Heather Graham is a Republican. Here's why she doesn't want that to define her

Heather Graham may just be the second mayor in recent Pueblo history, but she’s also the first young, female, and Republican leader of the Steel City.

While Graham has been affiliated with the Republican Party since she registered to vote in 2006, she describes herself as a moderate. She vowed during her inaugural speech Thursday to help all Puebloans, regardless of party affiliation and whether or not they supported her.

Part of Graham's mayoral oath she swore on Feb. 1 was to be "free from partisan distinction and control." She wants people in Pueblo to also see her as a leader for everyone: Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated citizens.

Graham told the Chieftain ahead of her inauguration that she got used to people making assumptions about her as a young woman in business — for example, people thought that her restaurants were her family’s but she was running them herself — but now feels most misunderstood about her politics.

“People think I'm this right-wing, gun-totin’ Republican, but I've never even shot a gun before, to tell you the truth,” Graham said.

“It's about people having this idea of something that I'm not, and hopefully I can prove to them that that's not what I am or what I came to do — that's not always my ideology,” she continued.

In her two years on city council, Graham has cast some votes that clashed with GOP dogma.

On one hand, she sided with some conservative-leaning business owners in rejecting funding for a Bessemer harm reduction center that runs a syringe exchange program; on the other, she introduced a motion to toss out an anti-abortion ordinance.

“I've shown to be the most, probably, moderate voter with my voting record on city council,” Graham said. “I think people are excited that we're going to have some mending and cohesiveness with the council, the mayor's office and the general public. It's not going to be as divisive.”

Nick Gradisar, the incumbent Democrat who lost to Graham in the 2024 mayoral runoff, has previously said that he amped up the partisan rhetoric in the race after some Republican groups announced their backing for Graham.

Christy “Ruckus” Fidura, the head of the Pueblo County Patriots, announced during public comment at the Nov. 13, 2023 council meeting that Graham had the “unwavering support” of the Pueblo County Republican Party and the Pueblo County Patriots.

Graham said that she felt “surprised” and “caught off guard” by Fidura’s comments at the council meeting, but she tried to keep her run for mayor and work on city council separate during the campaign.

Graham told local Republicans at a meeting the following day to thank them for supporting her, although she wasn’t expecting it.

“I didn't know if I would even have their support, because one day I'm their queen and the next day they want to slit my throat,” Graham said.

She controlled her campaign’s social media channels and said she did her best to run a respectful campaign without personal attacks.

“People are sick of the back and forth and you're not going to heal the community like that,” Graham said.

As mayor, Graham said she will mostly focus on city business. Working with state and federal leaders for Pueblo is important to her — she spoke with Gov. Jared Polis when he was in town last week and mentioned that she has spoken with Pueblo’s federal representatives — but “national politics is not on my agenda.”

Yes, she did vote for Donald Trump in 2020 “when my business was shut down,” Graham told the Chieftain a few weeks ago.

Will Graham support Trump for president again if he’s the Republican nominee? She said she still hasn’t decided.

“I'm going to vote for the person who I think is doing the best job for the economy, because that's what I'm worried about. I don't even know if (Trump) will be the nominee,” Graham said. “Quite frankly, national politics are no longer on my daily read. It's the city of Pueblo.”

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics at the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com. Please support local news at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Republican Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham doesn't want party to define her