Why some Pueblo mayoral candidates have swapped party affiliations
Elections for Pueblo’s municipal government are non-partisan by city charter. However, most of the candidates for mayor and city council are affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic party.
Some of the candidates originally registered to vote in Colorado as Democrats, but later switched to the GOP. Here’s what we know about some of the candidates’ party affiliation history, obtained through an open records request to the Pueblo County Clerk’s office.
Overall in Pueblo County, 33% of active voters are Democrats, 23% are Republicans and 42% are unaffiliated, as of Nov. 1.
Pueblo elections 2023: Who's running for mayor, councilor? Begin to get answers here
Chris Nicoll
Mayoral candidate and former city councilor Chris Nicoll originally registered as a Democrat in 1988 but swapped to unaffiliated in July 2020. He told the Chieftain that he felt like the party was headed in a “far left” direction amid the racial justice protests after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“That's just isn't me: I'm a strong proponent of capitalism and the way our country is a capitalist country,” he said.
Nicoll said he "didn't just decide overnight" but realized over time his values didn't align with the Democratic Party. He later switched to the Republican party in 2021 because he thought he could get more politically involved as part of a political party.
Nicoll was still registered as a Democrat when he ran for mayor in 2018, but he said he didn’t consider that election, nor does he consider the 2023 election, a partisan race. He said that he has supporters that are Republicans, Democrats and independents because of his stance on issues that aren’t partisan, such as economic development and homelessness.
“I think that when the people who crafted the city charter made it a nonpartisan office, I think they were wise in doing so,” Nicoll said. “I think the idea was to leave that political rhetoric at the door and focus on what's for the good of the city.”
Randy Thurston
Randy Thurston is also a candidate for mayor who previously served on city council. He first registered as a Democrat in 1989 but switched to unaffiliated in 2014.
He re-joined the Democratic party in March 2020, which he said was to support then-county commissioner Garrison Ortiz in the primary.
Thurston reverted to unaffiliated in August 2022 before joining the Republican party on Feb. 24. Thurston said that he appreciated the internal changes in leadership of the local party — 2022 GOP county treasurer candidate Michelle Gray was selected as the local party chair on Feb. 1.
“I like leadership, not politics. Politics always has a hidden agenda,” Thurston said. “I liked the leadership that's there with Michelle and the people there. It's really about doing what's right for the citizens.”
He said that he has always considered himself a conservative, regardless of what party he was affiliated with.
“My feelings have never changed: I’ve always been a strong conservative,” Thurston said.
Some city council candidates have also swapped
At-large candidate Mark Aliff and District 2 candidate Joe Latino both were originally registered as Democrats but later switched to the GOP. Neither responded to requests for comment prior to the Chieftain’s deadline.
Aliff first registered as a Democrat in 1994, records show. He changed to unaffiliated in 2010 and then registered as a Republican in 2013.
Nicoll and Aliff were endorsed by Forging the Future, the political branch of the local conservative Christian group Forging Pueblo.
Latino was registered as a Democrat until 2019 and was briefly an unaffiliated voter for eight months that year before he re-registered as a Democrat. He swapped from Democrat to Republican in March 2022.
Where the other candidates stand
Incumbent Mayor Nick Gradisar, as well as mayoral candidates Larry Atencio, Dennis Flores and Tom Croshal, have been affiliated with the Democratic party for decades without changing party affiliation.
Heather Graham has remained a Republican since she registered to vote in 2006 and Deryk Trujillo has been unaffiliated since he first registered in 2017.
Regina Maestri first registered as an unaffiliated voter in Colorado in 2004 but affiliated as a Republican in 2018.
At-large candidate Elvis Martinez first registered as unaffiliated in 2010 but was a Democrat from 2014 through June 2023. When he switched back to unaffiliated, he indicated a preference for receiving Republican ballots.
Brandon Martin, also running for city council at-large, registered with the Democratic party in 2014 but swapped to Republican later that year, which he remained until 2017 before reverting to Democratic affiliation.
District 2 candidate Gerald “Pete” Madrid has been a Democratic voter most of the time, but was a registered Republican from February 2022 through September 2023. Tom Croshal has been a Democrat for all of his voting history in Colorado and Sam Hernandez has been a Republican since he first registered to vote in 2016.
District 4 incumbent Vicente Martinez Ortega has been a Democrat since 2003 without any changes. Roger Gomez, the only challenger in the race, first registered as a Republican in 1982 but has been unaffiliated since 2016.
Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for 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: Why some Pueblo mayoral candidates have swapped their party affiliations
