While opinions may differ on how to get the work done, the mayoral and council candidates running in the Castle Pines City Council election agree roads are a major priority.

Incumbent Mayor Tera Radloff said she wants to continue the work currently taking place.

In June, city staff started construction on the nearly $3 million project to reconstruct a half-mile of Castle Pines Parkway. The project, which is part of a five-year roadway rehabilitation program, is slated to continue through December.

With improving Castle Pines roadways being a major priority in 2021, the city council approved almost $5 million for roadwork, which is 40% of all city expenditures for the year.

Radloff, completing her first term as city mayor, also served two terms as a councilmember in District 2. Calling her priorities the “Tera's To-Do” list, Radloff said the current council continues to prioritize repair and maintenance of roads that are “past their lifespan.”

Radloff is being challenged by District 3 Councilmember Tracy Engerman, who said her decision to run for the city's top position came down to choosing “courage over comfort,” as she opted not to run for reelection in her current seat.

Coming off her first four-year term on the council, Engerman said the city needs “strong solutions-oriented leadership to move the city's future from good to world class.”

Engerman said it is a priority to successfully complete the current council's five-year plan to rebuild and rehabilitate Castle Pines Parkway and Monarch Boulevard.

The third mayoral candidate is David McEntire, who is currently the president of the Castle Pines North Metro District. In a unique campaign plan, McEntire is running as a team with District 2 council candidate Chuck Lowen, who is currently the director of the metro district.

Lowen is challenging incumbent councilmember Ben Price in the Nov. 2 election.

In a combined statement, Lowen and McEntire said they applaud the current council's efforts to reconstruct the Castle Pines Parkway, but noted it is only a half-mile of work and has taken too long to start.

Lowen and McEntire said they will make it an “urgent priority” to rebuild and maintain city streets.

Per the city charter, if Lowen and McEntire win the city election, they will be required to resign from the metro district.

District 2 incumbent Price said he has no doubt that “priority number one is roads.”

Price said city roads have been gradually declining for years and were not built well to begin with.

“We have put as much work as possible into our streets over the last four years, and it's important that we find creative ways to continue to get this job done,” he said.

In District 3, incumbent councilmember Roger Hudson faces challenger Merri Sheh.

While Sheh did not specifically mention roads, the newer Castle Pines resident said it is an exciting time for the growing community that needs to focus developing a government body that “creates the right balance.”

Hudson, running for a second four-year term, said Castle Pines is currently at a crossroads, “standing precariously between overdevelopment and conservation, between reckless over-spending and wise fiscal responsibility, and between economic development and blight.”

City Clerk Tobi Duffey said Castle Pines is a young city, with the first official city council race held in 2008. The races continue to be healthy, Duffey said, with plenty of candidates showing interest in open seats each election cycle.

Duffey said it is, however, not uncommon for specific races to be uncontested, as is the case this year with District 1 councilmember Chris Eubanks.

Duffey said the number of candidates in the 2021 election follows the norm of Castle Pines and for municipal government elections in general.