COS’23: The Mayor’s Race

Richard Skorman Bonus

 
After our interview with Richard in Episode 10, he was able to stay for a few more minutes.  In this bonus podcast, we asked him a few more questions to get his general perspective on several other issues affecting Colorado Springs.  
 
 
 
 
COS'23:  The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Affordable Housing

 
The key issues in this year’s Mayoral election are pretty consistent. Public Safety, Infrastructure, Homelessness, Cost of living, Economic vitality and Affordable Housing are all mentioned frequently.
Episode 10:  Affordable Housing
In this episode, we’re going to take a look at one of these issues – Affordable Housing and it’s related issue of Attainable Housing. I’ve lived here for 30 years and Affordable Housing has been talked about almost that entire time. It seems like we’ve fallen farther behind during that time too. So why haven’t we solved it? What are the solutions we need to be looking at now? And what is the role does the Mayor play in solving the issue?
High housing costs — both in terms of renting and purchasing — can have a big impact on a community. If lower income families can’t find affordable housing, it can increase homelessness. If some residents have to choose between paying their rent and paying for food, it can spiral into a host of other issues.
If younger residents can’t afford housing here they are more likely to move to another city. It can make it harder for companies and organizations to recruit new employees. And it impacts whether companies may choose to relocate here.
Affordable housing is typically defined as paying no more than 30% of a household’s income. So obviously that varies from person-to-person and family-to-family. Part of the issue is subsidized housing for lower income residents, and the other part is building less expensive homes that allow first time homebuyers and moderate income families to find something they can afford.
There are a lot of moving parts to this issue, so I thought it would be good to get a couple of folks who know something about it to join me today. Kris Lewis is the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity here in Colorado Springs, an organization on the front lines of this issue. And I’m also joined by former City Councilperson Richard Skorman, who can help talk about this from the City’s perspective.  
 
 
 
 
COS'23:  The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Minisode: Fundraising Update

 
In Episode 9, we took a detailed look at the candidates’ fundraising. Since then there has been another reporting period.  In this "Minisode", a fundraising update.  The next campaign finance filing is March 15th and we’ll give you another update soon after.
 
 
Fundraising Update Transcript
Last week we took a detailed look at the candidates’ fundraising. Since then there has been another reporting period, so today we’re going to start with a fundraising update.
Overall, an additional $237,000 was added to the campaigns during the two-week period of February 11th through the 24th, bringing the collective total to almost $1.8 million dollars. The candidates have spent about $924,000 of that, leaving about $850,000 on hand with five weeks to go until election day.
So let’s take a look at the candidates fundraising efforts.
Wayne Williams still has raised the most money, with just over $504,000. About $98,000 was raised during the last reporting period. His expenses are now around $224,000, so he has about $280,000 still on hand. Wayne has 150 unique donors, up from 121 last period.
Andrew Dalby still has the second most in donations and loans to his campaign, but only raised $1,000 during the most recent reporting period. With the $400,000 he loaned his campaign, his total is just over $404,000.
Whether or not Andrew was going to spend the money he loaned his campaign was something we discussed last week and now we have the answer. He’s now showing around $280,000 in expenses, meaning he has spent $275,000 in this period. That leaves him with $125,000 on hand. Looking at the Campaign Finance Report he filed, the $275,000 was paid to Dark Money Advertising LLC, a company that was formed on Feb. 27th, two days before the finance report filing was due. So far I haven’t been able to determine if Dark Money has placed any advertising on his behalf.
If they have purchased $275,000 in advertising, this is significant because Andrew was relatively unknown before this campaign. But with that kind of media buy he could now generate some strong name awareness. If you listened to Andrew’s episode on here and have looked at his website, he is pretty conservative. That means he could garner support from the conservative voters that Wayne Williams, Darryl Glenn, Longinos Gonzalez Jr. and even Sallie Clark, to some degree, are targeting.
It remains to be seen if Andrew can get enough support to make the runoff, but if nothing else he could take hurt the chances of one or more of those other candidates. 
Sallie Clark had the biggest increase of any candidate during the most recent period, adding $102,000 to her coffers. $84,000 of that was from donations and she loaned her campaign an additional $18,425. That brings her overall total to right around $330,000. She has spent just more than $203,000, so she has $126,000 on hand heading into the final weeks of the campaign.
Yemi Mobolade added about $30,000 in donations during the period, bringing his total to almost $320,000. He has raised the second most in terms of donations, but is fourth in overall fundraising because of the candidates who have loaned money to their campaigns. Yemi has spent $124,000, leaving him just over $195,000 on hand, currently the second most behind Wayne. Also, Yemi by far still has the most individual donors with 590, more than double the 250 individual donors for Sallie Clark, who has the second most.
Longinos Gonzalez Jr. raised about $1,200 during the period, bringing his overall total almost $197,000. He has spent $73,400, leaving him with just over $123,000 on hand. Longinos has 45 individual donors, an increase of three during the period.
Of the remaining seven candidates, John Tig Tiegen now has raised almost $13,000, about $5,500 of that in this period. Interestingly enough, he now has 81 individual donors, almost as many as Darryl Glenn who has 100. Darryl only added about $290 during the latest period, bringing his total to just under $12,000.
Tom Strand, Kallan Reece Rodabaugh, Jim Miller and Christopher Miller have collectively raised less than $2,000 total, throughout the campaign.
Now let’s take a look at some of the larger contributions during this period:
The O’Neil Group, owned by Kevin O’Neil, made a $50,000 contribution to Sallie Clark, so he has now given her $100,000 in this campaign.
The Housing & Building Association Political Action Committee gave Wayne Williams $50,000. Several members of the HBA have made sizeable contributions to Wayne already and a large portion of the $250,000 Colorado Springs Forward gave Wayne likely came from developers and home builders. So out of Wayne’s $504,000 in contributions, well over half has come from the housing development and home building industry.
Tim Hoiles made a $10,000 donation to Sallie Clark.. The Hoiles family owned The Gazette until 2012 when they sold it to Phil Anschutz. 
Gold Hill Neighborhood LLC, the developer of Gold Hill Mesa, gave a $5,000 to Wayne Williams. They have also made $5,000 donations to Yemi Mobolade and Longinos Gonzalez, Jr. during this campaign.
Ron Johnson donated $2,500 to Longinos during this period. He has previously given $60,000 to Sallie Clark’s campaign.
The next filing is March 15th and I’ll give you another update soon after.
 
 
 
 
COS'23:  The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Show Me the Money

 
This episode is called "Show Me the Money" because money - like it or not - is what drives politics, even on the local level.  Host Kyle Blakely's guest is Mark Waller.  Mark is a long-time participant in the political process turned consultant and analyst.  The pair look at how much the candidates have raised and where the money is coming from.  In politics, money buys influence.  So, where it comes from will also give you an idea of who might have influence if they get elected.
 
About Mark Waller
Mark was a Republican member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2009 to 2015 and was the Minority Leader of the House in 2013. He served on the El Paso County Board of Commissioners from 2016 to 2021.
Mark was an officer in the United State Air Force. He graduated from the University of Denver College of Law in 2003 and his professional experience includes working as deputy district attorney for the 10th Judicial District of Pueblo Colorado, and as a reservist for the legal office of 21st Space Wing, Peterson AFB.
 
 
 
 
 
COS'23:  The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson
 

The Professors

 
COS'23 The Mayor's Race Podcast host, Kyle Blakely, recently asked two prominent Colorado College professors to join him for a look at the 2023 Mayor's race.  Professor Emeritus Robert D. Loevy (LAY-vee) and Professor Emeritus Tom Cronin offered their insights in to the political landscape in Colorado Springs, discussed the candidates and talked about how the see this election going and who stands the best chance of coming out on top.  
 
About Bob Loevy
Robert D. Loevy was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 26, 1935. He received his A.B. from Williams College in 1957 and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1963. While at Johns Hopkins he conducted research and wrote position papers for the House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee. During the 1963-1964 academic year, he served as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in the office of United States Senator Thomas H. Kuchel, of California, the Republican floor manager in the Senate for the civil rights bill that later became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1968 Loevy joined the faculty at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he currently serves as professor of political science. His major research interest is minority rights in the United States with an emphasis on the three major civil rights acts passed by Congress during the 1960s.
 
About Tom Cronin
Tom Cronin (Stanford University, PhD) was the McHugh Professor of American Institutions and Leadership at Colorado College. He is President Emeritus of Whitman College (1993-2005) and a past Acting President at Colorado College (1991). He has served as President of the Presidency Research Group, President of the Western Political Science Association and on the Executive Council of the American Political Science Association. He has authored and co-authored best-selling text-books on American government and the American presidency. He has won several awards for teaching, advising and for his research, including the American Political Science Association's Charles E. Merriam Award for significant contributions to the art of government.
 
 
 
 
 
COS'23:  The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Darryl Glenn

 
Darryl Glenn has lived in Colorado Springs for 55 years, is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel after 21 years of combined active duty and reserve service.
Darryl served for eight years on the Colorado Springs City Council and was elected to two terms on the El Paso County Commission, on which served as president during his final term in office. While on the County Commission he also served as chairman of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and chairman of the Regional School Safety Task Force.
Darryl was the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016 where he lost to incumbent Michael Bennett and ran against Doug Lamborn in the primary for U.S. Representative in 2020.
He now serves as the Chief Legal Officer for a domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking prevention service agency. He is a member of the El Paso County Bar Association and is a Trustee of the Penrose-St. Francis Community Board.
For more information about Darryl and his campaign, you can visit his website at www.darrylglenn4colorado.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COS'23:  The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Wayne Williams

 
Wayne Williams been a resident of Colorado Springs for more than 30 years and his record of public service began soon after moving here when he joined the Colorado Springs Housing Authority, where he served for ten years. He was elected to two terms on the El Paso County Board of Commissioners, serving from 2003 to 2011.
After his two terms on the county commission, Wayne was elected El Paso County Clerk and Recorder where he served for one term. After that he was elected to statewide office as Colorado Secretary of State, serving one term from 2015 to 2019.
He was elected at-large to the Colorado Springs City Council in 2019 and is finishing his term this Spring. As a City Councilor he has also served on the Colorado Springs Utilities Board.
For more information about Wayne, you can visit his website at www.winwithwayne.org
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COS'23:  The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Yemi Mobolade

Yemi Mobolade (mo-bo-LAH-dee) is a newcomer to politics, this being the first time he has run for office. But he announced his candidacy early and has spent the past several months building his campaign and base of support. 
Yemi has founded three businesses and has been actively involved in the community for several years. He was previously the Small Business Development Administrator for the City of Colorado Springs and the Vice President of Business Retention and Expansion for the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC.
Yemi first moved to Colorado Springs to start a church and later served as a pastor at First Presbyterian Church here.
His community involvement includes the board of directors for Thrive Network of Southeast Colorado Springs, Downtown Colorado Springs and Springs Rescue Mission, to name just a few.
He was in the 2020 class of the Colorado Governor’s Fellows, won the 2020 Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award from Junior Achievement and was the SBDC’s Small Business Champion of the year in 2018.
For more information about Yemi, you can visit his campaign website at www.yemiformayor.com
 
 
 
 
 
COS'23: The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Tom Strand

 
Tom Strand is currently the president of the Colorado Springs City Council and has been elected to two terms to an at-large council seat, serving a total of eight years. Prior to serving on City Council was elected to the School District 11 Board of Education, where he served as vice president, and later president, of the board.
Tom is a retired military officer serving more than 30 years in the United States Air Force. He served as the senior lawyer and commandant of the Judge Advocate General School in Montgomery, Alabama.
Tom serves as a business mentor with the Colorado Springs Service Corps of Retired Executives and as a facilitator for the Food 4 Thought organization. He’s also the past treasurer of the Trails and Open Space Coalition and past chairman of the Colorado Springs Human Relations Commission.
 
 
 
 
 
COS'23: The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Andrew Dalby

Andrew Dalby is a business owner and was formerly an information technology consultant. I’m always intrigued by candidates who are running for the first time and am looking forward to speaking with Andrew about what motivated him to run and where he stands on the major issues facing our community.
For more information about Andrew, you can visit his campaign website at www.andrewdalby.com
 
 
 
 
 
COS'23: The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Longinos Gonzalez, Jr.

Longinos (lo-HE-noce) Gonzalez, Jr. was elected to the El Paso County Commission for District 2 in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. Prior to that he taught middle school science in Harrison School District 2. He’s a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, serving as an intelligence officer, and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy.
Longinos was a previous Chair of the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, elected Chair of the Front Range counties subcommittee by fellow Colorado commissioners in 2019, and served as Chair of the Colorado Springs Public Safety Sales Tax Oversight Committee.
He serves on the Colorado Board of Veterans Affairs and serves locally on the boards of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), the Fountain Valley Senior Center, and Mt Carmel Veterans Service Center. He also serves as both a lector and Sunday school teacher at his church.
For more information about Longinos you can visit his campaign website at www.longinosformayor.com
 
 
 
 
 
COS'23: The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson

Sallie Clark

Sallie Clark is a former Colorado Springs City Councilmember and served on the Colorado Springs Utilities board during that time.
She was elected to the El Paso County Commission three times, serving for a total of 12 years. While on the county commission she served as chair and board member for the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments and the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation authority.
She was also elected President of the National Association of Counties and after leaving the county commission she served as the Executive State Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development for Colorado during the Trump administration. And she has been a business owner in Colorado Springs since 1986.
Sallie got her start in public service fighting against the closure of Fire Station 3 on the city’s westside. She has been a candidate for mayor two times previously, in 1999 and 2004, both times before the City adopted the Strong Mayor form of government.
For more information about Sallie you can visit her campaign website at sallieclarkmayor.com
 
 
 
 
COS'23: The Mayor's Race is presented by AVANT StrategiesProduction assistance is provided by Ted Robertson