Candidates and supporters stand for a photo at the Jeffco School Board, Union Slate, victory party in Golden Colorado

Photo by Bob Wooley

Jeffco School Board, Union Slate Candidate, Mary Parker celebrates with supporters, including past board president, Ron Mitchell in Golden, Colorado.

Photo by Bob Wooley.

Candidate, Paula Reed speaks to her supporters in Golden, Colorado.

Photo by Bob Wooley

Danielle Varda, Jeffco Union Slate Candidate stands for a photo with daughters, Harlow and Olivia.

Photo by Bob Wooley

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In an election to determine control of the Jeffco Public Schools' Board of Education the teachers' union-supported slate have swept all three open seats in this year's election, based on uncertified vote totals. 

With 99% of the county's ballots counted, results for District 1 show Daniel Varda beating Jeffrey Wilhite by a 26,189-vote margin, with 164,457 votes tallied.

For District 2, Paula Reed led Theresa Shelton by more than 15,000 votes. The other candidate David C Johnson sits a distant third. 

"I never stopped being an educator," Reed said on election night. "I retired three years ago and I'm working for my husband's sign company ... by my heart is the heart of an educator."

In District 5, Mary Parker leads Kathy Miks with 55.3% of the vote, out of 163,193 counted.

The conservative slate of Shelton, Miks and Wilhite had been critical of current district leadership, and ran on a promise of change. 

Current District 4 Board of Education member Susan Miller expressed her displeasure at  the vote outcome while attending the Shelton, Miks and Wilhite watch party. 

"People voted for the status quo — what we've experienced for the past six years — declining enrollment and declining achievement," Miller said

The seventh candidate, Johnson, running in District 2, straddles the line between the slates with priorities including student safety (following public health orders), financial responsibility, and student performance.

Expiring terms for President, Susan Harmon (District 2), 1st Vice President, Brad Rupert (District 1) and 2nd Vice President, Richard Rush (District 5) left three out of five seats on the Jeffco Board of Education, up for grabs.

MORE: Jeffco Public Schools candidate questionnaires