Elected officials from across the Colorado Springs region are lending their voices to a campaign opposing recreational marijuana sales in the city.

On Sunday, an unknown number of El Paso County voters received a mass text message from Colorado Springs School District 11 Board President Parth Melpakam calling for their vote on a pair of recreational marijuana measures.

The message was accompanied by a video featuring Melpakam, Academy District 20 Board President Aaron Salt and School District 49 Board President Lori Thompson. In both messages, the board leaders urged recipients to vote “yes” on ballot Question 2D and “no” on ballot Question 300.

Gazette news partner KOAA first reported on the story.

Question 2D would specifically amend the Colorado Springs charter to prohibit retail marijuana establishments within city limits. Question 300 would authorize existing medical marijuana licensees to apply and become retail/recreational marijuana businesses.

“Pot today isn’t what it used to be,” Melpakam said in his message. “With their extremely high THC content, these new strains are lab-designed and dangerous, especially for young people … Please help us keep our children safe and healthy.”

The move by the three district leaders marks the first time they have publicly advocated for a ballot measure as elected officials. A similar ballot measure was presented to voters in 2022 regarding the establishment of recreational marijuana shops. It failed.

Melpakam, who was first elected to the school board in 2019, said that he opposed that measure privately and did not advocate publicly.

“This time around, Colorado Springs Safe Neighborhoods Coalition approached me and the other two neighboring school board presidents to see if we were interested in taking a public stance,” he said in an email to The Gazette. “As I am concerned about the detrimental effects of drugs on developing brains, I agreed to record the video.”

The phone number that the message originated from has also been used to send other local political messages. On Oct. 2, a Harrison School District 2 student sent out a similar mass text advocating for 4A, a mill levy override that would increase D-2 teacher salaries, fund student scholarships and invest in its charter schools.

On Oct. 8, a similar mass text was sent out campaigning for Question 2D and against Question 300 by El Paso County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez Jr. In his message, he says recreational pot would increase crime and homelessness, hurt Colorado Springs’ relationship with the military and strain first responders.

His message was also followed by a video.

“Community leaders are coming together on this issue, because we know how damaging recreational pot stores will be to our quality of life,” the text read.

Attempts to call the number were met with a message that it’s been disconnected.

The Colorado Springs Safe Neighborhood Coalition has a Facebook page and a YouTube channel, but neither contains contact information. The group registered its social media channels and registered with the city as an advocacy group in 2022, funded by the political-action committee Colorado Dawn, which has also been active in City Council election politics through its funding of the Springs Opportunity Fund.

The coalition’s YouTube channel still features videos from 2022 by current 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen, and then-Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers advocating against the 2022 recreational pot measure.

Both Melpakam and Gonzalez told The Gazette that they weren’t offered money for participating in the respective videos and that they did so out of their own opposition to recreational pot.

Some community members who received the Sunday text message expressed concerns over sending unsolicited political views to a wide audience.

“I and everyone else I have spoken with did not ask for your opinion and never signed up for your text blast,” parent John West wrote in an email to Melpakam. “Where did you get all these phone numbers from? Have you done any research on this topic at all?  Do you think it’s OK to mass-text people your political opinions blindly?”

Citizens for Responsible Marijuana Regulation, another advocacy group campaigning for Question 300 and against Question 2D, released a statement calling for voters to demand transparency regarding how district information was used. 

“It’s outrageous that a few big-dollar developers and their favorite local politicians are trying to permanently ban consenting adults and veterans from this industry,” said Citizens for Responsible Marijuana Regulation spokeswoman Meghan Graf.

“Initiative 300 provides a responsible plan with no new stores, safeguards for children, and funding for public safety, mental health and veterans PTSD programs. Springs voters have a choice this fall, and we feel confident voters will look past the tactics of these dark-money groups and do their own research.”

While the board president video includes a disclaimer that each president, including Thompson, are speaking just for themselves, the full D-49 school board will vote on separate resolutions Thursday supporting Question 2D and opposing Question 300 during its monthly board meeting. Gonzalez said that the El Paso Board of County Commissioners is planning to debate and vote on a similar resolution Oct. 15.

Melpakam said that while the D-11 board did discuss the matter at a work session earlier this year, they ultimately agreed that they would not take collective stances on political issues and rather do so only on their individual behalf. 

“My role as a school board director is to improve academic outcomes and ensure our students are prepared for success after graduation,” Melpakam said. “As a private citizen, I worry that increased access to recreational drugs is counterproductive to the stated educational objectives for our students.”

Glenn Wallace contributed to this report.