Former Colorado Springs City Councilmember Randy Helms is among 26 residents vying for the council seat vacated by Tom Bailey, according to applications The Gazette obtained through a public records request.

Bailey resigned from the council this month after residents gathered enough signatures for a successful recall petition. Organizers launched a recall effort against Bailey because they said they were angered by his support for the Royal Pines apartment complex and Ford Amphitheater, along with what they called a general unresponsiveness to resident concerns.

Voters elected Helms in 2021 to represent District 2, which includes part of the city’s north side. He chose not to seek a second term ahead of the 2025 election because he said he wanted to spend more time with his children and grandchildren. In his application for the vacant position, Helms said he encouraged Bailey to run for the seat in 2025.

“Due to the recent course of events, I feel a sense of responsibility and obligation to District 2 citizens and the City. What I bring to the position is a core set of beliefs (values) that also put our citizens and our City first,” Helms wrote in his application.

Kenneth Casey, the chairman of the city’s Planning Commission, is also applying for the vacant seat, as is Jake Savala, a former Colorado Springs firefighter, and Tom Carter, a volunteer member of the Colorado Springs Utilities’ Policy Advisory Committee.

The City Council will review the applications through Tuesday, council spokesperson Alex Ryden said. Any candidate who is endorsed by at least three councilmembers will be considered at a special meeting April 6.

At the special meeting, the finalists will introduce themselves, hear public comments and likely answer questions from councilmembers, Ryden said. The council will then discuss and vote on an appointee, who is expected to be sworn in sometime before the April 13 council work session.

The chosen applicant would serve until the next scheduled municipal elections in April 2027.