New Colorado Springs City Council starting off with a sense of balance and purpose
Nine distinctive personalities and political perspectives comprise a new Colorado Springs City Council that appears likely to provide effective checks and balances with one another and with Mayor John Suthers’ administration, political leaders say.
An ideologically diverse council takes office April 18 – a dynamic that’s long played out in a city where majority blocs are uncommon and independence is valued, say city leaders, incoming council members and longtime political observers.
“Yes, we’ll have a wide variety of opinions on City Council,” said Bob Loevy, a Colorado College professor emeritus and longtime political observer. “But that’s generally the case. It’s always made the council hard to predict.”
Already, the divisive campaign season’s bitterness appears unlikely to trail the victors from Tuesday’s election into council chambers.
Suthers praised incoming Councilman Richard Skorman’s reputation for working well with city staffers from Skorman’s previous two-term council tenure, and he noted that Tuesday’s victors voiced a willingness to address the city’s’ infrastructure needs.
“I’m optimistic,” Suthers said. “First of all, it did not surprise me that, contrary to several prior elections, the incumbents did well this time. Our polling shows about two-thirds of residents of Colorado Springs are very pleased with the direction of the city. I think that (augured) well for the three incumbents who are identified as being on board with the economic development agenda.
“What’s important to me is that we continue the momentum we have. I don’t see anything in terms of infrastructure and economic development that will be jeopardized.”
The man who vied for Suthers’ position six years ago, and who claimed District 3’s seat on Tuesday, agreed.
“I think it’s one of the best-balanced councils I’ve seen in awhile,” Skorman said. “This is a true citizens’ board that has the best interests of the community at heart. We have a mayor who has that same set of values, and we need to make sure there are checks and balances with the mayor to ensure the best interests of the community are achieved.”
Skorman anticipates “not so much ideological as healthy dialogue.”
Other candidates have vowed respect and cooperation too. Observers have expressed little if any concern that the cordiality between the legislative body and its strong mayor will suffer – especially to the order that Colorado Springs saw under former Mayor Steve Bach’s tenure.
The prevailing attitude between the council and mayor then was: “Let’s fight first, talk second,” said Council President Merv Bennett, the most senior member.
“Now we sit down and solve those critical issues as partners,” Bennett said. “We need to make that the way of the future. It’s been very successful the last two years under Mayor Suthers. He’s been awesome to work with. I think council’s done a great job working with the mayor. And when we work together, we can get things done.”
He said he’s already spoken with former Vice Mayor Skorman, and each vowed to draw from the other’s experience. He also sees the new members working well with the mayor.
Suthers remained neutral during the election, as is traditional with mayors. Political leaders said his silence likely ensured a smoother transition and more productive beginning to his relationship with the new council.
Councilman-elect David Geislinger, who worked in the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office when Suthers was DA, said he has respect for, and a good relationship with, his old boss.
“Are we going to agree on everything? I don’t believe so,” Geislinger said. “But that’s the way checks and balances are supposed to work. He is a very good man, and he is an extremely good politician in the best sense of the word.
“I don’t see in any way a return to what has been in the past some unhealthy and counterproductive relationships.”
Call it “Council 2.0,” said Councilwoman-elect Yolanda Avila, who has attended council meetings regularly over the past two years.
“I think there’s everything on council,” Avila said. “It’s going to bring a balance to more progressive (actions). I think each of us is listening to each other’s ideas and being open. I like the composition.”
She highlighted the new members’ and Suthers’ shared support for Ballot Issue 2, which voters passed to provide more money for stormwater projects.
“I think we will get along,” she added. “It will be a very respectful council.”
If anything, the election validated longtime political trends, Loevy said.
Voters again proved reluctant to back a candidate slate, instead choosing disparate individuals who ran their own campaigns.
They sided not with candidates backed by high-dollar and shadowy nonprofits, but with people who relied on hundreds of diverse donors, he said.
More than $800,000 was raised this election season. But nearly every candidate backed by three particularly deep-pocketed nonprofits – Colorado Citizens Protecting our Constitution, the Housing and Building Association and Colorado Springs Forward – lost.
Nonetheless, HBA PAC Chairman Kyle Campbell said he doesn’t expect a more difficult or stringent regulatory environment for new developments and already has reached out to many of Tuesday’s victors.
“We’ve been doing this for decades,” Campbell said. “Our whole focus moving forward, like we’ve done in the past, is to continue with our existing relationships with the council members and forge relationships with new members.”
The big-money candidates all touted their business acumen and ability to woo employers and boost Colorado Springs’ economy. Deep-coffered nonprofits hailed the candidates’ eagerness to work with Suthers.
That strategy proved to be a miscalculation, said Sallie Clark, a former El Paso County commissioner who served on the City Council from 2001-03 alongside former Mayor Mary Lou Makepeace and Skorman.
“I just don’t think the timing was right to say we need to upset the apple cart when it seems to be moving in the right direction,” Clark said.
Former two-term Councilwoman Jan Martin agreed.
“In my years of watching councils over the last couple of decades, oftentimes a group will come in wanting to change everything,” Martin said. “That rarely works.
“Knowing all of them, I think they all will work hard together. The ones I know are collaborators and like working with others, including the mayor. The existing council has worked hard to build that relationship with the mayor, and I expect it will continue that way.”
The Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & EDC’s leaders did not endorse candidates. But, said President and CEO Dirk Draper, “My hope is that they would recognize the nine members of council have an obligation to the full city as well to make sure they lead well.”
This council’s members appear to be particularly well-attuned to the specific needs of their districts, said Dave Munger, head of the Council of Neighbors and Organizations.
And hard ideology – such as Councilwoman Helen Collins’ conservative practice of opposing most items – lost out to Avila’s flexibility in decision-making while relying on support culled over decades of living in the area, Munger said.
“I think there’s more willingness to look for more practical solutions and less reliance on an ideological solution,” he said. “I think, frankly, that that meshes well with Suthers.”
Richard Skorman and Yolanda Avila celebrate winning races for City Council District 3 and District 4 respecively Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers June 6, 2015. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Yolanda Avila, right, is congratulated by Barb Van Hoy as early results show Avila leading in the race for City Council District 4 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Richard Skorman and his wife, Patricia Seator celebrate as early results show him leading in the race for City Council District 3 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Yolanda Avila, center, is congratulated by friend and supporter Crystal Griffin as early results show Avila leading in the race for City Council District 4 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. At left is Patricia Seator, wife of Richard Skorman. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Richard Skorman is congratulated by Jackie Ellis and her daughter Ava, 10, as early results show him leading in the race for City Council District 3 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Whitley Crow, daughter of Lynette Crow-Iverson, watches election results in the race for City Council District 5 Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Greg Basham, right, shakes hands with a supporter at an election night watch party for the race for the City Council District 1 candidate Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Lynette Crow-Iverson, facing, is hugged by Linda Weiss as results show her losing the race for the City Council District 5. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Patricia Seator, left, dances as early results show her husband, Richard Skorman leading in the election for City Council District 3 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Many former City Council men and women were attending the watch party for City Council Woman Jill Gaebler, including Mary Ellen McNally, Val Snider, Jan Martin, and Margaret Radford (right to left). They were watching election results at a party for Gaebler at the Navajo Hogan on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
Carrying his traditional celebratory box of cigars, City Councilman Don Knight is congratulated on a lead for his reelection in District 1 at Old Chicago Restaurant on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
An emotional City Council Woman Jill Gaebler (District 5) gets a hug from her campaign manager, Carrie Geitner after taking a 2 to 1 early lead in the race for District (right to left) during an election night party at the Navajo Hogan on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
Richard Skorman and Yolanda Avila celebrate winning races for City Council District 3 and District 4 respecively Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
A jubilant Jill Gaebler speaks to her supporters after taking a 2 to 1 lead over her opponent Lynette Crow-Iverson. Gaebler was running for reelection for his seat on city council. She was holding her watch party at the Navajo Hogan on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
Formerly a member of both the City Council and County Commissioner, Sallie Clark came to show her support for Jill Gaebler for reelection on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
Richard Skorman and Yolanda Avila celebrate winning races for City Council District 3 and District 4 respecively Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Yolanda Avila, right, is congratulated by Barb Van Hoy as early results show Avila leading in the race for City Council District 4 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Richard Skorman and his wife, Patricia Seator celebrate as early results show him leading in the race for City Council District 3 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Yolanda Avila, center, is congratulated by friend and supporter Crystal Griffin as early results show Avila leading in the race for City Council District 4 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. At left is Patricia Seator, wife of Richard Skorman. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Richard Skorman is congratulated by Jackie Ellis and her daughter Ava, 10, as early results show him leading in the race for City Council District 3 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Whitley Crow, daughter of Lynette Crow-Iverson, watches election results in the race for City Council District 5 Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Greg Basham, right, shakes hands with a supporter at an election night watch party for the race for the City Council District 1 candidate Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Lynette Crow-Iverson, facing, is hugged by Linda Weiss as results show her losing the race for the City Council District 5. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Patricia Seator, left, dances as early results show her husband, Richard Skorman leading in the election for City Council District 3 in the 2017 Municipal Election Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Many former City Council men and women were attending the watch party for City Council Woman Jill Gaebler, including Mary Ellen McNally, Val Snider, Jan Martin, and Margaret Radford (right to left). They were watching election results at a party for Gaebler at the Navajo Hogan on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
Carrying his traditional celebratory box of cigars, City Councilman Don Knight is congratulated on a lead for his reelection in District 1 at Old Chicago Restaurant on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
An emotional City Council Woman Jill Gaebler (District 5) gets a hug from her campaign manager, Carrie Geitner after taking a 2 to 1 early lead in the race for District (right to left) during an election night party at the Navajo Hogan on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
A jubilant Jill Gaebler speaks to her supporters after taking a 2 to 1 lead over her opponent Lynette Crow-Iverson. Gaebler was running for reelection for his seat on city council. She was holding her watch party at the Navajo Hogan on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
Formerly a member of both the City Council and County Commissioner, Sallie Clark came to show her support for Jill Gaebler for reelection on Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
Richard Skorman and Yolanda Avila celebrate winning races for City Council District 3 and District 4 respecively Tuesday, April 4, 2017. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers June 6, 2015. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette