Sandy Gutierrez, Celeste Arellano vote results

City voters asked to select a member of the Pueblo Board of Water Works had two choices Tuesday, including incumbent and write-in candidate Sandy Gutierrez and challenger Celeste Arellano.

In Pueblo, the five-member board is charged with the formulation of policy, reviewing and approving the department’s budget, setting water rates and overseeing long-range planning to ensure Pueblo’s water system is operated and maintained in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The board is comprised of community and business leaders who serve six-year terms.

Gutierrez, the incumbent, did not qualify for the ballot because some of the voters who signed her nominating petition had outdated voter registration information. As a result, she was eight valid signatures short of the requirement, so she opted to seek re-election as a write-in candidate.

Gutierrez, who works at Health Solutions in Pueblo, is a former director of the Latino Chamber of Commerce. She told the Chieftain she is seeking a second term because “water is one of our most precious resources.”

Arellano is a retired schoolteacher who also worked for the Colorado Department of Health and Environment serving as an auditor at the University of Colorado, where she was responsible for mitigation of waste in all labs at the university. She also has a background in banking and lending.

“Pueblo water is always been a concern to me,” she said. “We all need water, it’s one of our most precious resources. Water is a resource we want to conserve and take care of.”