Colorado Springs city election: City Council gets 4 new members

Apr. 4—Four fresh faces were set to join Colorado Springs City Council Tuesday night with David Leinweber, Lynette Crow-Iverson, Brian Risley and Michelle Talarico leading in early returns.

In the race for three at-large seats, Leinweber led with about 15.7% of votes cast, followed by Crow-Iverson with about 14.7%, and Risley with 14.4%, in returns released at 9:40 p.m.

Talarico was likely to claim a two-year term representing District 3, capturing 55% of the vote as of 9:40 p.m. She will represent the southwest portion of the city and downtown and finish Councilwoman Stephannie Fortune's term.

Fortune was appointed to the seat in January after Richard Skorman resigned to focus on his businesses. Fortune chose not to run this spring after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

The victors join a nine-member nonpartisan board that oversees the city's budget, land-use decisions, such as zoning and annexations, and policies, such as whether the city will allow the sale of dogs from large-scale breeders.

The incoming members of council are stepping into leadership at a pivotal time as the city transitions to a new mayor and faces challenges including rapid growth, high housing costs, high crime, an understaffed police force and Colorado Springs Utilities' transition to renewable energy. The members of City Council also serve as the Colorado Springs Utilities board.

The races have been shaped, in part, by a water rule that blocks large parcels from annexing into the city, and sparked heavy campaign contributions. The rule benefits Norwood Development Group, a company that owns a large portion of Banning Lewis Ranch on Colorado Springs' east side, and hurts those who own large tracts of land outside the city.

Crow-Iverson, Leinweber, Risley and Talarico raised and spent the most money during the campaign cycle. The four also received support from independent-expenditure committees and several appeared together on mailings.

Norwood's leadership supported the slate of candidates in an emailed call for donations, shared with the Gazette earlier in the race.

Shortly after the results were released, Leinweber, Risley and Talarico celebrated their likely victories at Angler's Covey surrounded by 40 or 50 guests.

Supporters hugged Leinweber, owner of Angler's Covey, as he answered questions by phone.

"I am actually pretty excited. I didn't stick to the script," he said, noting that he made the nontraditional issues of improving mental health and addressing suicides a key part of his campaign.

He hopes to improve mental health care in the same way he organized the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance, an local industry group, by bringing stakeholders together to address gaps. He expected his new role on council to help him play a neutral leadership role in bringing agencies together.

He also planned to work on responsible growth and public safety, his website said.

Risley, the owner of CRP Architects, expected to bring his experience as an architect and an El Paso County planning commissioner to his role on council. He anticipated that experience would help him work on affordable housing, one of his main priorities.

"I am obviously excited that the campaign was a success," Risley said.

In a campaign video, he also promised to empower law enforcement, saying he believed the high percentage of the city budget set aside for police needed to be maintained, if not increased, according to his website.

Risley also expected his small-business experience to inform his policies.

"I understand how government interacts with business and can create a supportive environment for businesses of any size to really thrive," he said in a campaign video.

Crow-Iverson is the former president and CEO of Conspire! a company that provides drug screening and background checks. During her campaign, she promised to prioritize public safety, infrastructure and low taxes. In addition to her business experience, she has also served on numerous community boards, such as the Colorado Springs Health Foundation, a grant-making organization, according to her website.

The departing at-large council members are Councilmen Tom Strand, Wayne Williams and Bill Murray. Strand and Williams both ran for mayor. Murray was term-limited and an outspoken member of council, who has often questioned development proposals.

District 3

Talarico overcame a few public embarrassments to pull ahead in the race Tuesday and noted in a phone interview she was ready to start work on behalf of her whole district of almost 90,000 people.

"I am incredibly blessed and incredibly thrilled, and I just can't wait to get to work," she said.

The owner of several businesses, including Picnic Basket Catering, Talarico expected to spend her early days on council learning and holding meetings with residents.

"I think truly my biggest priority is to have the biggest ears and have the ability to learn as much as I possibly can," she said.

Talarico expected addressing homelessness would be one of her top priorities and she hoped the council would "look at old problems in a new way."

The District 3 race was the most high-profile of the council races after Talarico faced accusations of plagiarized responses to survey questions and misrepresented her college education. She explained the similarities to one of her survey responses as a failure to rewrite someone else's work that she was using to inform her responses. In addition, on her LinkedIn page she listed a degree from Colorado College. She never graduated from Colorado College.

Her opponent, Scott Hiller, manages geophysical and geologic investigations for a marine engineering firm. He expected to bring his expertise to the land-use decisions on council.

He also planned to prioritize open space and parks, responsible growth, public safety and wildfire evacuation planning.