COMMERCE CITY, COLO. (Jan. 10, 2023) – During a special meeting on Monday evening, the City Council of Commerce City appointed Renée M. Chacon to fill the Ward III vacancy created by the resignation of former Councilmember Rick Davis in December. City Council officially declared the vacancy on Dec. 19 and was required per the city charter to appoint an eligible person to fill the seat within 30 days. Following the temporary appointment, the Ward III seat will go back to the voters in the 2023 municipal election for a special two-year term.

Councilmember Chacon has lived in Commerce City for five years and been an active resident on numerous fronts. She worked with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) on the Environmental Justice Action Task Force through most of 2022 and served as co-chair of the Equity Analysis Subcommittee. Since 2019, she has been the co-founder and executive director of Womxn from the Mountain, a woman-led, Indigenous 501(c)3 nonprofit working to clean and protect our communities and our biosphere. Councilmember Chacon has also been a youth program coordinator with Spirit of the Sun/Americorps VISTA, among other community-oriented positions.

Six applicants submitted valid applications to the city by the Jan. 4 deadline. Applicants each gave a five-minute presentation to City Council during Monday’s meeting, which included a public reception before the council reconvened to vote on the applicants and make the appointment.  All six applications are available for public view at c3gov.com/Council.