District 2 race shaping up after Pueblo mayoral candidate drops out to run for council

Larry Atencio has been representing the East Side and Belmont on Pueblo City Council for the past eight years, but is ineligible to run for an additional term and is instead running for mayor.

A handful of District 2 candidates have already announced their intent to run for the seat being vacated, including a now-former mayoral candidate who recently dropped out of the citywide race.

Here’s what we know about who's running in District 2.

Pueblo business owner drops mayoral bid for city council race

Sam Hernandez Jr., a millennial food truck owner, was one of the first people to announce his candidacy for mayor. But he’s decided to drop out of the mayoral race and run for the District 2 seat instead.

“The reason why I wanted to go for city council is because how divided it is. … Pueblo is losing because (city councilors) are fighting for their own agendas,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said Atencio has looked out for the East Side but has not done enough for all of the people living in District 2, which also includes other neighborhoods east of Interstate 25 such as Belmont and University Park.

Hernandez, a self-described conservative, has attended several council meetings recently and has been outspoken during public comment. At an April work session, Councilors Lori Winner and Heather Graham told people in the crowd, including Hernandez, to be quiet during a presentation.

He is retaining his slogan of “Pueblo first, politics second” in his bid for city council.

“And I'm going to call out anybody who puts politics first and Pueblo second. That includes people on the right,” such as Councilors Winner and Regina Maestri, Hernandez said.

Meet Tom Carriagan, who wants to advocate for the East Side

Tom Carrigan announced for the District 2 council seat a few months ago and told the Chieftain he’s running to represent the East Side and advocate for the community.

Carrigan is a Vietnam-era Air Force veteran originally from Oregon. He moved to Pueblo with his late husband in 2015. Although his husband has since passed away, Carrigan decided to stay in Pueblo because of the tight-knit community.

“I'm looking out for the East Side of Pueblo — I'm looking after this whole side of town. It kind of looks like we've almost been forgotten many times and I'm just tired of it,” Carrigan said.

He is retired and has been involved with several nonprofit organizations in Pueblo, such as the Pueblo Art Guild, the Southern Colorado Equality Alliance and the Pueblo chapter of Veterans of Foreign Wars. Carrigan is also involved with the local Democratic party.

Carrigan has previously run for city council. He's planning on hosting a few town halls this summer and said he is meeting with community coalitions, such as retired union workers and college students, to listen to their concerns.

Joe Latino also running for District 2

Joe Latino is also making a bid to represent District 2 on city council.

Latino told the Chieftain that his experience of working with the public — as well as his outside connections — distinguishes him from other candidates.

He said that his experience working jobs such as athletic director, principal, deputy superintendent and a consultant with school districts makes him qualified for the job. He currently works for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies baseball teams at a training facility in Arizona.

Latino, who lives in Belmont, has also previously run for city council. He said that he’s served on a variety of local boards, such as the Community Services Advisory Commission, Pueblo Rape Crisis Services and the municipal golf board.

Latino said he started a neighborhood patrol program in Phoenix and would like to implement something similar in Pueblo. He added that the police department should consider building sub-stations in each city district.

Steven Rodriguez is still in the race

Steven Rodriguez was the first person to file for District 2 and he is still in the race, he confirmed in a text message to the Chieftain.

Rodriguez, who also is associated with the GOP, has previously run for city and state offices but has not yet been elected to public service.

Gerald Pete Madrid has also filed to run

Another candidate has also filed to run for city council according to the city clerk’s office: Gerald Pete Madrid.

He filed to run in March of this year. Madrid did not respond to a request for comment prior to the Chieftain's deadline for this story.

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com or on Twitter, @annalynnfrey.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo business owner drops out of mayor's race to run for city council