Ouray County voters in November elected two Democrats to the Board of County Commissioners and passed a pair of property tax measures.

In races marked by an unusually high amount of negative campaign advertisements — pushed more by private citizens and independent committees than the candidates themselves — Lynn Padgett ousted incumbent commissioner John Peters and Jake Niece defeated political newcomer Ned Bosworth.

The 49-year-old Padgett, a former two-term commissioner, won 53 percent of th...