoral runoff election held in recent history.

The city charter requires a runoff election if a candidate does not receive more than 50% of votes in the first round of voting, but Graham and Gradisar emerged from the crowded field of nine initial candidates. Both had been running their campaigns longer than most of the other mayoral hopefuls.

This election is nonpartisan by nature, as is all city government in Pueblo. But in recent weeks, Gradisar, a Democrat, attacked Graham’s Republican affiliation. She has said that her record on city council shows that she supports all of her constituents, regardless of party affiliation.

Graham owns several restaurants in Pueblo. She got into local politics in 2021, seeking to represent small businesses that she thought disproportionately suffered during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Gradisar’s background is as an attorney. He was involved with the campaign to introduce the change to Pueblo’s city governmental structure to the “strong mayor” system, which passed by ballot measure in 2017.

Graham got endorsements from the local police union — which was announced in September — and several community leaders, including county commissioners Zach Swearingen and Epimenio “Eppie” Griego.

Gradisar sought endorsements from some of the state’s top Democratic officials, including Gov. Jared Polis and U.S. Sens Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper. Polis also personally contributed to Gradisar’s campaign. The local firefighter’s union has been supporting his campaign from the get-go and has been a significant financial contributor.

Gradisar’s campaign has raised more cash than Graham’s, but she has been raising more than him since mid-October, according to campaign finance reports.

Note: this is a developing story and will be updated.

Anna Lynn Winfrey and Josué Perez are reporters at the Pueblo Chieftain. Please support local news at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Heather Graham wins 2024 Pueblo mayoral runoff against Nick Gradisar