Meet the 2 political newcomers running for Pueblo mayor

Incumbent Mayor Nick Gradisar and Pueblo City Council President Heather Graham are running for Pueblo mayor, and two other Puebloans so far have also filed paperwork to run for the city’s top official.

Meet Sam Hernandez Jr. and Thomas Martinez, two candidates who are new to politics and hoping to lead the city following the mayoral election in November.

Sam Hernandez Jr., business owner

Hernandez, who was born and raised in Pueblo, runs the Pork Chop Lady and Sam’s Street Tacos food truck.

He hasn’t run for elected office before, and the slogan for his mayoral campaign is “Pueblo first, politics second.”

Hernandez said if he's elected mayor, he wants to address how people from outside of Pueblo sometimes think of the Steel City as the “armpit of Colorado.”

“Pueblo is full of tradition. We’re the Home of the Heroes. Denver can't say that, (Colorado) Springs can’t take that away from us. We have the State Fair, we have the chile festival; we have so much to be grateful for. Pueblo is a prideful city,” Hernandez said.

He said he has grown tired of seeing "all talk, no action” from political leaders and wanted to run for mayor to get involved to help his hometown.

“I'm going to do what's best for Pueblo, not any political party: not the blue, not the red,” Hernandez said. “The only red or blue Pueblo needs to be concerned about is the Bell Game. Other than that, we don't need to be fighting about Republicans or Democrats.”

Hernandez said the current mayoral system allows the people to have more of a voice to select the person who runs the city.

In a city manager form of government, like Pueblo had prior to its current strong mayor system, city councilors hire and fire the city’s top administrator.

Unlike other mayoral candidates, Hernandez said a petition that's currently circulating that would return Pueblo to a city manager-led government isn’t stopping him from starting to campaign.

Crime, homelessness and supporting law enforcement are Hernandez’s top priorities.

“We have a homeless situation that needs solving. I'm not gonna say it's a homeless problem because I still look at the homeless community as human beings,” Hernandez said, adding that he feeds people from his food truck every day. “That doesn't mean that that situation doesn't need solving.”

More:Who is running for Pueblo mayor in 2023? Here's what we know.

Thomas Martinez, Vietnam veteran and steel mill retiree

Martinez is a lifelong Pueblo resident who is looking to give back to his community by running for mayor.

“It feels like nobody wants to stand up to this … crime, the drugs — the safety of our streets ain't there no more,” Martinez said. “Whatever I could do in power as mayor, I want to get together with the community and solve it as a community. Not just one man's going to make rules and change things.”

He is a Vietnam veteran who retired from a career with the EVRAZ steel mill in Pueblo.

Martinez said he has not been diving into campaigning while he waits to see what will happen with the anti-mayor petition.

“I want to know that the path is clear to go ahead and do that — I'm hoping that the position is still open, but I respect what the people want,” Martinez said.

“I'm kind of hoping that I could at least be of help to the community. If I can step in and help politically, I think it would be beneficial, but if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.”

He thinks Pueblo should continue with the mayoral system, which has been in effect for only a few years.

“Whatever authority you have, we need to get our city workers and the staffs and make this place what it was before. It doesn't have to be better, but at least ... back up to par, because somebody's pulling the thread out of our seams.

"It's going to open up, and it's getting worse in my opinion,” Martinez said. “That's why I want to step in and see what I can do.”

The mayoral election is scheduled for Nov. 7, 2023.

More:Anti-mayor petition fails to collect enough signatures, but there's still more time

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

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: In Pueblo mayor's race, there are 2 political newcomers