City council president Heather Graham announces bid for Pueblo mayor

The race for Pueblo mayor is officially underway as Heather Graham, city council president and owner of Graham’s Grill and Ruby’s, announced her plans to run for mayor.

“This community that we love has been going in the wrong direction the last few years. I just can’t sit back and do nothing,” Graham said last week at Brues Alehouse, where she launched her campaign. “My short time in (city council) office has shown me how change is possible and not enough is happening.

“As city council president, I am still held back from making the big picture changes necessary to fit the trajectory of Pueblo. These changes require a strong mayor willing to make hard decisions that won’t please everyone, but instead has the best intentions for the greatest good.”

Graham, a registered Republican, will run against Mayor Nick Gradisar, who told the Chieftain he is seeking reelection and has filed paperwork with the city clerk’s office. He said he expects to make his formal announcement in January or February.

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Gradisar and Graham are the only people so far to have filed paperwork that signifies an intention to run for mayor and fundraise, according to Marisa Stoller, city clerk.

Gradisar in 2019 won his bid to become Pueblo’s first mayor in nearly six decades, defeating opponent Steve Nawrocki by more than 3,000 votes in a runoff election and outlasting more than a dozen of other candidates in the general election.

Pueblo pivoted to a strong-mayor type of government after using a city council-city manager system, a shift Gradisar campaigned for through a ballot measure in 2017.

Graham, 33, said she plans to advocate for safety, beautification and growth in Pueblo during her campaign and cited crime as one of the top issues. She also said she wants to advocate for small and big businesses and more transparency within the city’s government.

Graham was born and raised in Pueblo and graduated from Pueblo South High School in 2007. She later earned a psychology degree from Colorado State University Pueblo and at age 27 opened the first Graham’s Grill location in 2014.

In January, Graham was elected as city council president by a 4-3 vote over Flores after winning an at-large seat last year. She has been an advocate for business owners and the business community during her time on city council.

Although she’s a registered Republican, Graham said she would “do what’s best for Pueblo instead of what’s best for the political party.”

“It’s been both enlightening and appalling to see the lack of action that takes place and how everybody is just OK with it,” Graham said during her announcement speech. “Too many people are afraid to make change with fear of backlash from people who are all too happy to keep things the way they’ve always been.

“In business, when something isn't working, changes are needed. Options for solutions are weighed, and action is taken. This needs to happen within our city government as well. We need someone who can recognize problems and not simply turn to denial.”

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Gradisar said he suspects there could be several candidates for the next mayor’s race — there were 16 candidates during the general election in 2018, including current councilors Lori Winner, Dennis Flores and Larry Atencio and former city council president Chris Nicoll.

Up to 35 people expressed interest in running for mayor during the 2018 race, according to a Chieftain article, but several didn’t get enough signatures from voters to get their names on the ballot. Gradisar led all candidates in fundraising, collecting $86,645 in campaign contributions throughout his campaign for mayor.

“I think we have done good work for the city of Pueblo, and I’m coming up on four years that I’ve been the mayor, and we plan to continue that,” Gradisar said.

Puebloans can cast their vote in the mayor’s race in November 2023.

Chieftain reporter Anna Lynn Winfrey contributed to this report.

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo mayor's race: City Council president Health Graham to run