How wacky can one election get?

Woodland Park voters thought they had some tough choices in the April 6 mail ballot election simply trying to decide whether to increase the city sales tax to build a $14 million pool and recreation center.

But just as ballots were being mailed on March 15, voters learned Mayor Steve Randolph was not seeking re-election because he so strongly objected to the project and would not serve if it passed.

Rec center supporters and opponents alike were stunned when restaurant owner Neil Levy announced a day later he was withdrawing his support for the tax increase in the face of mounting public criticism.

Suddenly, Randolph, 65, jumped back in the race as a write-in candidate. He is facing Jon DeVaux, 67, who has served nearly seven years on the City Council.

Anybody keeping score here?

Clearly, the biggest headline was Levy’s change of heart over the project. He had become the face of the campaign, even agreeing to debate opponents at public forums.

However, shortly before one of the recent forums Levy dropped his support. He said Tuesday that he was swayed by the emotional debate swirling around the project.

“I think I have a pretty good pulse of the community,” said Levy, who owns the Swiss Chalet and has lived in the Teller County town 11 years. “It just did not seem like the right thing to do right now. It seemed to be too divisive.”

Levy said the idea of raising the town’s 3 percent sales tax to 4 percent was simply too controversial. And many voters were angered that the tax-funded project would compete with existing commercial fitness centers in the area.

“I want this rec center more than anybody,” he said. “I’ll do anything I can to make sure someday we get something like this for our community, our kids and our seniors.

“But we were probably overzealous wanting something that cost so much and using a funding mechanism that wasn’t quite right.”

His decision was influenced by an alternative plan floated in recent weeks by a group that wants to build a more modest pool, spending upwards of $5 million, and using schools and private fitness centers to offer racquetball courts and other amenities.

Levy admits his change of heart angered many of the 1,100 or so supporters who signed a petition forcing the vote. And the project still could win because it remains on the ballot.

But Levy’s reversal convinced Randolph, a retired technology sales executive, that the project would fail and he got back in the race.

“That changed the whole landscape,” Randolph said Tuesday. With the project headed toward a likely defeat, Randolph said he felt comfortable serving a second term as mayor.

DeVaux, who owns Alpine Auto Center, said he entered the race as a write-in candidate when Randolph didn’t run. DeVaux said he opposes the sales tax increase but supports the idea of a scaled down pool using alternative funding.

“I think we can do it without having to raise the sales tax,” DeVaux said. “There are other ways to do it.”

Neil Levy, owner of The Swiss Chalet restaurant in Woodland Park, was one of the initiators of a ballot measure that would pay for the building of a new recreation center in Woodland Park in this area. Photo by JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Jerilee Bennett